1898.] 



BEEEDING OF THE DRAGONET. 



289 



along the bottom, the female converging on the male. "When the 

 two are close together the male gradually raises the fore part of 

 his body off the bottom by the action of his pectorals, at the same 

 time elevating the hind part of his second dorsal and anal. The 

 female, whose pelvics are rigidly expanded, places one of them on 

 that of the male, and squeezes herself snugly into the hollow- 

 between his gill-cover and pectoral and pelvic fins. Meanwhile 

 her second dorsal and anal are rigidly erected. The process at 

 this stage is shown in the sketch (fig. 1, p. i^89). It is impossible 

 to resist the simile of a lady taking a gentleman's arm. 



Fig. 1. 



a. Male and female Dragonets preparing to ascend. Reduced three-fifths. 

 h. Bundle of prismatic bodies. Magnified. 



The female once in position, a result which is attained by the 

 action of her pectorals and sometimes her caudal, the male slowly 

 raises himself, and her, to an almost vertical position, and the 

 matrimonial tour, as Savile Kent terms it, commences. So far 

 as I can see, the male actually carries the female up, since her body 

 is held rigidly straight and the movements of her pectorals and, 

 occasionally, of her caudal seem mostly devoted to maintaining 

 herself in position. In ascending the male uses chiefly his 

 pectorals, aided by the caudal and the hinder parts of the second 

 dorsal and anal. I owe to Mr. J. T. Cunningham the suggestion 

 that this function explains why these fins are more elongated, 

 especially in the hinder region, than those of the female. As for 

 the first dorsal, that is evidently for show and not for use ; it is 

 kept out of the way, flat on the back. 



Pboc. Zool. Soc— 1898, No. XIX. 19 



