22 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



however, to have disappeared from the system at a later time and 

 has really no place there, save as a synonym for Coris Julis. In 

 the Royal Museum are preserved in alcohol the 5 Linn;ean type spe- 

 cimens of L. parotietis, which originally belonged to the Drottning- 

 holm Museum ; and of these specimens we have procured drawings of 

 one cf I'ld one 9- 



A comparison l)etween the Raiiibo\\- Wrasse and the 

 other Scandinavian wrasses at once suggests the relation- 

 ship between the Pei'ciform and Scia?niform fishes, accord- 

 ing to Gunther's definition of these groups, or between 

 the Scorpamina and Cottina of the same author. Thus 

 in the Rainbow Wrasse and the group which it repre- 

 sents (Julidiniv), the spinous-rayed part of the dorsal 

 fin is less than the soft-rayed part, and the spinous 

 rays are considerablj' ^veaker than in the true -wrasses. 

 Bleekek" gives as a character of the group Pseudolahri- 

 formes, which should correspond in the most important 

 respects to Gunther's Julklina, that the membranous 

 flaps Ijehind the points of the spinous rays are A\'anting 

 in these fishes. But in fact they are present, at least 

 in the Rainbow Wrasse — a point which Steindachner'' 

 and Day have shown in their figures — though they 

 are small and most nearly resemble a Ixir-like thick- 

 ening of the margin of the fin-membrane. Thus in this 

 respect too, tlie Rainl)OAv Wrasse is a typical member 

 of the genus; l)ut it has quite a different appearance 

 from the wrasses, partly because of the elongated form 

 of the bodj', and partly because of its naked head. In 

 size it may attain a length of 250 mm. In j'ounger 

 and in average-sized specimens, the liead forms '^1^^ or 

 a little more of the length"; in older specimens, on the 

 contrary, to judge l)y a stuffed male from the Medi- 

 terranean, 250 mm. in length, the proportional length 

 of the head may apparently sink to 23 '/g % of the length 

 of the body. The least depth of the body and its great- 

 est thickness are about equal to, or less tlian half 

 the greatest depth. According to Day's explanation 

 (1. c.) of the difference between the sexes, Avhicli had 

 previously been regarded as a diff'erence of species — 

 Coris Julis = cf", Coris Giofredi = 9 — the shape of 

 tlie dorsal fin varies considerably, l)ut only in its ante- 

 rior part. In the male it is considerably raised, the 

 first spinous rays being in length about three times the 

 distance of the lateral line from the dorsal profile, and 

 in a liigh degree adds to the distinctive appearance of 



the fish, on account of the black spot on the fin-mem- 

 brane. In the female this spot is entirely al)sent, l)ut 

 in both sexes the length of the posterior dorsal spines 

 is less than the depth of the soft-rayed part of the fin. 

 The anal fin, with its three spinous rays gradually in- 

 creasing in length, the first being extremely small, and 

 the first soft ray sometimes undivided and usually 

 branched but slightly at the }joint, in other respects, 

 both in sliape and position, fully corresponds to the 

 soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin. The caudal fin, which 

 is rounded at the posterior margin, formed an exception, 

 in all the specimens I have examined except one, to the 

 rule among the generality of wrasses, in the fact that the 

 number of the branched rays was 12 instead of 11. The 

 ventral fins are shorter than the pectoral, Ijeing about "/j 

 of the head in length, ^vhile the length of the pectoral 

 fins is about ^/^ of the length of the head. Tlie dental 

 equipment is fairly |)owerful; there are about 11 teeth 

 on either side of each jaw in the outer row, the front 

 ones being the largest, the most pointed and the most 

 crooked, and within this row there is another ro^v of 

 blunt teeth. At the corners of the mouth, on the |)0- 

 sterior end of the intermaxillaries, there are one or 

 tAvo large teeth projecting forward. Both the nostrils 

 on each side are small, the anterior being about as far 

 distant from the posterior as the latter from the ante- 

 rior supra-orbital corner. The longitudinal diameter of 

 the eyes in average-sized specimens is about ^/g of the 

 breadth of the forehead between the eyes. The intero- 

 percula and subopercula are fairly broad, on account ot 

 their dermal expansion, the former meeting each other 

 beneaht the head. As a rule too they cover the bran- 

 chial membrane attached to their inner side, together 

 with the 6 branchiostegal rays, which are visible, how- 

 ever, through the thin membranous margin, which is 

 continued superiorly by the coloured flap of the oj^er- 

 culum. The lateral line follows the dorsal edge, at a 

 distance of only 4 or sometimes 3 rows of scales from 

 it; but at the 10th soft ray in the dorsal fin (the 19th 

 ray, counting from the commencement of the fin) or 

 in a line with the space between the 9th and 10th, it 

 suddenly bends do\vnwards to the middle of the side 

 of the tail, so suddenly that it resumes its straight 

 course in a line with the 11th soft ray or the space 



« Atl Ichth., Lahr., p. 55. 



» Ichth. ^pan. Port., Silzber. Akad. Wiss. Wicn, Abtli. 1, Bd. LVII (1868), p. 701, plate III, fig. 2 and 3. 



' In 5 measured specimens, the smallest 104 mm. long, the largest 1G8 mm., the length of the head varied between 25.2 % and 28,2 

 % of the length of the body. 



