Volume 7, Plate XVII / Ichthyology (Fish)

Lettered Serranus

Serranus scriba

Found off Provence, Malta, and Naples and rarely exceeding half a pound, this fish bears a reddish orange ground banded with dull brown, its showiest feature the irregular blue lines on the nose and cheeks resembling written characters, the delicate hues fading swiftly upon death. It feeds on small fishes and marine animals, especially a cuttlefish whose tentacles it seizes, and is reputed hermaphrodite, milt and roe combined in one body.