294 



LABRID^E. 



the Goldfinny ; and, like that fish, the specimens I have 

 obtained, or seen in the possession of others, have been 

 procured from those fishermen who, on the rocky parts of 

 our coast, attend lobster and prawn pots, into which these 

 fish, and others occasionally, are enticed by the baits used 

 to attract the Crustacea, and for which they in their turn 

 are usually cut up into bait. 



The head alone is to the length of the head and body, 

 without the caudal rays, as one to three : the depth of 

 the body equal to the length of the head : the mouth 

 rather large ; teeth prominent ; eyes placed high up near 

 the line of the prefile, irides orange ; the horizontal and 

 ascending lines of the preoperculum forming nearly a right 

 angle, the margin strongly denticulated. The dorsal and 

 pectoral fins commence on the same plane ; the spinous rays 

 of the dorsal fin rather short, the flexible rays elongated ; 

 the pectoral fins large and rounded ; the ventral fins with an 

 elongated scale between them, extending over a portion of 

 the inner and shorter rays of each ventral fin ; the longest 

 ventral fin-rays reaching to the anal aperture ; the aperture 

 itself in a line under the thirteenth spiny ray of the dorsal 

 fin ; the anal fin with three spiny rays, the first the shortest, 

 the third but little shorter than the flexible rays, which are 

 elongated ; the soft portions of the dorsal and anal fins ter- 

 minate on the same plane ; the fleshy portion of the tail 

 longer than the caudal rays, with the upper and under edges 

 parallel ; the rays rounded. The number of the various 

 fin-rays are 



D. 16 + 9 : P. 14 :.V. 1 + 5 : A. 3+10 : C. 13. 



The head is blue, striped and spotted on the cheeks and 

 gill-covers with reddish orange ; the general colour of the 

 body is red, varied with green ; all the fins greenish blue ; 



