COOK. 35 



also enters crab-pots to feed on the bait, but it confines itself 

 less to a limited range than the Ballan Wrass, and occasionally 

 wanders about over level ground, from one tuft of sea-weed 

 to another; and, in passing along, it sometimes meets with and 

 swallows the baits of those who are fishing for pollacks in the 

 manner termed whiffing. Its food is much the same as in 

 others of this family, and I have taken fragments of a large 

 galathaea from its stomach. It is rarely used as food. 



It is seldom that this fish reaches to the length of a foot; 

 the shape more lengthened than in the Ballan Wrass, and 

 rounder; the snout protruded, conical, and fleshy; lips tumid 

 and striated towards the mouth, with a fleshy overlapping; 

 upper jaAv a little the longest; gape moderate; teeth in a 

 regular row, slightly hooked, none in front of the palate; veil 

 in the mouth, above and below. Scales on the body and gill- 

 covers, with only a slight border free; none on the head or 

 before the eyes. Lateral line descending much more obliquely 

 than in the Ballan Wrass. Eye lateral, rather large. The 

 single dorsal fin begins above the root of the pectoral, with 

 eighteen firm rays, tipped, and thirteen soft; the two last from 

 one root; pectoral fifteen; anal fourteen, of which three are 

 firm, and the two last from one root; ventral six, of which the 

 first is -firm; caudal fourteen. 



The colours differ in diflferent examples, but rather in 

 distribution than tint, and they are always brilliant. In the 

 specimen described, the eye was crimson with a purple border. 

 Ochre yellow on the head, with pale purple stripes. Half 

 the back brownish yellow, softening into orange red posteriorly, 

 the belly pale red; all the fins more or less bright red; base 

 of the dorsal anteriorly fine blue; border of the anal blue; 

 high on the body broad purple lines running backward, and 

 softening into pale blue; lines below more interwoven and 

 broken; a broad dash of colour on the border of the tail 

 above and below. In all the variations of colour, bright red, 

 orange and yellow, with brilliant blue and purple prevail. 

 The only spots are three or four of the size of shots, rarely 

 seen on the membrane of the dorsal fin. The pharyngeal 

 bones do not difto* considerably, except in size, from those of 

 the Ballan Wrass. 



