496 THE BLUE-STRIPED WRASSE. 



however, go so far south as the Sound, and is unknown 

 in the Baltic. Its usual length is from twelve to fourteen 

 inches. The male is somewhat smaller than the female. 

 The most striking difference hetween them is, however, in 

 tlie colour, that of the male heing in the main blue, whilst 

 the female is red, or nearly so. This great variance in the 

 hues of the sexes has caused them to be classed by several 

 English and other ichthyologists as separate species, the 

 male as the L. cfcrnleus, Ascan., and the female as the 

 L. carneus, Ascan. But careful observations of Ekstrom 

 and others have satisfactorily proved that they are one 

 and the same fish. 



The food of the Blue-striped Wrasse is supposed to be 

 similar to that of the L. maculatus. Professor C. J. 

 Sundevall, one of the liest zoologists in Sweden, and 

 of European reputation, found in the stomach of a female, 

 twelve inches in length, the remains of several different 

 species of crustaceans, and a nearly whole Portuniis, one 

 inch in breadth ; as also some scales, fins, and vertebrae of 

 small fishes. But little seems to be known regarding its 

 breeding habits. The authority just named, however, tells 

 us, that as the ovisacs of the above-mentioned female only 

 contained small and newly-formed ova, evidencing they 

 had recently been emptied, he arrived at the conclusion 

 that the spawning season must occur prior to midsummer. 

 The flesh of this fish, like that of its congeners, is not in 

 repute with the fishermen, who therefore take but little 

 pains to capture it. 



The Gilt Head, or Golden Maid {Skdr-Bone, Sw. ; 

 Sori-lifed \_i. e. black-eyed] Sauri-gylte, Dan. ; L. 3Ielops, 

 Linn. ; Crenilabrns 3Ielops, Cuv.), is pretty common in 

 the Bohus Skiirgard, though it would seem in great 

 degree confined to certain localities. It is likewise pretty 

 common along the whole of the western coast of both 

 Sweden and Norway, fi-om the Sound up to at least the 



