Fig. 278.—Porkfish, Anisotremus virginicus (Linnæus). Key West.
The pigfishes, Orthopristis, have the spines feebler and the anal fin more elongate. Of the many species, American and Mediterranean, Orthopristis chrysopterus is most familiar, ranging northward to Long Island, and excellent as a pan fish. Parapristipoma trilineatum, the Isaki of Japan, is equally abundant and very similar to it. Many related species belong to the Asiatic genera, Terapon, Scolopsis, Cæsio, etc., sometimes placed in a distinct family as Teraponidæ. Terapon servus enters the streams of Polynesia, and is a very common fish of the river mouths, taken in Samoa by the boys. Terapon theraps is found throughout the East Indies. Terapon richardsoni is the Australian silver perch. Cæsio contains numerous small species, elongate and brightly colored, largely blue and golden. Scolopsis, having a spine on the preorbital, contains numerous species in the East Indies and Polynesia. These are often handsomely colored. Among them is the taiva, Scolopsis trilineatus of Samoa, gray with white streaks and markings of delicate pattern. A fossil species in the Italian Eocene related to Pomadasis is Pomadasis furcatus. Another, perhaps allied to Terapon, is called Pelates quindecimalis.
Fig. 279.—The Red Tai of Japan, Pagrus major Schlegel. Family Sparidæ. (After Kishinouye.)
The Porgies: Sparidæ.—The great family of Sparidæ or porgies is also closely related to the Hæmulidæ. The most tangible difference rests in the teeth, which are stronger, and some of those along the side of the jaw are transformed into large blunt molars, fitted for grinding small crabs and shells. The name porgy, in Spanish pargo, comes from the Latin Pagrus and Greek πάγρος, the name from time immemorial of the red porgy of the Mediterranean, Pagrus pagrus. In this species the front teeth are canine-like, the side teeth molar. It is a fine food-fish, very handsome, being crimson with blue spots, and in the Mediterranean it is much esteemed. It also breeds sparingly on our south Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Fig. 280.—Ebisu, the Fish-god of Japan, bearing a Red Tai. (Sketch by Kako Morita.)
Fig. 281.—Scup, Stenotomus chrysops (Linnæus). Wood's Hole, Mass.