The Bass and their Relatives eee 
to this is the Japanese ishinagi, Megaperca ischinagi, the jew- 
fish, or stone-bass, of Japan. Another Japanese jewfish is the 
Abura bodzu, or “fat priest,’ Ebisus sagamius. In the West 
Indies, as also on the west coast of Mexico, the jewfish, or guasa, 
is Promicrops itatara. The black grouper, Garrupa nigrita, 
is the jewfish of Florida. The European jewfish, more often 
called wreckfish, or stone-bass, is Polyprion americanus, and 
the equally large Polyprion oxygeneios is found in Australia, 
as is also another jewfish, Glaucosoma hebraicum, the last 
belonging to the Lutianide. Largest of all these jewfishes is 
Promicrops lanceolata of the South Pacific. This huge bass, 
Fig. 257.—Florida Jewfish, Promicrops itaiara (Lichtenstein). 
St. John’s River, Fla. 
according to Dr. Boulenger, sometimes reaches a length of 
twelve feet. 
Related to the jewfishes are numerous smaller fishes. One 
of these, the Spanish-flag of Cuba, Gonioplectrus hispanus, is 
rose-colored, with golden bands like the flag of Spain itself. 
Other species referred to Acanthistius and Plectropoma have, 
like this, hooked spines on the lower border of the preopercle. 
The Groupers.—In all warm seas abound species of Epinephelus 
and related genera, known as sea-bass, groupers, or merous. 
They are mostly large voracious fishes with small scales, pale 
flesh of fair quality, and from their abundance they are of large 
commercial importance. To English-speaking people these fishes 
are usually known as grouper, a corruption of the Portuguese 
name garrupa. In the West Indies and about Panama there 
are very many species, and still others abound in the Mediter- 
