3 °° 
AMERICAN FISHES. 
A family related to the Wrasses is that of the Demoiselles or Pomacen- 
iridce. 
Among the reefs of Florida two or three species of this family are abund¬ 
ant. Most prominent among them is the “ Sergeant Major,” Glyphidodon 
saxatilis (L.) C. & V., called in Bermuda the “ Cow-pilot,” from an al¬ 
leged habit of being always found in the society of the “ Cow-fish,” or 
Ostracion. This fish sometimes attains the length of ten inches and the 
weight of a pound or so, but is usually of a smaller size and is not highly 
esteemed for food. It is found throughout the tropical waters of the 
world. 
There are several smaller species of this and of allied genera in the Gulf 
of Mexico, and on the western side of the Isthmus of Panama and in the 
Gulf of California. On the California coast occurs a species, Pomacentrus 
rubicuimus, conspicuous by reason of its uniformly deep crimson or orange 
coloration, which is usually known as the “Garibaldi” among the 
Italians. The names “Gold-fish” and “Red Perch” are also used, all 
of them referring to its brilliant orange colorations. It reaches a weight 
of three pounds, and a length of less than a foot. It is found about the 
Santa Barbara Islands and southward to Lower California. It lives about 
rocky places, and is generally abundant. Its food is chiefly crustaceans. 
It is a food-fish of low grade, and has little economic importance. 
Another somewhat noteworthy species is known in California, on account 
of its dusky colors, as the “ Blacksmith,” Chromispunctipinnis , Cooper. 
“ This fish,” writes Jordan, “ is known as the ‘ Blacksmith ’ from its 
dusky colors. It reaches a weight of about two pounds. It ranges from 
the Santa Barbara Islands southward, living about reefs of rock, and is 
lccally abundant. It feeds on shells and Crustacea. It is considered as 
indifferent food.” 
The family Ciclilida is large, and is composed chiefly of fresh-water 
fishes occurring in the tropical parts of Africa and America. Among its 
members is a South American species, Geophagns surinamensis , which is 
often mentioned by writers on the instincts of animals on account of a 
peculiar habit of the males which carry in their mouths the eggs until they 
are hatched, and which are even said to allow the young fish to seek refuge 
within their jaws. We have no representatives of this family on our Atlan¬ 
tic coast, though one or two species of the genus Heros occur in the 
brackish waters of Texas. 
