444 FISHES. ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



FAMILY III. LABROIDES. 



The fishes of this family have an oblong body covered with scales ; a single dor- 

 sal fin supported before by strong spines, and generally furnished with a membra- 

 nous appendage ; jaws covered by fleshy lips ; the pharyngeal bones all armed with 

 flat or pointed teeth. 



The genus Labrus of Linnaeus, forming a numerous group of fishes resembling 

 one another in their oblong form and double fleshy lips, in their branchial mem- 

 brane with five rays, their conical maxillary teeth and their cylindrical and blunt 

 pharyngeal ones, is the type of this family. 



Gen. 25. LABRUS, Cuv. 



Body oblong ; lips double, fleshy ; maxillary teeth conical, pha- 

 ryngeal ones blunt; cheeks and operculi covered with scales, but 

 destitute of spines and dentations ; lateral line nearly straight. 



L. Vetula, Bloch. Anile Labrus. Head reddish ; body yellowish, 

 with lead-coloured spots ; ventral, anal, and caudal fins margined 

 with black. 10 to 12 inches long. Inhabits Northern seas. 

 Block, pi. 293. 



* Without pores on the head. 



L. guttatus, Bloch. Head bluish, with oblong silvery spots ; back 

 brown ; sides blue ', belly whitish ; spots on the sides and anal fin 

 silvery, those on the dorsal fin yellow. Bloch, pi. 287, fig- 2. 



L. carneus, Bloch. Head narrow ; body red, brightest on the sides; 

 with three black spots, two on the posterior part of the back, and 

 the third near the caudal fin. Northern seas. Bloch, pi. 289. 



L. fasciatus, Bloch. Head compressed ; body covered with large 

 scales, and surrounded by four broad brown bands ; lateral line 

 nearer the back than the belly ; eight spines in the dorsal fin. 

 Inhabits sea of Japan. Bloch, pi. 290. 



L. punctatus, Bloch. Body thin, broad, and covered with large round 

 scales ; back brown ; belly and sides paler ; sides marked with nine 

 longitudinal yellow lines, and dotted with brown points ; soft rays 

 of all the fins long and forked ; four spines in the anal fin ; head, 

 sides, and end of the tail marked with a round black spot ; tail 

 rounded. Inhabits rivers of Surinam. Bloch, pi. 295. 



L. Icevis, Cuv. Body covered with very small scales, and with five 

 large spots or transverse bands ; fifteen spinous rays in the dorsal 

 fin ; lower jaw longer than the upper ; teeth large ; tail crescent- 

 shaped. Inhabits Indian seas. Lacep, iii. pi. 23, fig. 2. 



** With pores on the head. 



L. tesselatus, Bloch. Head compressed, sloping ; mouth small ; back 

 violet; sides silvery; ventral fin black; pectoral and caudal fins blue, 

 the anal yellowish ; four to six pores below the nostrils ; operculi 

 and breast marked with small brown spots, with larger ones of 

 the same colour on the body; anal fin with three spines and the 

 ventral one. Inhabits Northern seas. Bloch, pi. 291. 



L. maculatus, Bloch. Head obtuse ; lips thick ; jaws of equal length ; 



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