WRASSES. 
7 
in alcohol, and are shown in the figure. In this spe- 
cimen there appear too, on the inferior part of the 
gill -cover and on the anterior parts of the subopercu- 
lum and the belly, especially at the bases of the pec- 
toral fins, distinct traces of the golden gloss which this 
fish possesses in Valenciennes’ figure. 
The Scale-rayed Wrasse belongs to the fauna of 
the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. In the Atlantic it 
is found from Madeira to the south coast, of Norway. 
However, as it is more of a deep-sea fish than the rest 
of the Scandinavian wrasses, it is more seldom met 
with. The specimen in the Royal Museum, the only 
one that has been observed up to the present on the 
coast of Scandinavia, was acquired by Dr. P. ( )berg 
during a visit, to Hittero near the town of Field? efjord 
in Norway, in the summer of 1869. It was caught at 
a depth of 30 fathoms. On the English coast, only two 
specimens are known to have been taken, the one at 
a depth of 50 fathoms. Off the coasts of Portugal and 
Madeira too it is very rare, according to Lowe and 
SteindachnerY Moreau also says that it. is very 
seldom met with in the Mediterranean. It can there- 
fore hardly possess any value as an article of food. 
THE BALLAN WRASSE (sw. berggyltan). 
LABRUS BERGGYLTA. 
Plate I, fig. 1. 
The hack of the head and the forehead naked. Number of scales in the lateral line more than 40. At least 6 
rows of scales above the lateral line. Only the posterior part of the inter operculum seedy. The cheeks covered 
with small scales; at least 6 suborbital rows of scales. Number of spinous rays in the dorsal fin at least 19. 
Length of the snout ( when the mouth is closed) less than either the greatest thickness of body or the postorbital 
length of the head. Least depth of the tail more than 4 /s of the base of the anal fin h . Streaks on the head red. 
li. br. 5; D. 
19 
21 
1 + 10 1. 9. 1. 
C. x+ 11 + x; L. lat. 41 — 47. c 
A. 
1+7 1. 
P. 2/13; V. 1/5; 
Syn: Lnbrus Bergylta , Ascanius, Ic. rer. nat., I, p. 3, tab. I; Muller, 
Zool. Dan. Prodr., p. 46 (Berg-galt); Cuv., Val., Hist. Nat. 
Poiss., XIII, p. 20; Kruyer, Damn. Fiske, I, p. 476 ( Berg - 
gylta)-, Malm, Gbgs, Boh. Fn., p. 475; Winther, Prodr. 
Ichth. Dan. mar., Naturh. Tidskr., 3, XII, p. 25; Lilljeborg, 
Sv., Norg. Fisk., vol. I, p. 419. 
Ballan Wrasse, Pennant, Brit. Zool., ed. 1, III, p. 216, tab 
XLIV ; Walb., Icht. Art., Ill, p. 259 ( Labrus Ballan ); 
Couch, Hist. Fish. Brit. Isl. Ill, p. 24, tab. CXXV ( Ballan 
Wrass). 
Comber, Pennant, 1. c. p. 221, tab. XLVII, fig. 122; Gmel., 
Syst. Nat. Lin., p. 1297 ( Labrus Comber): Couch, 1. c. p. 
32, tab. CXXVI, fig. 2 ( Comber Wrass). 
Labrus maculatus, Bloch, Naturg. Ansi. Fische , VI, p. 17, tab. 
CCXCIV; Nilsson, Prodr. Ichth. Sc., pag. 74; Fr., Ekstr., 
Wright, Slcand. Fiskar, ed. 1, p. 11 et 43, tab. 2; Nilss., 
Skand. Fn., Fisk., p. 261; Gunth., Brit. Mus. Cat., Fish., 
IV, p. 70; Day, Fish. Gt. Brit., Irel., I, p. 252, tab. LXX 
& LXXI. 
Labrus Aper, Retzius, Fn. Suec. Lin., p. 335. 
Labrus lineatus, Donovan, Nat. Hist. Brit. Fish., IV, tab. 
LXXIV ; nec Penn. 1. c., nec Nilss., Prodr.; Day, 1. c., p. 
253, Labrus Donovani, Cuv., Val., 1. c. p. 39; Day, 1. c. 
Labrus tancoides et Neustrice , Lacep£:de; Labrus tinea., Shaw; 
Labrus cornubiensis, Couch; Labrus variabilis, Thompson; 
vide Gunther, 1. c. et Day 1. c. 
Labrus pusillus, Jenyns et Crenilabrus multidentatus , Thomp- 
son; (juvenes) vide GUnther, 1. c. et Day, 1. c. 
La Vieille, Duhamel, Tr. d. Peches, part. II, vol. Ill, sect. 
IV, cap. Ill, p. 34, tab. VI, fig. 1 ; La Vieille commune on 
Perroquet de Mer, Cuv., Val., 1. c. 
In Scandinavia the Ballan Wrasse attains a length 
of from 300 to 370 nun., and is thus one of the lar- 
gest species belonging to this genus which we possess. 
The length of the head is about 1 / 4 of the total length; 
the greatest depth of the body from 2 / 7 to 4 / 13 and the 
least about V s of the length d . The head is triangular 
and suddenly comes to a point. The mouth is small; 
the jawbones are completely concealed by large, thick 
lips which project some way in front of them. On 
the upper jaw the lips are double, the one lying above 
the other. The superior is the shorter, and really forms 
a continuation of the skin which covers the suborbital 
bones; the inferior is longer and more fleshy, has deep 
“ Iclith. Span. Port., Sitzb. Akad. Wien, Math. Naturw. Cl. LVII, Abtli. I, p. 699. 
b The least depth of the body, in proportion to the length of the base of the anal fin, increases with age. In 6 measured specimens 
the least depth of the tail was on an average 91.5 % of the base of the anal fin, the minimum being 82 %. the maximum 99.4 %. 
c The variations of the fin formula are explained in the text. 
d The least depth of the body (least depth of the tail) in proportion to the length, of the body increases with age; in 6 specimens 
it was on an average 12.5 %, the minimum being 11.8 %, the maximum 13.2 °/. 
