BLUE-SJ'iaPKD WHASSJ-:. 



281 



ACANTHOPTERYGIT. 



LABRIDJE. 



•^ws^ 



r — 



THE BLUE-STRIPED WRASSE. 



Laltrus vuriegaliis, Gmel. Linn. 



,, ,, La vieille rayee, Cuvier, Regne An. t. ii. p. 255. 



,, ,, Striped Wrasse, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 337, pi. 57. 



,, coquus, The Cook Wrasse, Penn. ,, ,, ,, iii. p. 340. 



,, variegatus. Striped Wrasse, Don. Brit. Fish. pi. 21. 



,, coquus. The Cook Wrasse, Flem. Brit. An. p. 209, sp. 133. 



Sparusformosus, Shaw, Nat. Misc. pi. 31. 



Labrus pavo, Risso, Hist. t. iii. p. 299, sp. 196. 



This species, first described as British by Pennant, is 

 (»ne of the most beautiful of the Labrida, and appears to 

 be much more frequently met with on the southern than 

 upon the eastern shores of England : those from the southern 

 shores are also most conspicuous for the beauty of their 

 appearance. It is liable to some variation occasionally 

 in its colours and markings, as the various figures of this 

 fish will show, but the general form of body and fins are 

 permanent. I have obtained two specimens in the London 

 fish-market. 



This species is not uufrequcnt in Cornwall, and has been 

 taken at Cork, Dublin, Down, and Antrim. 



