634 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



'NyVv\;\V^ 



Fhati, by RtinhtU Thitlt &• C-.] \_Chanciry Lam, IV, C. 



SPOTTED WRASSE 



On account of thtir ^j-catl\ thickened hpi lurasscs arc also knoi.vn as Lip-Jishes 



of Stinging-darts which proceed 

 therefrom £is a result of the 

 shock, and, rendered insensible, 

 becomes the spoil of both. 

 Thus the active fish plays the 

 part of a lure, and in return 

 is afforded shelter. 



The Wrasses proper may 

 be distinguished, amongst other 

 things, by their thickened lips 

 — hence the name Lip-fishes 

 given them b)' German 

 naturalists — by the greatly ex- 

 tended back-fin, the greater 

 part of which is spinous, and 

 the arrangement of the teeth, 

 which need not be discussed here. They are shore-fishes, living in the neighbourhood of weed- 

 covered rocks, or in tropical seas, where they are most abundant, amid coral-reefs. Most are 

 brilliantly, man\' gaudily coloured, iridescent hues frequently adding to the beauty formed 

 by the permanent deposit of coloured pigments in the scales. Some grow to a large size, 

 specimens not seldom exceeding a weight of 50 lbs., and these are the most esteemed as 

 food-fishes, the smaller species, as a rule, being regarded as of inferior qualit)-. 



A well-known British species is the Striped or Red Wrasse, the sexes of \vhich exhibit 

 a remarkable \'ariation in colour, the male having the body marked with blue streaks or 

 a blackish band, whilst the female has two or three large black blotches across the tail. A 

 second British species, the Ballan Wrasse, is bluish green in colour, with the scales and 

 fin-rays reddish orange. It may be found hiding in the deep gullies among rocks, sheltering 

 in the dense clusters of seaweed, and feeding on crabs and shrimps. It takes a bait freely, 

 and fishermen have remarked that at first they catch few but large fish ; some days later a 

 great number may be caught, but all \\'\\\ be of small size, indicating that the larger fish 

 assume the dominion of a district and keep the smaller at bay. 



Amongst the most brilliantly colored of the wrasses are the Parrot-FISH. Mr. Saville- 

 Kent, writing of the species which inhabit the waters of the Great l^Sarricr Reef of Australia, 

 remarks that to stand up to your knees or higher in water, with such a shoal of magnificent 

 fishes swimming round you, is an experience well worth a journey to the tropics. The coloration 

 of these fishes, which is extremely transient, fading almost immediately after death, nearly 

 defies description. One of 

 the most beautifiil is pei'haps 

 the Gold-finned Coral- 

 fish, in which the body is of 

 an intense ultramarine, whilst 

 the fins are bright golden. 

 Others hr.ve the most amaz- 

 ing combinations of green, 

 vermilion, blue, and yellow, 

 in endless variety. It was one 

 of the parrot-fishes which 

 found such favour with the 

 ancients. " In the time of 

 Pliny," writes Dr. Gunther, 

 " it was considered to be the 

 first of fishes . . . and the cx- 



eh:.t„ by If. !,avilU-Kini, F.Z.S.} 



SATIN PARROT-FISH 



[ Milford-m-Sca 



The Pal rot-fishes,, or Parrof-iurasses, are so called on account of the peculiar structure of the 

 teeth in the Jront oj the jaius, ivhich form a iharp-cdgcd beak 



