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(Download PDF) American Politics Today 3rd Edition Bianco Test Bank Full Chapter
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CHAPTER 7: Elections
TRUE/FALSE
2. Elections are important in a representative democracy because they allow citizens the opportunity to
reward and punish officeholders seeking reelection.
3. A candidate for the U.S. House or U.S. Senate secures the nomination of the Democratic Party by
winning the Democratic Party’s primary election.
4. An independent candidate with no affiliation to a party secures a place on the general election ballot by
first winning a primary contest that involves at least two other independent candidates.
5. A runoff election guarantees that the winning candidate has secured a majority of the vote.
6. The use of proportional allocation for convention delegates can cause the primary season to be more
competitive and last longer.
7. The electoral college accords each state a number of electoral votes, which are equal to the state’s
representation in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
10. Candidates usually appeal to voters by trying to educate the public and by making complex promises
about public policies.
11. The main reason for the expense of American political campaigns is the increased use of television
advertising.
12. Soft money contributions are donations that are used to help elect or defeat a particular candidate.
13. Because of high turnout in presidential election years, coattail effects from presidential candidates are
usually very powerful factors in determining election outcomes for candidates running for
congressional, state, or local office.
14. The authors of the text conclude that individual vote decisions in presidential and congressional
elections are typically made independent of each other.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
3. An election in which only registered members of a particular party can vote is called a(n):
a. open primary
b. blanket primary
c. general election
d. closed primary
e. runoff election
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 194 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Factual
4. An election in which any registered voter can participate in selecting a party nominee is called a(n):
a. open primary
b. blanket primary
c. general election
d. closed primary
e. runoff election
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 194 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Factual
5. Which of the following restrictions on voter eligibility is true for all Americans?
a. must be eighteen years old or older
b. cannot be mentally incompetent
c. must swear an oath to the Constitution
d. cannot be a convicted felon
e. cannot be in jail on Election Day
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 194 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Factual
8. In a typical election for the U.S. House or U.S. Senate, officeholders are elected:
a. in multimember districts by a plurality of the vote
b. in single-member districts by a plurality of the vote
c. in multimember districts by a majority of the vote
d. in single-member districts by a majority of the vote
e. in various different ways and formats that are determined by laws in each of the fifty states
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 195 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Applied
9. Any voting system in which the candidate with the most votes wins is called:
a. proportional voting
b. majority voting
c. plurality voting
d. democratic
e. republican
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 195 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Factual
11. Although touch-screen voting machines are becoming increasingly popular, these machines are
controversial for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
a. the costs of the machines
b. the potential for delays on Election Day
c. voter difficulties that often come with new technologies
d. concerns that the machines could be manipulated to change election outcomes
e. concerns that the machines could make it more difficult for the visually impaired to vote
ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 195 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Conceptual
14. Election rules and how they are implemented by officials matter because:
a. there is no legal way to challenge the outcome of an election
b. in close races, small changes to rules can change electoral outcomes
c. an election must be held a second time if the rules are not followed
d. there are different rules that must be used if voter turnout is higher than expected
e. there are different rules that must be used if voter turnout is lower than expected
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 196 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Conceptual
15. Under what conditions are particular rules most likely to influence election results?
a. close races
b. open seat races
c. situations in which optical scan ballots are used
d. primary elections
e. general elections
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 196 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Applied
16. While the ________ use(s) proportional allocation rules in all primaries and caucuses, the ________
uses a combination of proportional allocation and winner-take-all to determine convention delegates.
a. Democratic Party; Republican Party
b. Republican Party; Democratic Party
c. states; electoral college
d. United States; European Union
e. European Union; United States
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 196 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Factual
17. Under the rules of proportional allocation, a candidate who received 40 percent of the vote in a state
with 50 delegates at stake would get roughly ________ delegates.
a. 0
b. 10
c. 20
d. 40
e. 50
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 196 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Applied
21. Which states do NOT allocate all of their electoral college votes to the winner of the state’s popular
vote?
