THE WRASSE-LIKE FISHES 



635 



pense incurred by Elipentius 

 was justified, in the opinion 

 of the Roman gourmands, by 

 the extreme delicacy of the 

 flesh. It was a fish, said the 

 poet, whose very excrement 

 the gods themselves were 

 unwilling to reject. Its flesh 

 was tender, agreeable, sweet, 

 easy of digestion, and quickly 

 assimilated ; yet, if it happened 

 to have eaten an aplysia, it 

 produced violent diarrhoea." 

 To this day the Greeks hold 

 it in high regard, and eat it 

 with sauce made of its liver 



Phott by If. Sa-ville-Kint, F.Z.S.~] 



[Milftrd-tn-Sia 



BLACK-SPOTTED PARROT-FISH 



The flesh of some of the Parrot-wrasses is of great delicacy 



and intestines. It feeds on seaweed, and from its habit of thoroughly chewing its food, and 

 moving it backwards and forwards in the mouth, it was at one time believed that this fish 

 chewed the cud after the fashion of the ruminating mammals ! 



One of the most interesting of all the wrasses is a small species from King George's 

 Sound, which, while retaining the principal characters common to the group, has assumed 

 the general shape and proportions of the -pipe-fish. 



The third family of the wrasses are remarkable chiefly on account of the fact that they 

 produce their young alive. These fishes are confined to the temperate regions of the North Pacific. 

 The CHROMIDS constitute the last family of the wrasse-like group. Numerous in species, 

 they are all dwellers in fresh-water. One species occurs in amazing numbers in the Lake of 

 Galilee, shoals over an acre in extent, and so closely packed that movement seemed almost 

 impossible, having been recorded. They are taken in such enormous numbers that the nets 

 in which they are caught often break. Occasionally, shoals are carried down the Jordan into 

 the Dead Sea; but the fish never get farther than a few yards, becoming stupefied almost 

 at once, and, turning over on their backs, fall an easy prey to flocks of cormorants and 

 kingfishers. Heaps of putrefying carcases are washed ashore, poisoning the atmosphere, in spite 

 of the presence of flocks of ravens and vultures which have gathered to the feast. 



Another species is remarkable for its peculiar method of protecting the eggs and young. 

 The female deposits the eggs, over 200 in number, in a small hole worked out among the 

 roots of reeds and rushes. There they are taken into the mouth of the male one by 



one, and retained till hatched 

 a few days later. The young 

 fry remain in this nursery 

 for some considerable time, 

 increasing rapidly in size, so 

 that the father-nurse is unable 

 to close his mouth. Some of 

 the young develop among 

 the gills; others lie, closely 

 packed, with their heads 

 turned towards the mouth of 

 the parent, remaining in this 

 position till nearly 4 inches 



'Phct, b } II. y. Letkmannl iN.wT.rt long, when they AtQ CJCCtcd 



AWRASSE or wriggle out to forage for 



The majority of the Wrasses are brilliantly coloured themselves. 



