WRASSES. 



19 



Labriis melops, with one old manuscript label and another printed 

 one, »Labrus 7nelops», still exists in the Royal Museum of Stockholm, 

 where it has been brought together with the rest of the old Drott- 

 ningholra collections described by Linn-^us in Mas. Regis et Regina. 

 He states further that it exactly corresponds to the northern Labrus 

 norvegicus and Labrus rone, and has, like them, only 5 branchiostegal 

 rays, though LiNN^us has given 6 in his description of the species in 

 Mus. Ad. Fr., as well as in the generic characters in Hijst. Nat. 

 (following AitTKDl). 



Adult specimens of this fish are about '210 mm. 

 in length. The body is deeper than in the other Scan- 

 dinavian wrasses. The greatest de{)th, which is the line 

 from the base of the ventral to the beginning of the 

 dorsal fin, is a little less than '/s of the lengtli of the 

 body — in the adult it is Vs "f the distance from the 

 tip of the snout to a |)c)int in the caudal fin Vj of the 

 distance along it. The length of the head is from '/jg 

 to */i3 of the length of the body, in younger specimens 

 a little greater in proportion. It is deep and short, 

 the superior and inferior profiles being almost perpen- 

 dicular to each other, when the mouth is closed. The 

 mouth, when closed, is obliquely rounded and turned 

 slightly upwards, as the inferior profile of the head 

 rises more sharply than the superior profile slopes. The 

 eye is small, and, as in the Ballan Wrasse, its inferior 

 margin is considerably above the median line of the 

 body. Its distance from the tip of the snout, when the 



5 5 



mouth is closed, is from ^ to -^ of its diameter. The 



nostrils are placed as in the other wrasses. As we have 

 just mentioned, the mouth is placed high up, and it is 

 smaller than in the rest of the Scandinavian wrasses, 

 except the Small-mouthed Wrasse, for it does not extend 

 to the middle point between the eye and the snout. 

 The lips are thick but comparatively short, and the 

 jaws equal in length. The teeth are conical, obtuse, 

 strong and set close together; there are 5 or 6 on each 

 side in the upper ]a^\ and about 8 in the lower. As 

 usual tlie teeth diminish in size as they recede; the 

 middle pair, which in the upper jaw are a little apart, 

 are in botli jaA\s the largest. The preopercular margin 

 is more sharply denticulated than in tlie other Scandi- 

 navian wrasses, and has about 50 small serrations. 



The scales are large and square or almost penta- 

 gonal, with rounded corners. When they are pentagonal, 

 the fifth side is formed hy the free posterior edge, which 

 is sharply rounded. The lateral line, which is parallel 

 to the dorsal line and bends sharply at the end of the 

 dorsal fin, contains about 34 scales (36 or 37 if we 

 inchide the scales above the gill-cover). Above the 



lateral line there are 4 rows of scales, Ijelow it 10 or 

 11. The vent is about half-way between the tip of 

 the snout and the end of the tail, i. e., a little in 

 front of oi' beiiind the middle point, under the 12th or 

 13th dorsal spine. 



The fins are of the same structure as in the spe- 

 cies already described. The dorsal fin commences right 

 over the posterior edge of the gill-cover, and its length 

 is equal to V2 the length of tiie body mimis the caudal 

 fin. It has 25 rays, 16 of which are hard and somewhat 



pungent, and 9 branched, seldom 1^ or -^\ the fii-st 



soft raj' is sometimes undivided. The first spinous ray 

 is, as a rule, hardly Vs of the third oi- fourth in length, 

 while the second is only a little shorter than they. The 

 anal fin is a little deeper posteriorly than the cor- 

 responding part of the dorsal fin. It contains 3 spinous 

 rays, the first of which is a little mcn-e than half as 

 long as the third, and 10 or sometimes 9 soft rays, 

 the first of wliich is generally (the second sometimes) 

 undivided or at any rate branched onlj' at the extreme 

 tip. The caudal fin is rounded, short, not quite ^/g of 

 the total length, and scaly at the base. It admits of 

 only slight expansion, as is the case throughout the 

 genus. There are 11 perfect rays which ai"e branched 

 several times, 6 above the lateral line and 5 below it; 

 and also, at the upper and lower margins, one sim])le 

 and somewhat shorter ray, and 3 or 4 small, rudimen- 

 tary (supporting) rays. The pectoral fin is inserted 

 below the second ray of the dorsal fin: it is flatly 

 rounded, is a little more than */g of the total length, and 

 contains 15 (sometimes 14) rays, the first of which is 

 very short (at most '/a, generally less than '/j of the 

 length of the fin) and simple, but soft and closely unit- 

 ed to the second, which is also unbranched; the 4th, 

 5th, and 6th are the longest. The ventral fin is oblong, 

 commences just behind the base of the pectoral fin, and 

 is V4 of that fin in lengtli. It contains, as usual, 6 

 rays, the 3d and 4th of which are the longest, the 1st 

 being spinous and not quite "/'j of the 3rd in length. 

 The colouring, as in all the species of the genus, 

 is handsome but variable. The body of the GUt-head, 

 immediately after its capture, is greenish, blue on the 

 back and with the edges of the scales throughout yellow- 

 ish. The head is yellowish with crooked, green lines, 

 and between the latter, at the posterior orbital margin, 

 is an almost l)lack sjjot. The fins are spotted with 

 yellow, green and blue, but are without any distinct 



