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THE PLAIN RED MULLET. 
The Cuvier’s Bodian is a species spread over the greater part of the Indian seas, and 
caught, though it appears but rarely, on the coasts of Ceylon, being most frequently captured 
on the southern shores and upon rocky ground. The Cingalese name is Deweeboraloo wall. 
In color it is a remarkably handsome fish, though not of such pure primary tints as others 
which will presently be mentioned. The color of this fish is yellowish-brown on the back, 
• changing gradually to reddish-gray on the sides, and fading to simple gray on the abdomen. 
The head, tail, and fins are bright golden-yellow, and the bars and patches of darker color are 
deep chocolate-brown. Its average length is from eighteen to twenty inches. 
The next family, the Mullidse, finds a well-known representative in the common Sur- 
mullet, sometimes called the Striped Red Mullet, on account of the yellow longitudinal 
stripes that are drawn along the body. 
SURMULLET . — Mullus surmuletus. 
This fish is celebrated for the excellence of its flesh, and in the time of the ancients was 
one of the most costly luxuries that the wealthy epicure could place upon his table, from two 
hundred to three hundred dollars being paid for a fish weighing six or seven pounds. These 
dimensions are but rarely reached, and never, as it is believed, on cold shores. The liver is 
held to be the best part of this fish, but the whole of its flesh is firm, white, and delicately 
flavored. Its value in the market is extremely variable, owing to its migratory habits, being 
at one time caught by hundreds in the trawl or mackerel nets, while at other times there is not 
a single individual to be found. There seems, however, to be one definite rule in its migra- 
tions, namely, that it approaches the shore in the summer time, and in the winter retires into 
deep water, whence it can only be taken in the trawl net. 
Another species of this genus is the Plain Red Mullet {Mullus b arbutus'). 
In general habits it closely resembles the preceding species, but may be distinguished 
from that fish by the almost vertical line of the head, which rises abruptly from the muzzle 
to the eyes, and by the different coloring. In the Plain Red Mullet the back is light pink, 
the sides and part of the abdomen dark red, and there is a single yellow streak below the 
lateral line. 
A rather extensive genus belonging to the present family cannot be passed over without 
some notice, as it contains many fish which are remarkable for their form and coloring, if not 
for their habits or utilities. 
