THE WKASSES. 375 



pointed snout. It is pugnacious and greedy as the rest, 

 feeding on similar small worms and larvj3e, and building a 

 nest of seaweeds, in which the polygamous male presently 

 mounts guard over the eggs. 



[We may here conveniently consider that small and 

 remarkable form the Belloivs- or Trimipet-fish^ w^hich 

 has been taken in our waters about half-a-dozen times. 

 Viewed from above, it has the compressed appearance of 

 the dory ; from below, the bony plates and spinous edge 

 give the impression of a knife-blade. This fish, which does 

 not exceed 6 or 7 inches in length, is of a pink hue ; belly 

 silver. The bellows-fish has a beak like the last, the mouth 

 being small and toothless. The body is covered with small 

 spinous scales, and there is no lateral line. One spine of 

 the first dorsal fin is long and serrated.] 



CHAPTER XIII. THE WRASSES. 



The fishes comprised in this group are all characterised 

 by thick lips, mostly having brilliant colouring and strong 

 teeth adapted to crushing. They frequent weed-covered 

 rocks, take almost any bait, and are, for all the ancients 

 accorded them high praise, the poorest of eating. I have 

 observed all our species, I believe, and several more on the 

 Italian coast ; and the largest members of the group I ever 

 saw were the blue gropers of Australia, which are hooked 

 weighing as much as 100 lbs. 



One of the commonest of our wrasses, which I have caught 



„, . ^ off Dartmouth weicrhinoj over 2 lbs., is the 

 Striped *^ *^ ' 



Wrasse or Striped Wrasse, or " Cook " (locally, " Carp "), 



Cook. g^ red-and-yellow fish with blue bands in the 



male, the female being distinguished by black marks near 



