144 TISH GALLERY. 



the scales are ctenoid and uniform. All are marine, except the 

 little Pirate Perch, Aphredoderus say anus of North-American 

 fresh waters ; some, like Holo 'centrum, live at the surface of the 

 sea; others, like Beryx, occur only at great depths and are typical 

 members of the deep-sea fauna. The Berycoid fishes do not attain 

 a large size ; the exhibited specimen of Beryx splendens (493) is 

 an exceptionally large one. Specimens of Beryx are occasionally 

 brought to the London markets, not so much from their food 

 value as the fact that their bright red colouring makes a fine 

 display on the fishmonger's slab. The specimens come mostly 

 from the Bay of Biscay and the coast of Portugal. 



^J 1 '}- Myripristis (495), like Holo centrum , lives at the surface in 



tropical seas, near the coast ; it is esteemed as food. The fishes 

 of the genus are very pugnacious and always ready to quarrel with 

 their own kind. In Hawaii the natives take advantage of this 

 trait to catch the Uu {Myripristis murdjan). Haviug obtained 

 one alive by a net or other means, they attach a string to it and 

 put it back into the water in front of the crevices in the rocks in 

 which these fishes lurk. The other fishes soon come out to fight 

 it, and the crowd is brought to the surface of the water by slowly 

 drawiug in the string; a net is passed cautiously beneath and the 

 whole crowd captured. 



The Monocentridse are a small family containing a single genus, 

 Monoceniris, 500, differing from the Berycidse in the scales beiug 

 larger and stouter, forming a rigid carapace, in the pelvic fins 

 being reduced to a single spine with 2 or 3 soft rays, and in the 

 stoutness of the spines of the dorsal fin. The Japan species (500) 

 is sometimes called the Pine-cone-fish. 



The Centrarchidae are fresh -water fishes of small size, rarely 

 exceeding six inches in length, common in North America. The 

 principal forms are the Sun-fish (Lepomis), the Black Bass 

 (Micropterus), acclimatised in some parts of continental Europe, 

 and Kuhlia (501) of Polynesia. They are all valued as food. 



The Lobotidae, a very small family containing two genera only, 

 Lobotes, 505, and Datnioides, 504, are allied to the Centrarchidae. 

 Lobotes is a widely distributed marine form, Datnioides occurs in 

 the rivers and estuaries of the Ganges and the East Indies. 



ffh" I 11 l ^ ie Toxotidse or Archer-fishes (e. g. Toxotes jaculator, 506) 



