Fishes . stevery conceivable character. They may be roughly groupedas protective coloration, sexual coloration, nuptial coloration,recognition colors, and ornamentation, if we may use the lattertenn for brilliant hues which serve no obvious purpose to thefish itself. Examples of protective markings may be seen fiounder which lies on the sand has its upper surface cov-ered with sand-like blotches, and these again will vary accordingto the kind of sand it imitates. It may be true sand or crushedcoral or the detritus of lava, in any case perfectly imitated. Equally closely will the
Fishes . stevery conceivable character. They may be roughly groupedas protective coloration, sexual coloration, nuptial coloration,recognition colors, and ornamentation, if we may use the lattertenn for brilliant hues which serve no obvious purpose to thefish itself. Examples of protective markings may be seen fiounder which lies on the sand has its upper surface cov-ered with sand-like blotches, and these again will vary accordingto the kind of sand it imitates. It may be true sand or crushedcoral or the detritus of lava, in any case perfectly imitated. Equally closely will the markings on a fish correspond withrock surroundings. With granite rocks we find an elaborateseries of granitic markings, with coral rocks another series ofshades, and if red corals be present, red shades of like appear-ance are found on the fish. Still another kind of mark indi-cates rock pools lined with the red calcareous algas called coral-lina. Black species are found in lava masses, grass-green ones. The Colors of Fishes 83 among the fronds of ulva, and olive-green among Sargassumor fucus, the markings and often the form corresponding to thenature of the alga? in which the species makes its home. Sexual Coloration. — In many groups of fishes the sexes aredifferently colored. In some cases bright-red, blue, or blackmarkings characterize the male, the female having similarmarks, but less distinct, and the bright colors replaced by olive, ^Si^ ^IK . KTnorlti mm 1 Fig. 60.—Lizard-skipper, Alliens sdliens (Forster). A bleiiiiy which lies out ofwater on lava-rocks, leaping from one to another with great agility. Fromnature; specimen from Point Distress, Tutuila Island, Samoa. (About one-half size.) brown, or gray. In a few cases, however, the female has marksof a totally different nature, and scarcely less bright than thoseof the male. Nuptial Coloration. — Nuptial colors are those which appearon the male in the breeding season only, the pigment after-wards vanishing, lea
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