Observations on Border Fishes, by Mr. A. Brotherston. 119 



Fleming also says that they are yellow. As the eyes of many 

 animals lose or change their colour after they are dead, the 

 irides of this specimen when alive may have been yellow, but 

 when I got it they appeared to be either black or very dark 

 brown. Dr Parnell's description (Mag. Zool. and Bot. i., 344) 

 differs from this also in the following particidars : — "The head 

 is large and wide, a little more than one-third the length of the 

 body" — probably a slip of the pen for one-fourth, as both Dr 

 Parnell's figure and our specimen are about that proportion. 

 Again, "immediately over the base of the pectorals the first 

 dorsal fin commences." In this it originates half an inch farther 

 back. When describing the ventral fins, he says of the two 

 first rays that they " extend a little beyond the origin of the 

 anal fin." In this they are half an inch short of it. This one 

 also wants the "broad, light-coloured band running across the 

 middle of the pectoral fins." In other respects the description 

 fits the Berwick fish ; but individuals may differ in this, as they 

 do in many species both of animals and plants. The number of 

 the fin rays in Dr Parnell's description, is different from that of 

 Fleming and Yarrell (Brit. Fishes, 2nd Ed.), which are alike; 

 both appear to be from the same source, viz., Pennant. 

 Owing to some of the fins being damaged, I could not tell 

 the number of rays in them, but so far as I could see they 

 agreed with Parnell. The tail had met with an accident 

 while the fish was young ; it appeared as if a piece had 

 been bitten out of the middle of it, causing it to appear as 

 if it was forked, whereas it should have been rounded. From 

 the place whence the bit was taken, Nature had attempted to 

 fill up the vacancy. Is it usual for fish to reproduce fins or 

 parts of them which they may happen to lose ? 



VI. Ballast Wrasse {Labrus maculatus), Yarrell. — There was 

 a large specimen — 20£ inches long — picked up along with the 

 Goldsinnys and the Tadpole-fish, and I had another 1 8 inches 

 long, which was caught near Dunbar, November 28th, 1876. 

 This is a beautiful fish, orange and blue being the predominating 

 colours. It seems to be common on the rocky parts of the 

 coast. Eeferring to the fish thrown out by the tide, Feb. 20th, ■ 

 1836, Mr Selby says, "The species noticed, mostly belonged to 

 the Lalrus maculatus." 



When I got these fish (the Wrasses and the Tadpole-fish) I 



