IN THE SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICT. 127 



part, at a season earlier than the date of capture of the ova, as is 

 demonstrated by the presence of the young in the zostera beds. It 

 seems also to be a rather littoral fish, and it is quite possible that its 

 ova are demersal. Acantholalrus Falloni may exist in the Plymouth 

 district, but is only known to British zoology by a few examples 

 recorded by Couch from the Cornish coast. Coris julis has been taken 

 at Plymouth, but not to my knowledge in recent years, while the eggs 

 of Mediterranean specimens, according to Raffaele's observations and 

 my own, measure from '58 to "70 mm, in diameter, with an oil-globule 

 of '12 to "14 ("18) mm., and, as already noted, the fin-edges of the larva 

 are serrated. The difference is thus not only one of dimensions, though 

 it is possible that I overrate the importance of the fin serration as a 

 constant character. 



The j\Iediterranean Coris spcciosa of Eisso is regarded by Marion 

 (Annales Mas. liars., i., 1882, Mem. 2, p. 20, foot-note 3) as a deep- 

 water variety of the common littoral C. julis. So far as my knowledge 

 of the forms allows me to hold an opinion, it is in agreement with that 

 of Marion. C. spcciosa is known only from large specimens and ma.y be, 

 as I suppose, simply the ultimate phase of the development of C. Julis ; 

 but, on the other hand, since its anterior dorsal rays are proportionately 

 shorter than those of the fully developed C. julis of coastal waters, 

 it may be a true variety. I have not had an opportunity of examining 

 the British Museum specimens of Coris from the S.W. coast, but Day's 

 remarks appear to indicate that at least one specimen is of the C. 

 spcciosa type. 



Since Coris is little liable to capture by ordinary British fishing 

 apparatus, it is quite possible that it really exists in some numbers 

 in our district, and our undetermined ova may be thus accounted for, 

 assuming that the British variety is larger and lays larger eggs than the 

 Mediterranean coastal form, and that the serration of the larval fin is 

 either variable or only present in the offspring of the smaller form 

 or stage. 



It is quite possible that our undetermined form is not a Labroid at 

 all, but referable to one of the too numerous common fishes of which 

 the early stages are still unknown to us. I do not think that this 

 is the case, imperfect as is our present knowledge of Teleostean 

 development. 



