332 FISHES AND FISHING. 



shaped ; head, thick, obtuse ; forehead, tapering to- 

 wards the snout. Muzzle, short, truncate; mouth 

 small ; lips, fleshy ; teeth in several rows ; those of 

 the first, strong- pointed, conic, hooked ; inner ones, 

 small payed. Dorsal fin nearly as long as the body, 

 commencing right over the crown of the head ; its 

 first three rays longest, spiny, separated from the 

 soft ones by a deep emargination. Yentral, placed 

 before the pectoral fins, and consist of only two rays. 

 A small tentaculary, three-fid appendage above each 

 eye-brow; and a tubercular excrescence near the 

 anus, in both sexes. It is ovo viviparous. No fish 

 perhaps displays a greater diversity of hues than 

 this ; and to make out any specific difference amongst 

 its many varieties, is next to impossible. I am thus 

 inclined to unite them under one common denomina- 

 tion, expressive at once of the changeable character 

 of their colours. The following are the chief varieties 

 observed by rae in fresh specimens. 



1. Prevailing colour, blood red, mottled with grey- 

 ish white irregular blots ; abdomen, purplish on a 

 white ground; fins, deep red, tinged with greyish 

 green. Iris, purple. Length, twelve inches. Caught 

 principally amongst the rocks of Eobben Island. 



2. Head, back, and sides, dark purple, marbled 

 with reddish brown, flesh-red, orange, and pale yel- 

 low marks. Belly, white, shaded with purple. 



