MAEINE VERTEBRATES 329 



or greenish wood as fishes ; and their rigid bodies are so completely 

 encased in the bony plates that they alter but little in appearance 

 when dried, and consequently the dried specimens are often seen 

 in museum collections. 



All the British species, four in number, are small fishes, 

 inhabiting the shallow water of rocky shores, and are often found 

 hiding under stones near low-water mark. The largest is the great 

 Pipe-fish or Needle-fish (Syngnathus a cus), which grows to a length 

 of about fifteen inches ; and the smallest is the Worm Pipe-fish 

 (S. lumbriciformis), which is of an olive-green colour, and has 

 a short, upturned snout. The Lesser Pipe-fish (8. typhle), also 

 known as the Deep-nosed Pipe-fish, is very abundant on nearly all 

 rocky coasts, and may be distinguished from the others by having 

 the ridge on the tail continuous with the lateral line and not with 

 the dorsal angle. The other species is the Slender-nosed Pipe- 

 fish or Snake Pipe-fish (Nerophis ophidium), the body of which 

 is extremely slender, and the tail long and narrow. The male 

 is provided with a series of small, cup-like cells, in each of which 

 he carries an egg. 



In all the bony fishes previously mentioned the fin rays are soft 

 and flexible, and in this respect they differ from those that are to 

 follow, for the remaining families are all characterised by the 

 presence of one or more sharp rigid spines on the dorsal fin, and 

 often by similar spines on other fins. They constitute the group of 

 Spiny-finned fishes. 



Of these we shall first take the prettily coloured Wrasses (family 

 Labridce), which live in the holes of rocks and under the cover 

 of weeds on rugged coasts. These fishes are very voracious in 

 habit, and the sea angler will find that they are ready to seize 

 almost any bait that may be offered them, and even to attack 

 almost everything that moves within sight ; but they are likely 

 to give much trouble since they will rush into the crevices of rocks 

 or among large weeds when hooked, and thus frequently lead to 

 the breaking of the line. 



Wrasses feed principally on molluscs and crustaceans, and are 

 provided with extensile telescopic lips that enable them to pull the 

 former from the rocks on which they creep, and the latter from 

 their hiding-places among the rocks. They have also strong 

 teeth in the gullet, by which they can crush the shells of their 

 prey. 



There are several British species of Wrasses, one of which is 



