THE PERCH FAMILY 
215 
of capture. There is a story 
told 01' a hungry little lake- 
perch which had its eye 
hooked out by accident. The 
angler, leaving the eye on the 
hook, lowered it into the 
water again, and a moment 
after hauled out a one-eyed 
perch ! 
Among the species . of 
perch found in British waters 
are the Ruffe, or Pope, a 
very small and common river- 
fish of no great value-; the 
Bass, a fine sporting sea-fish, 
which comes up the estuaries 
of rivers to spawn, and is photc bj, dt. k. 1^. shufeidq [n-aihingun 
much sought after by the ama- AMERICAN “SUN-FISH” 
teur sea-fisher; the Comber, to be confounded with the true Sun-fihei described m Chapter VII 
or' Gaper, a fairly common 
fish on the coasts of the West of England; a rare sea-fish known as the Dusky Perch, caught 
occasionally off the South of England; the Stone-bass, also called the Wreck-fish, from its 
habit of following wreckage in the sea; and, lastly, the Dentex, a rare species, not often 
caught off the British coasts, which attains the weight of about 70 lbs. 
On the Continent there is the PiKE-PERCH, a fish having the appearance of a cross beBveen 
a pike and a perch, and growing to 25 or 30 lbs. ; this voracious species is found in the lakes 
and rivers of the temperate northern zones, and is much esteemed for food. In the tropics 
there are a number of true Sea-perches, which rarely enter fresh-water; they include the 
Anthias, most beautifully coloured with pink and yellow, of which there are between 100 
and 200 species. Some of the tropical sea-perches grow to an enormous size, and there are 
instances recorded of bathers having been attacked by them at Aden. Several monsters are 
stuffed in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington. Among the coral-islands live 
many very beautifully coloured sea-perches of various species. Perhaps the most remarkable of 
all is the BOAR-FISH, or BASTARD DORY, which has a prolonged snout, no doubt used for • 
getting out its food from the crannies among rocks and other awkward places. 
CHAPTER III 
SCALY~F1NS^ RED MULLETS, SEMBREJMS, SCORPION-FISHES, SLIME-HEADS, 
TASSEL-FISH, ME AC RES, AND SWORD-FISHES 
BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S. 
F or quaintness of- shape, combined with beauty of coloration, the family of Scaly-finned 
Phshes has no rivals. The name by which they are collectively known refers to the scaly 
covering which invests the bases of what are called the median fins — the fins seated 
along the middle of the back and abdomen. A large number of distinct species have been 
described, the majority of which occur in tropical seas, and especially in the neighbourhood 
of coral-reefs; but some frequent the mouths of rivers, which they occasionally ascend for 
a short distance. All are of relatively small size, of carnivorous habits, and but little used 
for food. 
The pattern of coloration commonly takes the form of bands or stripes, those in which 
this pattern is most marked being known as Zebra-fish. One of the most beautiful is the 
