276 WRASSE. 



head ; from which gold-coloured mark the fish receives its 

 name. 



The gilt-head frequents deep waters, or bold rocky 

 shores. It feeds principally on shell-fish, which it breaks 

 to pieces with its teeth before it swallows them. The 

 flesh is reckoned coarse eating ; but among the ancient 

 Romans it appears to have been held in some estimation 

 when fed on the Lucrine oyster. 



There are various species of this fish, three of which are 

 found on the British coasts. 



THE WRASSE, OR OLD WIFE. 



The wrasse bears some resemblance in its figure to the 

 carp, and is covered with large scales. Its colours are 

 very variable : red, yellow, and brown, being frequently 

 intermixed in the scales; and there are five or six longi- 

 tudinal lines, alternately of a pale yellow, an olive colour, 

 and dusky red. The nose is long, and incurvated up- 

 wards, and the lips are thick and fleshy. In the throat, 

 just over the gullet, are three bones ; two above of an 

 oblong form, and one below of a triangular shape, with the 

 surface of each rising into roundish protuberances : these 

 are of singular use to assist the animal in crushing its shelly 

 food previous to mastication. The tail is rounded at the 

 extremity, and is formed of fourteen soft branching rays. 

 The membranes of the fins and tail are variegated with red 

 and blue spots, and the anterior rays of the back-fin are 

 prickly. 



The wrasse abounds on the English shores, where it 

 grows to the weight of four or five pounds. The poor in 

 Cornwall and Wales eat it ; but it is by no means a delicate 

 fish. It is found in deep water, adjacent to rocks ; where 

 it preys on shell -fish, and the smaller crustaceous animals. 

 There are a considerable number of different species in this 

 genus ; as the bimaculated, the trimaculated, the striped, 

 the gibbous, and the Ballon wrasse ; several of which are 

 natives of our seas. 



