310 PISCES. 



sometimes the ye-llow coiour predominatus. [Tliis species is numerous upon the Britii^li sliores, tliou»;h they are 

 not very often cau^lit ; and from the variations of their colours they are not easily identified. They frequent deep 

 pools among the rocks, hide themselves in fuci, and are understood to feed chiefly on Cj'ustacea. If the lishermen 

 know their haunts, they take a bait tVeely ; and, according; to the report of Mr. Couch, the tirst taken are always 

 the largest. They fretinent the rocky shores only. They spawn in April; arid the fry, which ai'e then of small 

 size, remain aniong- the rocks during;; the summer. It is understood that the blue colour, which appears to be 

 charactei'istic of the high condition of the fish, is very evanescent. L. UncaTus, the Lineal streaked, is more 

 clouded; has irregpalar bands along- the flank, the ground of which is reddish ; and the dorsal spines are less nume- 

 rous, and the soft part of the \\\\ htwer, th;iii in the former species. Tliis species is named as a iJritish fish, but it 

 appears to be exceedingly rare. L. vnrieijuln.s, tlie Blue-streaked, is one of the most beautiful of the family, of an 

 orauffe red, paler on the belly, having the sides and irides striped with fine blue. The tips are capable of great 

 extension, and there is a sin';ie row of pointed teeth in each jaw. It is found in the British seas, but only on the 

 south and south-west coasts. L. vetula, is also named as a British fish. It is dark purple, black on the upper 

 part, paler on the belly, and has the fore part of the head flesh-coloured, tinged with purple, and the eyelid blue. 

 Few s|iecimens have been met with on the British shores, and those of comparatively small size. Perhap.s it is the 

 Morula of Guielin. L. carneus, the Three-spotted Wrasse, red^Iish in the colour, with four light spots, and three 

 black ones intermediate, extending from the middle of the dorsal to the root of the caudal. It belongs to the 

 Mediterranean, but has been found on the Channel-coast of England, in the Firth of Forth, and even on the coast 

 of Norway, and in the Baltic. TJirre are various other species; but, as we have said, they are not easily distin- 

 guished from each other, in consequence of the change of colour to which they are subject.] 



Ckeilinus, dilfers from Labrus, properly so called, in having the lateral line interrupted at the end of the dorsals, 

 where it recommences a little lower down. They are beautiful fishes, inhabiting the Indian seas. 



Lac/inolaimiia, (Caittains), liave the general character of Labrus ; but their pharynx has no pavement-like teeth, 

 except in the posterior [lart, — the remainder of thcTU, ns well as a part of the palate, Ijeing covered ^vith a villous 

 membrane. They are easily known by tlie first siiines of the dorsid, ^\liich extend in lung flexible tliieads. They 

 are American fishes. 



Jk//".?, have the head entirely withnut scales, and the hiteral line forming a curve near the end of the dorsal. 

 There are some in the Meiliterraneaii, but they are more numerous m the tropical seas. [They are generally 

 small but beautiful fillies : smne arc vi<iN't, muih; lirigbt si-;i!lrr, .some rich green, and sume marked with g-ulden 

 colour; and those i\liieli !ia\r tlie eaudal lin ruundcd, ur trunc^ited, have the first dorsal rays extended in long 

 filaments.] 



Anampses, have the chararter of the la-t, \'^illi the exception of two fiat teeth, which project frum the mouth, 

 and curve upwards. The t\^o kno\\n sjieeies are from the Indian sea?>. 



Crevi labrus. These fishes are separated from the L"li,ni>is "i Bloch, to arrange them in their proper place. 

 They have the true characters of Labrus, both external and inli.'rnal ; and dillei' only in having the border of the 

 pre-operculum toothed. Some species are found in the North Sea, such as Lutjaims ruprestis of Bloch, yellow, 

 ■with clouded bands ranged vertically, and blackish ; L. norveglcus, brownish, irregularly marked with deep brown; 

 L. melops, orange, spotted with blue, and a black spot behind the eye ; L. exolctii.s-, remarkable for five spines in 

 the anal fin. The Mediterranean furnishes a number, most beautifully coloured, the most splendid of \\hich is 

 L. /o^//m, silvery, with three broad longitudinal bands, composed of vermiUion dots, with the pectorals yellow and 

 the ventrals blue. They are also abundant in the tropical seas ; and many species, hitherto included in the genus 

 Labrus, ouglit to be placed here. [Several species of this subgenus occur in the British seas, the chief of \vhiclj 

 sxt—Cranilahrn.K lima, the Gilt- head; C.corncUcus, the Guld-^^inny ; V. ;ii!'hu.\, ihc Gdibous \\ lasse; and C./emuis, 

 the Scale-rayed Wj-as^.- ; but they are all small tishes, in liille i.<\- nu ..■.stinnirinn.] 



Corirns. This subgenus has all the characters of the la^l, in aiiiiition to which the mouth is little less protractile 

 than in tlie next. Only one small species is known, whirii inhabits the Mediterranean. This genus is removed 

 from Spanis, in order to be placed near the preceding ones. 



Epihidiis. These fi.'shes are remarkable for the extreme extension A^liieb they ean give to their mouth by means 

 of a see-saw motion of their maxillaries, and the sliding forward of the inti'i niaxillaries, whiidi in^taiitly forms a 

 kind of tube. They make use of this artifice for seizing small fishes which pass near this curious instrument ; and 

 the same artifice is rersorted to by the Coryci, the Zei, and the Smares, according to the degree of protractility of 

 the mouth. The entirr \n«\\ and In-ad nf iliis Milj-rnns ari; ens r red with large scales, the last track of which ad- 

 vances upon the ^lal and caudal lin^. as in Chciimus. The Uileral Hue is similarly interrupted as in the latter; 

 and, as in Labrus, there are two long conical teeth in the front ut each Jaw, followed by smaller blunt ones. Ihe 

 known species is from the I ndian seas, and is of a reddish colour. 



Ck'pficus. This subgenus has a small cylindrical snout, which is suddenly ailvanced forward, but which is not 

 so long as the head. The teeth are small, and barely perceptible to the touch ; the body is oblong ; the lateral 

 line continuous ; and the dorsal and anal are enveloped in scales nearly to the top of the spines. One species, of a 

 red colour, and from the >A'est Indies, is the only one known. 



Goniphosus. These Labriihc, with the head entirely smooth, as in Julis, have the rnnz/Je in tlie turm cf a 

 tube, composed i if tin- |»niliiiii;cd rnaxillaiirs ;iiid inlnnnaxiUaries, as far as th(.' small opi.'ning of the nniulh. Several 

 species are takm in llie Indi.m (.tei'aii, and the firsh of some is considered delicious. 



X/rir/i/hi/s-, resemble Labrus in their general form, but are much compressed. The forehead descends towards 

 the nMiiirii witli a sharp and almost vertical line, formed by the ethmoid and the ascending branches of the inter- 

 niT-Xillaries. Tljeir bodies ha\'e large .scaler ; their lateral line is interrupted; their jaws are rurnisbni with coidcal 



