374 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



summer. It is rather rare on the west coast of 

 Florida, but common on the east coast. 



It is a long and round-bodied fish, quite grace- 

 fully formed, with a depth of about one-fifth of its 

 length. The head is broad and flat, something 

 like that of the pike, with a wide mouth, and with 

 jaws, roof of mouth, and tongue armed with bands 

 of short, sharp teeth; the lower jaw projects. 

 The back is olive-brown, or dusky, the sides 

 lighter and silvery, and the belly white ; a distinct 

 broad and very dark stripe extends from the up- 

 per jaw and through the eye to the caudal fin, 

 with an indistinct one above and below, and par- 

 allel with it. Owing to this dark stripe the cobia 

 is sometimes called sergeant-fish, thus confound- 

 ing it with the snook. 



The habits of the cobia are not unlike those of 

 tTie pike, or mascalonge, of fresh waters, in that it 

 is solitary and lies in wait for its prey, and is 

 almost as rapacious. It lies under the mangroves 

 and cocoa-plum bushes along Indian River and 

 other streams of the east coast of Florida, watch- 

 ing for stray fishes and crabs on which it feeds. 

 It is commonly seen of a length of two or three 

 feet, but grows considerably longer, with a weight 

 of fifteen to twenty pounds. The largest I have 



