THE WRASSES. 75 



FAMILY I. POMACENTRIDJE. ' 



This family includes eight genera, distinguished by having twelve vertebrae in the abdomen 

 and fourteen in the tail. They abound chiefly in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Some extend 

 as far as the south coast of Australia and to the Pacific shores of America. A few reach north- 

 ward to Japan, and some are found in the Mediterranean. Their food varies with the locality ; 

 in the neighbourhood of coral reefs it consists chiefly of marine plants and the various small 

 zoophytes which there flourish, but almost all small marine animals contribute to their ordi- 

 nary diet. These fishes have a compressed and somewhat short body, the lateral line en which 

 does not extend to the caudal fin. There is one dor-sal fin with the spiny part well developed. 

 The anal fin has two or three spines, the remainder being soft like the dorsal. The ventral fins 

 iire placed in the thoracic region. The intestine, which is moderately long, has a few pyloric 

 appendages behind the stomach. The different genera are distinguished by the form and arrange- 

 ment of the teeth, and the presence or absence of serrations on the opercular bones. Many of 

 these fishes are remarkable for the variety of their colours : thus, Amphiprion has a black or brown 

 ground colour, with white or pearly cross -bands, while some of the tins are often of a bright yellow. 

 In the allied genus, Dascyllus, the cross-bands, when they exist, are usually black on a yellow 

 ground, but sometimes the body is green and the tail blue. In Glyphidodon the cross-bands are 

 indifferently light and dark, and the colour of the body varies, and in several genera the scales 

 often have a dot of different colour from that which pervades the back and body. 



FAMILY II. LABRIDJE. 



The Labroid family comprises a vast number of marine fishes, which are met with in temperate 

 or tropical waters. They are unknown in the Arctic and Antarctic Seas. They feed chiefly on. 

 mollusca, and the dentition on the single lower pharyngeal bone is well suited for crushing shells. 

 Many species have a strong curved tooth at the hinder end of the pre-maxillary bone, which 

 presses a shell against the lateral and front teeth, by which it is crushed. The body is covered 

 with cycloid scales ; the lateral line does not always reach to the caudal fin. There are no pyloric 

 ^appendages to the stomach. In this family Dr. Giinther arranges forty-six genera, which are 

 classed, according to the characters of the teeth, fins, and scales, into six groups. The genus Labrus 

 is found on the coasts of the temperate parts of Europe and off the northern shores of Africa. 

 There is a peculiarity in the skeleton in this type, in that the basi-occipital bone has on each side 

 a large surface like a flattened condyle, which tits into concavities in the upper phaiyngeal bones. 

 The teeth in the jaws are conical, and ranged in a single series. This genus includes many of 

 the Wrasses. 



The BALLAX WRASSE (Labrus mciculatus) is perhaps the best known. It is found sheltered 

 among seaweeds in deep holes among the rocks. It spawns in spring and summer, when the colours 

 become most brilliant. It is said to feed chiefly on Crustacea and marine worms. A large speci- 

 men may reach a length of eighteen inches, but on the Irish coasts they grow to a much larger 

 size. The back is often red and the belly orange, while the body is ornamented with bluish-green 

 -spots. Ail the scales are margined with colour. The pectoral and ventral fins are orange-red, but 

 the vertical fins are usually bluish-green. This species has a wide distribution on the European 

 coasts, through the Mediterranean, and on the north-west of Africa. The young of the Ballan Wrasse 

 has the pre-operculum well serrated, and has been regarded by some writers as a distinct species. 



Another well-known species is the COOK WRASSE (Labrus mixtus}. This species, which is 

 also known by many popular names, such as the Red Wrasse, Striped Wrasse, and Spotted 

 \\ rasse, is remarkable for the great difference of appearance which distinguishes the sexes. The 

 male has the body of a dark greenish tint above, becoming yellower oil the body, and is marked 

 with blue stripes running the length of the body. The female, on the other hand, is red, with 

 two or three large black spots or blotches across the back of the tail. The young males are said 

 greatly to resemble the females. Like the other species of its genus, it is found chiefly among 

 rocks and the larger seaweeds, feeding on Crustacea. During the summer these fishes come into 

 shallow water, but in the autumn they retire again to a deeper part of the sea. The males may 



