224 
THE PRISTIPOMIDyE. 
over the greater part of its body, becoming slightly paler on the sides, and changing to golden 
yellow on the abdomen, with the slightest possible dash of red. On the upper part of the 
back, and occupying portions of the dorsal fish, are three large spots of deep rich purple, 
between which are placed four similarly shaped spots of pale rose. These spots, however, are 
rather variable in number. 
The Red Grouper (. EpinepHlus morio) is an important food-fish, forming much of the 
fish cargoes gathered by the fishermen on the Florida coast for the Havana market. 
Ik the course of the preceding pages our notice has been drawn to many remarkable 
forms of fishes, some terrible in their fearful armatures of spines and teeth, some repulsive 
from their slimy exteiioi and coldly malignant aspect, and others almost bordering on the 
grotesque from the odd and eccentric manner in which various parts of their structure 
are modified. The Tesselated Parrot-fish of the Ceylonese seas, though not strikingly 
unique in its external appearance, as many of the species already described, is, when closely 
examined, one of the most wonderfully colored fish in the world. The whole body is 
covered with a beautifully drawn pattern of elongated hexagons, as perfect and regular as 
those of a honeycomb. 
The colors of this remarkable fish are as follow : The general hue of the Tesselated 
Parrot-fish is azure-blue, covered with a hexagonal network of golden-yellow. The oddly 
shaped head is bright yellow, streaked and spotted with blue. The dorsal and anal fins are 
brown edged with green, and the pectorals and ventrals are brown with the front rays green. 
The tail fin is wholly green. The natives call this fish by the name of Laboo Girawah, the 
former term being the name of a certain gourd or pumpkin which is marked in a somewhat 
similar fashion. 
The species belonging to this genus are very numerous, and have received their rather 
appropriate title of Parrot-fishes from the rich beauty of their colors and the peculiar form 
of their jaws, which are very strong, covered with great numbers of mosaic-like teeth, and 
curved in a manner that greatly resembles the beak of a parrot. As the fish wears out the 
teeth rapidly while crushing the corallines and other hard substances on which it feeds, a pro- 
vision is made for insuring a continual supply of new teeth to replace those which are w T orn 
away and rendered useless. The young teeth are perpetually being developed towards the 
base of the jaws, and by a beautiful yet simple adaptation of existing parts, which cannot 
be made intelligible without the use of diagrams, advance in orderly succesion towards the 
front, and take their places with unfailing certainty in the densely compacted mosaic-work 
which arms the jaws. 
Before leaving this family we must briefly examine another very large genus, here repre- 
sented by the Banded Mullet ( Apogon fascidtus). 
This fish is found off the Fejee Islands, upon the coast of Mozambique, and in the 
Australian and Moluccan seas. The genus to which it belongs comprises about sixty species, 
all inhabiting the warmer waters, and some entering the mouths of rivers. They are most 
plentiful in the Indian and Australian seas, but are never seen in the colder waters of the 
northern and southern regions. The scales of these fish are large, and fall off almost at a 
touch. The gill-cover is rather formidably armed, the operculum bearing spines, and the 
prseoperculum having a double-notched ridge. 
The coloring of the Banded Mullet is bold and striking. The general tint of the body is a 
glowing rose, and a series of broad dark bands are drawn along the body, four or five on each 
side, and one on the back. At the base of the tail fin is a large round black spot, and a black 
band runs across the root of the second dorsal and anal fins. 
The next family, termed the Pristipomkke, after the typical genus, forms a large and 
somewhat important group of fishes. They are all carnivorous, i. e . , they feed upon fish in 
preference to other diet; they have no molar or cutting teeth, and all inhabit the waters of the 
