MASTERS OF THE WATER-BONY FISHES 



257 



gorgonian beds, in a stately fashion which befits its appearance. It is an excel- 

 lent food fish although its sale on the market was at one time forbidden due to 

 the supposedly poisonous character of the flesh. This fish is easily chummed with 

 bits of broken sea urchin or mollusc. 



Similar Species: The Spanish hogfish, Bodianus rufus QColor Plate 8), is less 

 deep-bodied than the hogfish and has no long dorsal fin extensions. It swims 

 solitarily over reefs and is West Indian but somehow lacks the dignity of the 

 hogfish. It reaches Wz feet and is mostly smaller. The color is distinctive, being 

 greenish to crimson above and forward and golden below and to the rear. 



BLUE-HEAD (king SLIPPERY dick) : Tlialassoma hifasciatiivi— Color Plate 8 



Size: Up to 6 inches. 



Distribution: West Indies to Florida. 



Identification: Mature males are conspicuously collared with two black bands. 

 The head is blue, and the body and tail are greenish yellow. The females are 

 uniformlv yellow with black blotches in a row on the sides. 



Habits: This is the most common of all West Indian reef fishes. Females and 

 young, brightly yellow, swarm everywhere. The males are less common but are still 

 very abundant. Groups of these fish often will follow a swimmer. They are very 

 easily chummed. They graze over reefs on a wide variety of small invertebrates. 

 Like manv other small wrasse, the blue-head buries itself in sand by night. 

 Longley and Hildebrand (1941) state that the young frequently peck at larger 

 fishes such as tang, chubs, demoiselles, and, most commonly, skipjacks. Presum- 

 ably, this is done to remove ectoparasites from these fishes, but oddly enough 

 no parasites have been found in stomachs of blue-heads. 



Similar Species: The senorita, Oxyidis californica, reaches 7 inches and is 

 found from Monterey to Guadalupe Island. It frequents kelp and rocks and is 

 of a kelp-brown color, with cream below and a black blotch at the tail base. 



SLIPPERY DICKS AND RAZOR FISHES: Genera Iridio and Xyrichthys 



There are many species of these fishes. They are all of small size, averaging 

 about 6 inches, but some reach IVi feet, though rarely. Most of them are pearly 

 and iridescent wnth flecks and blotches of many shades of color on the body. The 



Fig. 146. Razor fish Qeft') 

 and slippery dick Qright^. 



