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Red Grouper; Cherna Americana — Part 4
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M. phenax, the scamp of Key West and elsewhere in southern Florida, may be told from the preceding by having its upper canines nearly vertical instead of directed forward, and by the different colouration, which is much brighter, being pinkish gray above, paler purplish below; upper parts and opercles thickly covered with small, rounded, irregular spots of dark brown; sides with larger and fainter brown blotches, more or less horizontally oblong and somewhat reticulate; spinous dorsal brownish; soft dorsal darker, faintly spotted, edged with dusky and with a narrow rim of whitish anteriorly; caudal brownish, spotted with darker, its outer rays blackish distally and edged with whitish; pectoral plain, dusky toward the tip, edged with whitish; ventrals pale, tipped with dusky; mouth pale, scarcely greenish. The scamp reaches a length of 2 feet and a weight of 12 pounds or more, though those seen at Key West do not usually exceed 2 or 3 pounds. It is a handsome, trim-looking fish, taking the hook readily and making a good fight.
M. venadorum, the garlopa (garrupa) of the Mazatlan fishermen, is a very large species thus far known only from that place. The type specimen, the skin of which is in the British Museum, weighed 75 pounds, and examples of twice that size have been seen. It is not abundant, but is an important food-fish.
M. bowersi is known only from Culebra Island east of Porto Rico, where it is called rock-hind or rockfish by the Tortola fishermen, and mero cabrilla by the Spaniards. It is a beautiful fish, reaching a length of at least 2 feet, and is a fine food-fish.
Colour in life, dark reddish brown, with many small, round, bloodred spots on body, head, lower jaw, and base of pectoral and anal fins, especially numerous on anal; a few on spinous dorsal; soft dorsal mottled with white and black, with a very narrow white edge inside of which is a broad black band; tip of caudal narrowly white, inside of which is a broad black band, rest of fin mottled and spotted with white and black similar to soft dorsal; anal similar to soft dorsal but with more red spots; inside of mouth pale red.
M. calliura is a rare species known only from the coast of Cuba. It reaches 2 1/2 feet in length. It seems to resemble M. bowersi, but differs notably in colour.
M. tigris, the bonaci gato, is found among the West Indies and north to Bermuda. It reaches 2 feet in length and, though not common anywhere, is a good food-fish.
M. camelopardalis is a rare species known only from Havana and resembling M. tigris, but the ground colour is bright red.
The genus Cratinus, which resembles Serranus, has but one species, C. agassizi, which occurs about the Galapagos Islands. It reaches 18 inches in length and is peculiar on account of its long, low head.
The genus Hypoplectrus has the body more compressed and deeper than in other groups allied to Serranus. The skull differs from Serranus in the development of the supraoccipital crest, which is much elevated.
Many species have been described, but they nearly all may be simply colour forms of one, H. unicolor.
This species, with its various forms, occurs from the Florida Keys southward among the West Indies and to Brazil.
H. lamprurus occurs at Panama and is a rare species. H. gemma was described from Garden Key, Florida, and is a doubtful species.
The genus Paralabrax has the body robust and covered with ctenoid scales; mouth large, with small lateral canines and no depressible teeth; smooth area on top of head very short and small, not extending much behind the orbits; the long and low supraoccipital crest extending well forward to a line connecting the postfrontal processes; caudal fin always lunate; some of the anterior dorsal spines considerably elevated; dorsal usually X, 14; anal III, 7.
The known species of this genus are confined to the coasts of tropical America, where they are important food-fishes. There are 4 within our limits. Paralabrax nebulifer, the johnny-verde, occurs on our Pacific coast from Monterey to Lower California. It is generally common in shallow water, reaches 18 inches in length, and is a food-fish of excellent quality. Its colour is greenish, with irregular pale and dark mottlings and traces of dark oblique cross-bars; suborbital and cheek profusely marked with round orange spots; a dark streak downward and backward from eye; lower side of head salmon colour; lower side of tail with wavy whitish streaks.
The spotted cabrilla, P. maculatofasciatus, occurs from San Pedro, California, to Mazatlan and in the Gulf of California. It is everywhere common on sandy shores, and is an excellent food-fish, reaching a length of 18 inches.