The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex . ; or these are much brighter in the malethan the female. The male, also, is sometimes providedwith appendages which appear to be of no more use tohim for the ordinary purposes of life than are the tail-feathers to the peacock. I am indebted for most of thefollowing facts to the great kiiidness of Dr. is reason to suspect that many tropical fishesdiffer sexually in colour and structure ; and there aresome striking cases with our British fishes. The maleCallionymus lyra has been called the gemmeou^ drdgonet\ /^ 10 As quoted in
The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex . ; or these are much brighter in the malethan the female. The male, also, is sometimes providedwith appendages which appear to be of no more use tohim for the ordinary purposes of life than are the tail-feathers to the peacock. I am indebted for most of thefollowing facts to the great kiiidness of Dr. is reason to suspect that many tropical fishesdiffer sexually in colour and structure ; and there aresome striking cases with our British fishes. The maleCallionymus lyra has been called the gemmeou^ drdgonet\ /^ 10 As quoted in The Farmer, 1868, p. 3S^.C^ o < luJ LIBRARV SEXUAL SELECTION. Part II. from its brilliant gem-like colours. Wlien freslilytaken from tlie sea the body is yellow of various shades,striped and spotted with vivid blue on the head; thedorsal fins are pale brown with dark longitudinal bands;the ventral, caudal arid anal fins being female, or sordid dragonet, was considered by Lin-naeus and by many subsequent naturalists as a distinct. Fig. 28. CaUionymus lyra. Upppr figure, male; lower figure, The lower figure is more reduced than the upper. species; it is of a dingy reddish-brown, with the dorsalfin brown and the other fins white. The sexes differ alsoin the proportional size of the head and mouth, and inthe position of the eyes; ^^ but the most striking differ-rence is the extraordinary elongation in the male (fig. 28) 11 I have drawn up this description from Yarrells British Fishes,vol. i. 183G, p. 261 and 206. Chap. XII. FISHES. 9 of the dorsal The young males resemble in struc-ture and colour the adult females. Throughout thegenus Calhonymus/*^ the male is generally much morebrightly spotted than the female, and in several species,not only the dorsal, but the anal ^n of the male is muchelongated. The male of the Cottiis scorpius, or sea-scorpion, is moreslender and smaller than the female. There is also agreat difference in colour between
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