SEXUAL SELECTION. 



Part II. 



"from its brilliant gem-like colours." Wlien freslily 

 taken from tlie sea the body is yellow of various shades, 

 striped and spotted with vivid blue on the head ; the 

 dorsal fins are pale brown with dark longitudinal bands ; 

 the ventral, caudal arid anal fins being bluish-black. 

 The female, or sordid dragonet, was considered by Lin- 

 naeus and by many subsequent naturalists as a distinct 



Fig. 28. CaUionymus lyra. Upppr figure, male ; lower figure, female. 

 N.B. The lower figure is more reduced than the upper. 



species ; it is of a dingy reddish-brown, with the dorsal 

 fin brown and the other fins white. The sexes differ also 

 in the proportional size of the head and mouth, and in 

 the position of the eyes ; ^^ but the most striking differ- 

 rence is the extraordinary elongation in the male (fig. 28) 



11 I have drawn up this description from Yarrell's ' British Fishes,' 

 vol. i. 183G, p. 261 and 206. 



