32 THE STORY OF LIFE IN THE SEAS. 



by close observation that they can be distin- 

 guished from it. In an aquarium, too, it may 

 be observed how very much the upper sides of 

 Soles, Flounders, Turbots and other flat fishes 

 are like the sand in colour, while the under sides 

 are almost invariably pure white. The black 

 colour of the Lobsters, speckled and striped with 

 blue, has a close resemblance to the holes and 

 crannies of the rocks among which they live. 

 The bright transparent green Prawns are almost 

 invisible as they move about among the Sea- weeds, 

 and Sea-slugs assume all manner of beautiful 

 colours according to the ground on which they 

 feed. 



On the Coral reefs of the warmer regions of 

 the world the pools that are left when the tide 

 goes down are characterised by their brilliancy 

 of colour. The bright purple, green, and yellow 

 tips of the Coral branches, the red and bright 

 green Sponges, and the white pieces of dead and 

 broken Corals make up a scene of beauty which 

 can only be compared with a bed of variegated 

 flowers. Here the Fish, Prawns, and other moving 

 animals have assumed the most gorgeous colours 

 in patterns of spots and stripes which verily 

 astonish the naturalist when he sees them for 

 the first time. The great Sea-perches, with their 

 sides covered with bright red or brown blotches, 

 the curious Trigger-fish, with bright red, blue, or 

 yellow bands crossing their bodies, the banded 

 Lobsters, and the spotted Cuttle-fishes, strange 

 and conspicuous as they may seem when they 

 are taken out of the water, are in life but in 

 harmony with their surroundings, and, in reality, 



