The uppermost figure represents the Nile Perch (Lates Niloticus). This Fish is plentiful in the Nile, and in the mouths of many Asiatic rivers. It is brown above, silvery white below, and may be distinguished by the armed gill-covers, and the three strong spines of the anal fin. The tongue is smooth.
Immediately below the Nile Perch is the Star-gazer (Uranoscopus scaber).
This Fish is found in the Mediterranean, and derives its name from the singular mode in which the eyes are set in the head, so that it looks upwards instead of sideways. It is one of the mud-lovers, a fact which accounts for the peculiar position of the eyes. It is said to feed after the fashion of the fishing-frog—i.e. by burying itself in the mud and attracting other Fishes by a worm-like appendage of its mouth, and pouncing on them before they are aware of their danger.
FISH OF EGYPT AND PALESTINE.
1. Nile Perch. 2. Surmullet. 3. Star-gazer.
"We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely."—Numb. xi. 5.
This is not a pretty Fish, and as it is very spiny, is not pleasant to the grasp, but its flesh is very good, and it is much valued by those who can obtain it.
The last Fish to be noticed is the Surmullet (Mullus Surmuletus), a Fish that is equally remarkable for the beauty of its colours and the excellence of its flesh.