JULIS TURCICA. 4* 



whole middle of the caudal fin, both rays and web, are blue. The pectoral fins 

 are pellucid, black at the tip, not as described by Risso, at the base ; which has a 

 transverse stain or ill-defined band of blue or green, above a somewhat more dis- 

 tinct one on its fleshy part or pedicle of orange or dull red. 



In other and more ordinary individuals, the red band behind the blue collar on 

 the shoulders is dull or lateritious red, like the ground-colour of the head ; and 

 unaccompanied by any yellow on its hinder edge : and the bands of the dorsal, 

 anal, and forks of the caudal fin are lateritious also. The collar varies much in 

 breadth, and is even sometimes green ; but still becoming bluish towards the 

 belly. Other slight differences occur, especially in the brightness of the tints : but 

 in no case can the pencil give a proper notion of their brilliancy and splendour. 



The variety j3 is taken very rarely, but in association indiscriminately with o : 

 from which it only differs in having the sides banded vertically, more or less dis- 

 tinctly, with four or five narrow distant plain green stripes, caused by the absence 

 of the dashes on the scales. The first of these bands, when there are five, is 

 close behind the blue or green and red collar ; in front of which is also the usual 

 narrow blue or green stripe rising towards the nape from the axil of the pectoral 

 fins, and forming in this case with the collar, which is generally not wider than 

 the bands behind it, a seventh vertical stripe or band. The last of these is at 

 the hinder end of the dorsal fin. 



A single individual has occurred of both varieties, in which the collar was 

 entirely wanting : yet had they all the other proper characteristic marks of 

 /. turcica ; viz. the more oblong shape, the more produced lobes of the caudal fin, 

 and the bright red spot at the origin of the dorsal fin ; being also without the 

 dusky spot in the middle of the dorsal fin : whilst with /. nnimaculata they 

 agreed only in this absence of a collar ; one of them alone indicating a nearer 

 approximation to the same in the barely traceable approach, by a heightening of 

 the tile-red dashes on the scales, to a darker longitudinal stripe along the middle 

 of the sides ; the five vertical bands of which, however, were but faintly percepti- 

 ble. In the other there was neither stripe nor bands. Here, therefore, is no 

 more of ambiguity than might reasonably be expected to occur between two closely 

 allied species, similar in size and habits, and mingling promiscuously in shoals ; 

 amongst which accidental hybrids must continually arise. I do not think that the 

 rare and occasional existence of such individuals at all invalidates the specific 

 difference of J. turcica and /. unimacidata ; but the contrary. 



It may be worth remarking, that whilst, as it is well known, in the rain- 

 bow or prismatic spectrum, the sequence of the three pure or unmixed 

 colours is Blue, Yellow, Red, their order in the collar of this fish is Blue, 

 Red, Yellow. 



The fissure is the size of life. 



