220 THE CAPE KLIP-EISHES. 



on the head and shoulders, and these get very vivid when the- 

 fish is excited or angry ; the fins may be tipped with orange or 

 red, and irreguhir yellow and black markings occur on the throat 

 and shoulders. The Bull-klip is very widely distributed, but only 

 two or three seem to live in any one neighbourhood ; it also pos- 

 sesses in a very high degree the power of changing its hues. It 

 is not considered an edible Klip-fish, for even when skinned and; 

 the ugly blotchy head cut off, which is said to be the only way of 

 preparing the fish for eating, the flesh is insipid. 



A fish of a \ery different appearance is the " Slangetje " or 

 Snake Klip-fish (C angiiillaris) ; it gets its name from its cylin- 

 drical eel-like body, and prefers the more or less dark, secluded, 

 holes and crevices of rock-pools. The dorsal fin is low and has 

 vio crest ; both it and the anal fin reach entirely to the tail, tc 

 which they are joined by membranes which form a deep notch, 

 between the respective lins. The scales are minute and deeply 

 embedded in the skin; the colouring is generally uniform, in 

 various shades of broxAn, yellow, dull crimson, etc., often mottled 

 with darker spots or blotches and occasionally with traces o£ 

 cross bands of darker hue. 



A local variety which has been found in Simons Bay very 

 closely resembles the " Slangetje " in general characteristics, 

 and has been named C. striatus ; the colouring is in longitudinal 

 stripes of alternate pinkish-brown and white from eye to tail, with 

 a white band from eye to dorsal fin and a brown band from eye 

 to snout. 



One of the quaintest looking of the Clinidae is C. fuconim, a- 

 fish that, as already mentioned, is a striking illustration of the- 

 way in which not only the colour of some Klip-fish is adapted for 

 concealment but their general habit and form are apparently 

 modified to increase the disguise. In this species the profile of 

 the head descends abruptly to the short, pug-nosed snout, which- 

 is a most characteristic feature, the upper lip being turned up and 

 slightly projecting, and the mouth, with its single row of closely 

 set teeth, being \cr\- oblique when closed. The well-dcvelopecE 

 dorsal fin begins a little behind the eyes, the first four or five- 

 spines forming a rounded crest ; usually the remaining spines, by 

 alternately lengthening and shortening in groups, give the fin 

 an undulating appearance, but the height and extent of the undu- 

 lations vary greatly in different individuals. The body, which is 

 somewhat flattened or compressed, is about the same depth for 

 two-thirds of its length, when it narrows to a comparatively long 

 and slender peduncle, the tail itself being broad and rounded. 

 The colouring of this fish is generally uniform in shade — dark 

 yellow, yellowish brown, bronze green, etc. — sometimes with the 

 fins and body speckled with dark spots, which may form bands 

 across the body ; the vertical fins are frequently tipped with 

 orange. There are some peculiar features about the colouring of 

 C. fuconim. In manv specimens there are wedge-shaped patches 

 quite devoid of pigment on the vertical fins, sometimes instead of 

 being transparent thev are of a very pale yellow ; the general 

 habit of the fish, in the Aquarium at least, is to recline partly onv 