a. Montana and Maine
b. Oregon and Montana
c. Nebraska and Oregon
d. Maine and Rhode Island
e. Nebraska and Maine
ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 198 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Factual
22. Swing states are important to a presidential candidate’s general election strategy because:
a. they favor one party’s candidate over another, which saves the favored candidate money to
campaign elsewhere
b. they provide better opportunities for fund-raising
c. they can be ignored
d. they can potentially be won by either major-party candidate
e. they are always small states, so they do not provide that many electoral college votes
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 198 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Applied
23. What happens if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral college votes?
a. The winner is then determined by the candidate who received the most popular votes.
b. The votes are recalculated after dropping out candidates with less than 1 percent of the
vote; this repeats until someone has a majority.
c. The House of Representatives decides who wins, with each state getting one vote, and
voting continues until someone gets a majority of the votes.
d. The Senate decides who wins, with each state getting one vote, and voting continues until
someone gets a majority of the votes.
e. Both the House and the Senate decide who wins with a simple majority vote.
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 199 TOP: Procedures
MSC: Applied
24. After one election cycle ends, potential challengers for office in the next cycle immediately start
thinking about which of the following things?
a. which seats look vulnerable
b. how the economy affects them
c. how to get a poll in the field quickly to judge their name recognition
d. how to establish a permanent campaign
e. what their first campaign ad will be about
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
25. A district with no sitting legislator who runs for reelection is called:
a. an open seat
b. a closed seat
c. a party seat
d. a safe seat
e. a contested seat
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 202 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
26. The actions officeholders take throughout the election cycle to build support for their reelection is
called:
a. the political business cycle
b. the talent primary
c. the permanent campaign
d. the money primary
e. frontloading
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 202 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
27. Incumbent officeholders have various reasons for raising significant sums of money. One common
reason is that:
a. incumbent officeholders often face primary challengers and need money for two elections
b. high-quality potential challengers are less likely to run against the incumbent
c. outside interest groups will not contribute money to incumbents who lack significant sums
of money
d. incumbent officeholders can use any leftover campaign funds for personal use once they
retire
e. incumbent officeholders can transfer the money to lobbying firms, which in turn can repay
this favor later by hiring the incumbent officeholder when he or she retires from office
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 202 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Applied
28. Professional consultants are important in providing all of the following services to a candidate running
for office EXCEPT:
a. consultants help develop and execute campaign strategies
b. consultants manage and run public opinion polls
c. consultants coordinate campaign activities with Super PACs
d. consultants assemble ads and buy television time for the candidate
e. consultants handle media relations and talk with members of the media
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 203 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Applied
29. Because many voters know fairly little about congressional candidates, a common campaign strategy
is to:
a. improve the candidate’s name recognition among likely voters
b. educate voters about the important issues facing the district and nation
c. hold multiple press conferences each day to generate media attention
d. have the candidate write an autobiography for voters to learn more about the candidate’s
life
e. have friends and family make public comments to help spread the word about the
candidate
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 203 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Conceptual
30. All of the following are an important part of campaign strategy EXCEPT:
a. building name recognition
b. staying “above the fray” by not dignifying an opponent’s false attack with a response
c. building a campaign platform with issue priorities
d. demonstrating an understanding of citizens’ concerns
e. voter mobilization
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 203–5 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
32. Internet and social media sites play an important role in campaigns for all of the following reasons
EXCEPT:
a. informing supporters of a candidate’s issue positions
b. providing the candidate with accurate political information and poll results
c. helping to recruit new supporters
d. informing supporters of a candidate’s upcoming event or appearance
e. organizing large numbers of volunteers
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 204 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Applied
33. An important activity of any campaign is ________, which most directly involves ________.
a. mobilizing supporters; the ground game
b. converting opponents into supporters; the ground game
c. mobilizing supporters; name recognition
d. converting opponents into supporters; campaign platforms
e. name recognition; campaign platforms
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 204 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
35. A candidate’s platform is important for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
a. to mobilize supporters
b. to gain interest group endorsements
c. to attract campaign volunteers
d. to raise campaign funds
e. to gain ballot access
ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 204–5 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Conceptual
38. In an effort to raise doubts about their opponents as much as they draw attention to their own records,
candidates almost all use ________ as a key part of their campaign strategy.
a. press leaks
b. opposition research
c. push polls
d. trackers
e. voting cues
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 206 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
40. Candidates who are behind in election polls often use ________ as a way to gain momentum and make
the race competitive.
a. attack ads
b. the invisible primary
c. trackers
d. mobilization
e. opposition research
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 206 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
41. Of the many billions of dollars spent during each election cycle for federal office, most of the money
goes to:
a. thirty-second television ads
b. sixty-second television ads
c. pay for polls and voter data
d. GOTV drives
e. fund-raising operations and activities
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 206 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
42. During the early years of television, many campaign ads consisted of:
a. live press conferences
b. biographical summaries of the candidate’s life and political accomplishments
c. speeches by candidates that lasted for several minutes
d. endorsement messages from top party leaders
e. party-driven messages that supported the party machine
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 206 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
44. Which of the following is NOT a consequence of being exposed to television advertising in political
campaigns?
a. People become more interested in the campaign.
b. People become aware of differences between candidates.
c. People know more about the candidates.
d. People become likely to change their minds.
e. People are sometimes mobilized to vote.
ANS: D DIF: Difficult REF: Page 207 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Conceptual
45. Which of the following groups is responsible for regulating the financing of campaigns?
a. political action committees
b. Federal Election Commission
c. Electoral Assistance Commission
d. the political parties
e. Federal Communications Commission
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 207 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
46. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was modified significantly by:
a. President George W. Bush and Republicans in the 109th Congress
b. House Republicans and Senate Democrats in the 112th Congress
c. President Obama’s decision not to accept public funds in the 2008 presidential election
d. the Supreme Court’s ruling in Buckley v. Valeo
e. the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 207 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
48. Campaign funds that are subject to clear limits on how much can be raised are called:
a. hard money
b. 527 funds
c. 501(c)(3) funds
d. 501(c)(4) funds
e. electioneering funds
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 207 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
49. A 527 organization can accept unlimited amounts of ________ but cannot use that money on behalf of
a specific ________.
a. soft money; candidate
b. soft money; issue
c. hard money; candidate
d. hard money; issue
e. soft money; party platform
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 208 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
53. Under federal law, party committees are ________ in the amount of money they can use on behalf of
the candidate through ________.
a. not limited; coordinated expenditures
b. limited; independent expenditures
c. not limited; direct campaign contributions
d. limited; coordinated expenditures
e. not limited; in-kind contributions
ANS: D DIF: Difficult REF: Page 209 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Applied
54. For presidential campaigns, the federal government provides matching funds during the primary
process to candidates who raise at least $5,000 in each of at least ________ states in contributions of
________ or less.
a. 10; $100
b. 20; $250
c. 26; $1,000
d. 38; $1,250
e. 40; $2,250
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 209 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
55. For the general election contest for president, the federal government offers public funds to the two
major-party nominees and any minor-party candidates who belong to a party that received at least
________ of the vote in the previous election.
a. 5 percent
b. 10 percent
c. 15 percent
d. 20 percent
e. 25 percent
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 209 TOP: Campaigns
MSC: Factual
58. Which of the following describes a situation in which people do not go to the polls on Election Day to
cast votes, even when they have a strong candidate preference?
a. the paradox of voting
b. turnout
c. reasonable voting
d. alienation
e. apathy
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 212 TOP: Voters
MSC: Factual
59. Typically, members of which of the following groups do not turn out in large numbers to vote?
a. whites
b. men
c. people without a high school education or less
d. middle-aged people
e. women
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 212 TOP: Voters
MSC: Factual
60. A voter who uses a personal vote cue supports a candidate because the candidate:
a. captures the voter’s own anger against the incumbent party
b. shares a personality characteristic with the voter
c. is similar to the voter in some way, such as in age, appearance, gender, or race
d. has provided the voter with assistance in the past
e. is an incumbent
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 213 TOP: Voters
MSC: Factual
61. When someone votes against an incumbent House member or senator because of a failure to provide
federal funds to the district, it is an example of using ________ to make a voting decision.
a. partisanship
b. personal characteristics
c. a retrospective evaluation
d. incumbency
e. a personal vote
ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Page 213 TOP: Voters
MSC: Factual
62. Because concerns such as economic worries cause voters to lower their evaluations of incumbent
politicians, those concerns:
a. lead to retrospective voting and create conditions for nationalized elections
b. create conditions for a normal election
c. create instability in party control of the legislature
d. cause incumbents to spend more money on advertising
e. decrease the chance of the incumbent facing a strong challenger
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 213 TOP: Voters
MSC: Conceptual
63. In a normal election, voters typically focus on all of the following factors to make a decision
EXCEPT:
a. incumbency
b. partisanship
c. personal connection
d. retrospective evaluations
e. fund-raising ability
ANS: E DIF: Moderate REF: Page 214 TOP: Voters
MSC: Factual
64. Which of the following terms describes a situation in which a popular president generates additional
support for legislative candidates and helps them gain office?
a. The president encouraged straight-ticket voting.
b. The president has coattails.
c. The president caused split-ticket voting.
d. The president provided voting cues.
e. The president caused retrospective voting.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 215 TOP: Voters
MSC: Factual
65. A ballot on which a voter selects candidates from more than one political party is called:
a. a blanket primary
b. an open primary
c. coattails
d. straight-ticket voting
e. split-ticket voting
ANS: E DIF: Easy REF: Page 215 TOP: Voters
MSC: Factual
ESSAY
1. A key role of elections is to ensure elected representatives are accountable to their constituents. What
characteristics must both voters and elected officials have in order for elections to provide
accountability? In your opinion, do we need to do anything to ensure greater accountability? Why or
why not?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
2. Describe how the presidential nomination process works for Democrats and Republicans. What
characteristics do they share? What is different? How does this process influence the politics of
selecting a presidential candidate?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
3. Candidates who seek to build support for their election bids confront voters who are often uninterested
and lacking in knowledge. What are the different strategies they use to gain this support? How do
these strategies account for these features of the voters?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
4. A common complaint in the United States is that politicians never stop campaigning, leading to
something called the permanent campaign. Explain what this term means, and discuss how it
influences the behavior of incumbent politicians both within government and during campaigns. Do
you see this as a problem? Why or why not?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
5. Some people believe that campaign advertisements are good, while others believe that they detract
from American election campaigns. Review the arguments on both sides of this issue. Which side are
you on? Why?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
6. Although political parties and interest groups spend considerable amounts of money on elections, they
cannot offer significant support to all candidates for congressional and presidential offices. What
factors do they consider when deciding to which races to devote resources? What consequences do you
think this has for the level of competition in American elections? How do you think this affects the
accountability function of elections?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
7. What groups can raise and spend money in election campaigns? What are the different rules and
regulations that apply to each of these groups?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
8. With the large sums of money spent on elections in the United States, many people are understandably
worried. Yet some scholars argue that this is not a significant problem. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of spending on election campaigns? On which side of this issue do you stand, and why?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
9. What is a voting cue? What kind of cues do Americans use in making their vote decisions? What do
you think about this process for making voting decisions? Is it good or bad? Why?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
DIF: Easy REF: Pages 213–15 TOP: Voters
10. In 2008, Barack Obama became the first major-party presidential nominee to decline public funds in
the general election. Why did Obama decide to do this? Is the public finance system for president
likely to survive into the future? Should it survive? How should presidential campaigns be financed?
ANS:
Answers will vary.
Second Family—Squamipinnes.
Body compressed and elevated, covered with scales, either finely
ctenoid or smooth. Lateral line continuous, not continued over the
caudal fin. Mouth in front of the snout, generally small, with lateral
cleft. Eye lateral, of moderate size. Six or seven branchiostegals.
Teeth villiform or setiform, in bands, without canines or incisors.
Dorsal fin consisting of a spinous and soft portion of nearly equal
development; anal with three or four spines, similarly developed as
the soft dorsal, both being many-rayed. The vertical fins more or less
densely covered with small scales. The lower rays of the pectoral fin
branched, not enlarged; ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five
soft rays. Stomach coecal.
The typical forms of this family are readily recognised by the form
of their body, and by a peculiarity from which they derive their name
Squamipinnes; the soft, and frequently also the spinous part of their
dorsal and anal fins are so thickly covered with scales that the
boundary between fins and body is entirely obliterated. The majority
are inhabitants of the tropical seas, and abound chiefly in the
neighbourhood of coral-reefs. The beauty and singularity of
distribution of the colours of some of the genera, as Chætodon,
Heniochus, Holacanthus, is scarcely surpassed by any other group
of fishes. They remain within small dimensions, and comparatively
few are used as food. They are carnivorous, feeding on small
invertebrates. Only a few species enter brackish water.
Extinct representatives of this family are not scarce at Monte
Bolca and in other tertiary formations. All, at least those admitting of
definite determination, belong to existing genera, viz. Holacanthus,
Pomacanthus, Ephippium, Scatophagus. Very singular is the
occurrence of Toxotes in the Monte Bolca strata.
The following genera have no teeth on the palate:—
Chætodon.—One dorsal fin, without any notch in its upper
margin, and with the soft and spinous portions similarly developed;
none of the spines elongate. Snout short or of moderate length.
Præoperculum without, or with a fine, serration, and without spine at
the angle. Scales generally large or of moderate size.
Fig. 167.—Chætodon ephippium.
Seventy species are known from the tropical parts of the Atlantic
and Indo-Pacific, nearly all being beautifully ornamented with bands
or spots. Of the ornamental markings a dark or bicoloured band,
passing through the eye and ascending towards the back, is very
generally found in these fishes; it frequently occurs again in other
marine Acanthopterygians, in which it is not rarely a sign of the
immature condition of the individual. The Chætodonts are most
numerous in the neighbourhood of the coral-reefs of the Indo-Pacific,
the species figured (C. ephippium) being as common in the East
Indian Archipelago as in Polynesia, like many others of its
congeners.
Chelmo differs from Chætodon only in having the snout produced
into a more or less long tube.
Fig. 168.—Chelmo marginalis, from the coast of Australia.
Only four species are known, locally distributed in the tropical
seas. Ch. rostratus, the oldest species known, is said to have the
instinct of throwing a drop of water from its bill so as to light upon
any insect resting on a leaf, and thus make it fall, that it may instantly
dart upon it. This statement is erroneous, and probably rests upon
the mistaken notion that the long bill is especially adapted for this
manœuvre, which, indeed, is practised by another fish of this family
(Toxotes). The long slender bill of Chelmo (which is a true saltwater
fish) rather enables it to draw from holes and crevices animals which
otherwise could not be reached by it.
Heniochus.—One dorsal, with from eleven to thirteen spines, the
fourth of which is more or less elongate and filiform. Snout rather short
or of moderate length. Præoperculum without spine. Scales of
moderate size.
Four species are known from the tropical Indo-Pacific. H.
macrolepidotus is one of the most common fishes of that area; the
species figured (H. varius) retains in a conspicuous manner horn-like
protuberances on bones of the head, with which the young of all the
species of this genus seem to be armed.
Two or three species are known from the warmer parts of the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Atlantic species (E. faber) shows
the remarkable peculiarity that in old specimens (12 and more inches
long) the occipital crest, and sometimes some of the anterior neural
and hæmal spines are enormously enlarged into a globular bony
mass. This can hardly be regarded as a pathological change of the
bone, as it has been found in all old specimens, without exception.
Drepane is allied to Ephippus, but has very long falciform
pectoral fins. The single species D. punctata is common in the Indian
Ocean and on the coasts of Australia. Hypsinotus, from Japan,
appears to inhabit a greater depth than the other Squamipinnes.
Scorpis and Atypichthys are genera distinguished from the
preceding by the presence of vomerine teeth. They belong to the
coast-fauna of Australia, New Zealand, and Chili.
Toxotes.—Body short, compressed, covered with scales of
moderate size. Snout pointed, with a wide lateral mouth and projecting
lower jaw. One dorsal, with five strong spines situated on the posterior
part of the back; the soft portion and the anal fin scaly, the latter with
three spines. Villiform teeth in the jaws, on the vomer and palatine
bones. Scales of moderate size, cycloid.
Two species are known from the East Indies, one (T. jaculator),
which is the more common, ranging to the north coast of Australia. It
has received its name from its habit of throwing a drop of water at an
insect which it perceives close to the surface, in order to make it fall
into it. The Malays, who call it “Ikan sumpit,” keep it in a bowl, in
order to witness this singular habit, which it continues even in
captivity.
Third Family—Mullidæ.
Body rather low and slightly compressed, covered with large thin
scales, without or with an extremely fine serrature. Two long erectile
barbels are suspended from the hyoid, and are received between the
rami of the lower jaw and opercles. Lateral line continuous. Mouth in
front of the snout, with the cleft lateral and rather short; teeth very
feeble. Eye lateral, of moderate size. Two short dorsal fins remote
from each other, the first with feeble spines; anal similar to the
second dorsal. Ventrals with one spine and five rays. Pectorals short.
Branchiostegals four; stomach siphonal.
The “Red Mullets” form a very natural family, which, on account
of slight modifications of the dentition, has been divided into several
sub-genera—Upeneoides, Upeneichthys, Mullus, Mulloides, and
Upeneus. They are marine fishes, but many species enter brackish
water to feed on the animalcules abounding in the flora of brack-
water. About forty different species are known chiefly from tropical
seas, the European species (M. barbatus, see p. 43, Fig. 7),
extending far northwards into the temperate zone. None attain to a
large size, specimens of from two to three lbs. being not common,
but all are highly esteemed as food.
The most celebrated is the European species (of which there is
one only, M. surmuletus being probably the female). The ancient
Romans called it Mullus, the Greeks τριγλη. The Romans priced it
above any other fish; they sought for large specimens far and wide,
and paid ruinous prices for them.
“Mullus tibi quatuor emptus
Librarum, cœnæ pompa caputque fuit,
Exclamare libet, non est hic improbe, non est
Piscis: homo est; hominem, Calliodore, voras.”
Martial, x. 31.
Fourth Family—Sparidæ.
Body compressed, oblong, covered with scales, the serrature of
which is very minute, and sometimes altogether absent. Mouth in
front of the snout, with the cleft lateral. Eye lateral, of moderate size.
Either cutting teeth in front of the jaws, or molar teeth on the side;
palate generally toothless. One dorsal fin, formed by a spinous and
soft portion of nearly equal development. Anal fin with three spines.
The lower rays of the pectoral fin are generally branched, but in one
genus simple. Ventrals thoracic, with one spine and five rays.
The “Sea-breams” are recognised chiefly by their dentition, which
is more specialised than in the preceding families, and by which the
groups, into which this family has been divided, are characterised.
They are inhabitants of the shores of all the tropical and temperate
seas. Their coloration is very plain. They do not attain to a large size,
but the majority are used as food.
The extinct forms found hitherto are rather numerous; the oldest
come from the cretaceous formation of Mount Lebanon; some
belong to living genera, as Sargus, Pagellus; of others from Eocene
and Miocene formations no living representative is known—
Sparnodus, Sargodon, Capitodus, Soricidens, Asima.
First Group—Cantharina.—More or less broad cutting,
sometimes lobate, teeth in front of the jaws; no molars or vomerine
teeth; the lower pectoral rays are branched. Partly herbivorous,
partly carnivorous. The genera belonging to this group are:—
Cantharus from the European and South African coasts, of which
one species (C. lineatus), is common on the coasts of Great Britain,
and locally known by the names “Old Wife,” “Black Sea-bream;” Box,
Scatharus, and Oblata from the Mediterranean and neighbouring
parts of the Atlantic; Crenidens and Tripterodon from the Indian
Ocean; Pachymetopon, Dipterodon, and Gymnocrotaphus from the
Cape of Good Hope; Girella and Tephræops from Chinese,
Japanese, and Australian Seas; Doydixodon from the Galapagos
Islands and the coasts of Peru.