WRASSES. 
185 
i' strange annellidous creatures, like worms and 
! leeches, many of them handed with contrasting 
I colours, and displaying tufts of diverging fila- 
; ments resembling gorgeous flowers. Crabs with 
f painted shells, or horrid with bristling spines ; 
!; transparent shrimps studded with spots of rich 
and vivid colour, violet and crimson, and other 
Crustacea of the strangest shapes, are running, 
j swimming, and darting hither and thither; and 
I over all play hundreds of little fishes, sparkling 
j in the rays of a tropical sun. 
I Many of these are indolently floating near the 
i surface, enjoying the warmth of the sun, motion- 
I less except that a gentle undulation of the pec- 
i torals is perceived, whereby they are enabled to 
i maintain their equilibrium. Some with a rapid 
! vibration of the caudal fin are shooting swiftly 
i to and fro, leaving a long sparkling wake behind 
i them ; and others are lying half concealed be- 
I neath the projecting ledges of the rocks. But 
! scores are more actively engaged ; they are 
browsing on the tips of the twigs of the newly 
i formed coral, and gnawing at the surface of the 
! madrepores. We see them approach and try one 
I part after another, apparently smelling at it, re- 
jecting some and testing other portions, with 
epicurean gusto, nibbling here and there, and 
now, having found a dainty part, grinding it 
down with their strong teeth in right earnest. 
These are principally members of the Family 
before us, the little gaily-tinted Rock-fishes, feed- 
ing, as is their wont, upon the growing corals. 
I The gelatinous polypes that deposit the stony 
; secretion are so protected by the latter, that it 
would be impossible to get at them without 
