CHAPTER X 



THE WRJSSES 



The Wrasses are known by their brilliant colouring, which 

 is in some species a secondary sexual character and most 

 brilliant at the breeding-time, as well as by their smooth, slimy 

 skin thick lips, and strong, crushing teeth. There are seven 

 of these fishes in our seas, none of any commercial value, 

 though the authors of the Scandinavian Fishes describe many 

 of them as excellent food. The writer has tried several, out 

 of curiosity, both on our own coasts and in the Mediterranean, 

 without having yet found one that he would care to taste 

 a second time. The flesh is very soft and flabby, and the 

 bones are most difficult to tvoid. 



In the work above named the wrasses take first place, 

 before even the perches, and the authors remark on their 

 resemblance in outline to some of the latter group. They also 

 refer to the supposed monogamous code of the male, but 

 evidence of this is wanting. 



There is much resemblance between the different British 



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