Fig. 174.—Striped Mullet, Mugil cephalus (L.). Wood's Hole, Mass.
We are not able to distinguish from the common striped mullet of Europe and America the mullet of Hawaii, the famous Ama-ama, the most valued of Hawaiian fishes. This species is reared in mullet ponds, made by extending a stone wall across an arm of the sea. Through openings in the wall the young mullet enter, and in its protection they grow very fat on the abundant algæ and other vegetation. They thus become the most plentiful and most esteemed of the market fishes of Honolulu. The Awa (Chanos) and the Awa-awa (Elops) also enter these ponds and are reared with the mullet, being similarly but less valued. Unfortunately the kaku, or small barracuda (Sphyræna helleri), also enters with these helpless fishes and destroys many of the smaller individuals. Another striped species, also very similar to Mugil cephalus in appearance and value, in fact indistinguishable from the Hawaiian mullet, abounds in Japan and India.
The white or unstriped mullets are generally smaller, but otherwise differ little. Mugil curema is the white mullet of tropical America, ranging occasionally northward, and several other species occur in the West Indies and the Mediterranean. The genus Mugil has the eye covered by thick transparent tissue called the adipose eyelid. In Liza the adipose eyelid is wanting. Liza capito, the big-headed mullet of the Mediterranean, is a well-known species. Most of the mullets of the south seas belong to the genus Liza. Liza melinoptera and Liza cæruleomaculata are common in Samoa. The genus Querimana includes dwarf-mullets, two or three inches long, known as whirligig-mullets. These little fishes gather in small schools and swim round and round on the surface like the whirligig-beetles, or Gyrinidæ, their habits being like those of the young mullets; some young mullets having been, in fact, described as species of Querimana. The genus Agonostomus includes fresh-water mullets of the mountain rivers of the East and West Indies and Mexico, locally known as trucha, or trout. Agonostomus nasutus of Mexico is the best-known species.
Fig. 175.—Joturo or Bobo, Joturus pichardi Poey. Rio Bayano, Panama.
The Joturo, or Bobo, Joturus pichardi, is a very large robust and vigorous mullet which abounds at the foot of waterfalls in the mountain torrents of Cuba, eastern Mexico, and Central America. It is a good food-fish, frequently taken about Jalapa, Havana, and on the Isthmus of Panama. Its lips are very thick and its teeth are broad, serrated, loosely inserted incisors.
Fossil mullets are few. Mugil radobojanus is the earliest from the Miocene of Croatia.
The Barracudas: Sphyrænidæ.—The Sphyrænidæ, or barracudas, differ from the mullets in the presence of very strong teeth in the bones of the large mouth. The lateral line is also developed, there is no gizzard, and there are numerous minor modifications connected with the food and habits. The species are long, slender swift fishes, powerful in swimming and voracious to the last degree. Some of the species reach a length of six feet or more, and these are almost as dangerous to bathers as sharks would be. The long, knife-like teeth render them very destructive to nets. The numerous species are placed in the single genus Sphyræna, and some of them are found in all warm seas, where they feed freely on all smaller fishes, their habits in the sea being much like those of the pike in the lakes. The flesh is firm, delicate, and excellent in flavor. In the larger species, especially in the West Indies, it may be difficult of digestion and sometimes causes serious illness, or "ichthyosism."
