486 TUB SEA WOLF. 



habit of clambering up cliffs, etc. ; and the specific desig- 

 nation of Lupus was retained by Linnaeus in remembrance 

 of its old name /./'//"* mtu-hius, or Sea Wolf, under \vhich 

 it was generally known and dreaded. The real fact is 

 that the Sea Wolf, instead of being a regular " Thalabar," 

 is one of the most innocuous of fishes, living chiefly on 

 crustaceans, mussels, cockles, sea-urchins, and sea-stars. 

 A large portion of these are affixed to the sides of 

 rocks, and to detach, and afterwards to crush them, its 

 long, pointed, and crooked front teeth are admirably 

 adapted. To be convinced of this being the case, you 

 have only to examine the remarkable formation of its 

 teeth, masticatory muscles, and short and closely united 

 jaws, which do not admit of the extension that is charac- 

 teristic of predatory fishes proper. The organization of 

 its mouth shows it, on the contrary, to be an animal 

 that lives on hard substances, which must be crush' -d 

 prior to being swallowed. It is difficult to conceive 

 a crushing-machine more suitable than the jaws of this 

 fish, where reducing hard substances into small particles 

 is not required. The wonderful power with which the 

 jaws act becomes apparent on opening the stomach, where 

 pieces of hard-shelled mussels are found in abundance. 

 Though the Sea Wolf is in the main harmless, yet it 

 must be admitted that it is sometimes taken by the same 

 hook on which another fish had previously fastened, so 

 that it cannot be altogether exempted from attacking and 

 devouring the piscatory tribe. 



Although the Sea Wolf has a very unprepossessing 

 appearance and disagreeable odour, it is eaten by the 

 Holms fishermen, more especially the liver, which is 

 considered quite a dainty. In some localities, prior to 

 beint; brought to market, the front part of its head, in a 

 line with the eyes, is cut away; not, however, as KnglNi 

 naturalists would seem to imagine, for the purpose of 



