THE FEELERS OF THE BARBED MULLET 



like the sandy shores and the small gravel which stretch 

 out below rocky cliffs. These fish have more varied 

 colours, and are often larger, sometimes reaching as 

 much as 8£ to 12 inches in length. The back has brown 

 patches besides its purple pigmentation, and the top of 

 each side is traversed by a brownish band which extends 

 from the eye to the beginning of the tail and is connected 

 with three or four parallel bands of a bright golden 

 colour. Varying according to locality, sometimes ac- 

 cording to individuals, sometimes even from moment 

 to moment, the brown pigment is dominant or becomes 

 less pronounced, sometimes fading completely away. 

 In the first case, the type of which is common in the 

 southern Mediterranean (and known as Mullus fus- 

 catuS) the red mullet), the brownish tints are associated 

 with purple and the two shades form a somewhat 

 sombre livery. In the second, the surmullet {Mullus 

 surmuletus, Linnaeus), which is to be found both on the 

 Mediterranean coasts and on the Atlantic as far as the 

 Gulf of Gascony, but only rarely further north, the red 

 and pink shades, the golden bands upon the sides, are 

 more definite and brilliant. The colour is more striking, 

 brighter, and more pleasantly shaded. It is exhibited 

 by the most highly esteemed mullet, those which are 

 usually called Surmullets in English and French, Sat- 

 in one te in Spanish, and Triglia in Italian. 



These shore mullet, both brown and rose coloured, 

 are not difficult to catch with fixed nets, and can be kept 

 alive in aquaria. There they may be seen, stretched 

 upon the bottom, where they raise themselves upon 

 their pelvic and anal fins. They are often motionless 

 and, because of the slope of the head and the height of 

 the forehead, the body, girt by its belts of gold, seems 

 humped. Occasionally they rise and move forward, 

 but they do not swim for long, soon sinking and 

 reassuming the position of repose which is customary 

 to them. The only sign of life they show is, at intervals 

 which are often long, the sudden straightening of the 

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