452 



VERTEBRATA. 



^ 



TUE WRASSK. 



,ril.ut.-l. Tlu-v arc known l.y tl.r nani.-s of jr;v/.s.r, Rock-Fhh .-in.! Old-WOi'. They are gener- 



ally of a stout form and moderate size, and 

 often of very brilliant colors. 



The Ballan "Wrasse, L. maculatus, one 

 to two fei't long, frccjuents deep gullies and 

 rocks where it shelters itself among sea-weed, 

 [and feeds on crabs. Its flesh is not niucli 

 esteemed. This and several other species, as 

 the Sea-Wife, Red Wrasse, and Rainbow- 

 Wrasse, &c., arc common in the European 

 Avaters. 



Genus CRENILABRUS : CrenUahrus.— 

 Tliis includes the Gilt-IIead or Connor, 

 C. tinea ; it is six to eight inches long, its 

 general color being red varied with green. 

 It is sometimes called the Golden-Maid. 

 Found in the European seas. 



The GoLDFiNNY, C. Cornuhicus, is two to 

 five inches long ; found in Europe, but less 

 abundantly than most other species. 



Genus CTENOLABRUS: Ctenolahrus. 

 — This includes the Common Bergall, C. 

 ccruleus — Crenilubrus hurgall of Storer — 

 familiarly known on our coast as Blue-Fish ; 

 at Boston it is called Blue Perch, and by 

 Eastern fishermen Cunner. It is also some- 

 % times called Nihblcr and Chogset. It is six 

 '\\^:ZJ^ T-i;3^M;;|^^;^Q ^j^ to twelve inches long, the color generally 



- "' ' -^^Es^Q^ blue, but varying in different species, some- 



times being orange-yellows It is common 

 on our coast, and its flesh being tolerable, 

 our Northern markets are well supplied with 

 it. The Spotted Bergall, C. uninotatus, 

 is three to five inches long. 

 Genus TAUTOGA : Tautoga. — This includes one of the most celebrated of our fishes, the 

 Tautog, T. Americana. Its common name is derived from the Mohicans; it is often called 

 Black-Fish, being of a bluish-black color; it is six to eighteen inches long, and weighs from two 

 to ten and even, it is said, to twenty pounds. Its haunts are along rocky shores, where it feeds 

 near the ground on small crabs and mollusca. It is a wary fish, bites firmly at the hook, and is 

 tenacious of life when taken from the water. The time for catching these fish is said by Dr. 

 Mitchill to be thus rudely expressed by the people along the coast: 



THE GILT-IIEAD. 



I'f^St 



BBS.., , ^Ar 



m- 



. .--^--^^^ 



THE GOLDFINNY. 



" When chestnut leaves are big as thumb-nail 

 Then bite Black-Fish without fail ; 

 But wlicn chestnut leaves are long as a span, 

 Then catch Black-Fish if you can." 



The common bait is the soft-clam. Frank Forester says the best implements for this sport 

 are a stout trolling-rod, with a strong flaxen line and a reel. The hooks should be those known 

 as Black-Fish hooks, numbers three to ten, according to the angler's taste. This fish is most 

 abundant on the coasts from Massachusetts to Sandy Hook. Our large city markets are well 

 supplied with it ; it is highly esteemed for the table. 



Several other species of this genus are found in the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and on the 

 coast of Norway. One or two other species are also found on this side of the Atlantic. 



