RED MULLET AND BOAR-FISH. 155 



prized by the ancient Greeks and Romans, who paid extravagant 

 prices for large specimens. The brilliant red colour of the skin 

 which adds to the attractiveness of the Red Mullet as a table fish 

 fades when the fish dies, but can be " fixed " by scaling the fishes 

 directly they are caught, a process which causes the colour-cells or 

 chromatophores to die in a fully expanded condition. Almost all 

 the Red Mullet that finds its way to the London Markets is 

 caught off the coast of Cornwall. The fish does not grow large, 

 one of 15 inches in length and 2 lbs. or 2^ lbs. in weight would 

 be considered above the average. The Surmullet is by some 

 authorities regarded not as a distinct species, but the female of the 

 Common Red Mullet. Upeneus (610-612) is a tropical genus of 

 wide distribution. 



The Scorpididse are fishes of tropical and southern seas, the 

 most remarkable of which is Psettus sebte (614), in which the 

 height of the body is greater than the length. The body is much 

 laterally compressed ; the dorsal and anal fins are long in the base 

 and are almost covered over with scales. The Boar-fish, Capros Boar-fis' 

 aper, 615, of the small family Caproidae, is a fish of the Eastern 

 Atlantic and Mediterranean, sometimes caught in the English 

 Channel. The mouth is very protractile, the surface of the body 

 is very rough to the touch owing to the scales being not merely 

 ctenoid, i. e. with a comb-like free edge, but spiny. 



The Chsetodontidffi are tropical, marine fishes occurring in Chaeto- 

 abundance in the neighbourhood of coral reefs. They are 

 carnivorous, feeding on small invertebrates; most are of small 

 size and some are of exquisite beauty of design and coloration. 

 Yellow and black are the leading combinations ; there is not 

 infrequently a black band passing down across the eye and one or 

 more striking black spots at the root of the tail or on the fins. 

 The Chffitodonts are sometimes called Butterfly-fishes from their 

 brilliant coloration. The body is laterally compressed, the scales 

 are small and extend on to the dorsal and anal fins. The teeth 

 are close-set and minute and slender, whence the name of the 

 family, signifying ' bristle-toothed/ The mouth is small and 

 frequently is set at the end of a prolonged snout. The spinous 

 and soft portions of the dorsal fin are continuous. 



CJuetodon (616-621) is a genus with many species. The fishes 



