THE WRASSE FAMILY. 231 



larval wrasse presents a somewhat deep body in lateral view 

 and a lanceolate tail. The vent is rather behind the middle. 



The earliest stage in our collection comes from Lochmaddy, 

 North Uist, in August, and measures 9 mm. The tail is already 

 complete, all trace of the larval organ being lost. They are, 

 however, frequently met with in the pools at low water on the 

 east coast, as at St Andrews, in August. 



The next available stage is one of 11 mm., captured in 

 St Andrews Bay in midwater in the middle of September'. 

 This young wrasse shows boldly marked white touches on a 

 greenish ground, variegated with brown pigment. The general 

 hue, indeed, is greenish-brown with various bands and patches. 

 Thus the head has two white touches (each somewhat crescentic 

 in form) over the brain, and a transverse one in front of the 

 dorsal fin. A brown band passes from the middle of the eye 

 forward on the snout and in line with the brown bar on the tip 

 of the mandible. Another brown bar extends from the eye 

 downward and forward, a third touch occurs on the hyoid, and 

 two or three bars exist elsewhere on the head. The eyes are 

 pale greenish with golden arches superiorly, and a band of 

 brownish-red surrounds the pupil, except inferiorly, where it 

 is almost absent. This reddish belt has a process anteriorly 

 and superiorly. 



The body is conspicuously marked with eight white spots, 

 the first being near the pectorals, the last in the centre of the 

 base of the tail. These spots are situated above the lateral 

 line. Five opaque-white spots occur above the former, two 

 sending prolongations to the tip of the dorsal fin, and a third 

 partially. Four specks of ,white are placed along the ventral 

 margin, two lying in the basal line of the anal fin. A few 

 minute specks occupy the space between the latter and the 

 larger upper series. Large silvery patches, again, extend from 

 beneath the eye to the end of the abdomen. A few brown 

 specks appear on the ventral surface in front of the pelvic fins, 

 and two boldly marked brown touches lie in the median line 

 between the latter and the vent. 



Besides the white touches which enliven the dorsal fin, an 

 1 W. C. M. Ann. Nat. Hist., Oct. 1887, p. 300. 



