THE CAPE KLIP-FISHES. 215 



The scales of the body are usually minute and deeply embedded 

 in the skin; in fact Kolbe (circa 1705) records that the Hottentots 

 would not eat Klip-fish because of the absence of scales — an 

 error easy to be understood considering- the difficulty of detecting 

 them with the naked eye in the common Klip-fish ; C. biporosus, 

 a comparatively rare species, is the only one that is really scale- 

 less. In two others, C. graminis and C. brevicratus, on the con- 

 trary, the scales are distinct and comparatively large. All the 

 species being carnivorous have their jaws provided with sharp- 

 pointed teeth which in some appear as a single series on each 

 jaw, in others as an outer row with a band or cluster of smaller 

 teeth behind ; usually there is a curved band of small teeth on 

 the vomer. The eyes are somewhat specialized, being so placed 

 in the head that they can rea.dily see upwards, and, particularly 

 in some species, can be rotated independently, like a chameleon's ; 

 when both eyes are directed to an object close at hand this doubt- 

 less enables the fish to judge the distance accurately. In many 

 species there is a fleshy stalk with a fringe of slender filaments 

 above each orbit, the use of which is not definitely known, but it 

 would appear to act as a screen to hide the restless eye of the 

 lurking fish from its anticipated prey, possibly it m.av shield the 

 eye in other ways. 



The colouring of the Klip-fish group presents an astonishing 

 range of hues — often subdued or uniform in tone as in the 

 " Slangetje " (C anguillaris), but for the most part brilliant and 

 diverse ; from the startling and bizarre combinations of blotches 

 and bands often met wnth in the " Bull-klip " (C taurus) to the 

 wonderful blendings of vivid brown, red, green, yellow and blue 

 tints, with transverse bands, reticulations, streaks, and spots 

 found in such species as C. superciliosiis, C. ornatus, C. pavo, 

 C. venustris and others. Numbers of the same species living in 

 the same area are frequently quite different in colour and mark- 

 ings, and most of the species possess the power of changing or 

 adapting their colour to new surroundings, in addition to their 

 intensified hues during the mating season or under the influence 

 of excitement. 



The brilliancy of hue appears to be, to a great extent, asso- 

 ciated with sexual attraction, but the combinations and shades 

 of colour also bear a marked relation to the environment of rock, 

 sand, weed, or coral and seem largely mimetic and protective ; in 

 the latter sense covering not only the escape from detection by 

 an enemy but also prevention from detection by the prey. As art 

 instance of this w^e may notice the effect of the colouring dis- 

 played by the common Klip-fish (C. superciliosiis). At certain 

 seasons of the year the young of this species are found in con- 

 siderable numbers in the rock-pools on the shore-line, having 

 apparently come in from deeper water, as many other young 

 fi-sh do, probably as a means of escaping their natural enemies the 

 larger fish. In the shallow pools, however, other though perhaps 

 less dangerous enemies are to be met with. These small fish have 

 a keen vision ; on suddenly looking over a rock-pool we can see 

 a sudden darting of numerous little forms to places of safety, and 

 a moment afterwards the pool seems to be quite devoid of fish 



