Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 10, 2025
They live probably upon the seeds of the cypress-pine; the female answers the loud call of the male, but in a more subdued voice. A Gristes, about seven inches long, resembling the one described in Sir Thomas Mitchell's journey, but specifically different from it, was caught in the water-holes of the creek, which I called "Dried-beef Creek," in memorial of our late occupation.
Family, Percidae; Genus, Acerina; Subgenus, Gristes, Cuv. or Growler; Species, Gristes peelii mihi, or Cod-perch. Colour, light yellow, covered with small irregular dusky spots, which get more confluent towards the back. Throat pinkish, and belly silvery white. Scales small, and concealed in a thick epidermis. Fins obscure. The dorsals confluent.
Two new fishes were caught; both were very small; the one malacopterygious, and resembling the pike, would remain at times motionless at the bottom, or dart at its prey; the other belonged to the perches, and had an oblong compressed body, and three dark stripes perpendicular to its length; this would hover through the water, and nibble at the bait. Silurus and Gristes were also caught.
Ironstone and quartz pebbles were strewed over the ground; and, in the valley, fine-grained sandstone with layers of iron-ore cropped out. Large fish were seen in the lagoons; but we only succeeded in catching some small fish of the genus Gristes. Muscles continued to be frequent; and we saw the gunyas of the natives everywhere, although no native made his appearance.
A pigeon had been no sooner shot by Burnett than an audacious hawk carried it away and, as if fearless of a similar fate, he flew but a very short distance from the fowler before he had taken half the feathers off. The species of fish most abundant in the Darling is the Gristes peelii, or cod-perch, and they are caught of a very large size by the natives.
Methorium Endl. was found, in leaf and size resembling the hazel-nut; it had showy red and white blossoms. The clustered fig-tree was abundant along the creek; but its ripe fruits were rare at this time of the year. A small fish, a species of Gristes, about six inches long, was seen in the Nymphaea ponds, but we could not induce it to bite.
The waters are inhabited by four varieties of fish; one was probably a Gristes, about eight inches long, and from one and a half to two inches broad, of a lanceolate shape, with bright yellow spots all over the body; a second smaller than Gristes, with dark stripes; a third about a foot long, and three inches broad, belonging to the Percidae; and a fourth, a small fish, which seemed to be allied to the Cyprinidae.
Observation: This is an Asiatic form of fish; whereas the Gristes is an American form. After maturely considering the prospects this river opened to us then, before exploring its course, it remained questionable whether it did or did not belong to the Darling.
When found near our encampment we generally destroyed them, by quickly raising a large fire with dry grass. A species of Gristes was abundant in the water-holes, but it was of small size: the eels have disappeared. Nov. 25.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking