The name is applied in the Old Worldto various fishes, including the Garfish (q.v.). At theCape of Good Hope, it is applied to Thyrsites atun,Cuv. and Val., and this name for the same fish has extended toNew Zealand, where (as in all the other colonies) it is moregenerally called the Barracouta (q.v.). Under the wordCavally, `O.E.D.' quotes – – 1697. Dampier, `Voyage,' vol. i:
«The chiefest fish are bonetas, snooks, cavallys.»
Snook is an old name, but it is doubtful whether it is used inthe Old World for the same fish. Castelnau says it is thesnook of the Cape of Good Hope.
1872. Hutton and Hector, `Fishes of New Zealand,' p. 14,under `Thyrsites Atun, Barracoota':
«This is, I believe, the fish called snoek in Cape Colony.»
1880. Guenther, `Study of Fishes,' p. 436:
« Th. atun from the Cape of Good Hope, South Australia,New Zealand, and Chili, is preserved, pickled or smoked. InNew Zealand it is called `barracuda' or `snoek,' and exportedfrom the colony into Mauritius and Batavia as a regular articleof commerce.»