66 The Point Loma Blind Fish. [ ZOE 
In the deep water off Point Loma the Albatross has recently 
taken still another goby ( Godius nicholsoni ). 
It is thus seen that almost every nook available has been taken 
possession of by these diminutive fishes. All of them have the two 
ventrals united along the median line, and a thin membrane 
stretched across their bases to form a pouch. By appressing the 
ventrals and then raising them, a partial vacuum is formed in this 
pouch, and the fish is enabled to cling to any substance with which 
its ventral happens to be in contact. In confinement the blind fish 
frequently utilizes the surface of the water of an aquarium for a sur- 
face of attachment. 
Most of these have also a peculiarly enlarged maxillary bone in 
the adult stage. In Gillichthys this bone becomes quite phenomenal 
with age, reaching to the pectoral fins. This fish increases in bulk out 
of proportion to its development, so that the young of a size equal to 
the adult, Clevelandia or Lepidogobius, have a much shorter max- 
illary bone than the latter, although in the adult of Gillichthys this 
growth is larger in proportion than in any other goby. The adult 
of Lepidogobius gilberti, y-cauda and Clevelandia longipinnis have 
until the past year been confounded with the young of Gillichthys. 
In collecting about San Diego I soon noticed this fact, but supposed 
Lepidogobius y-cauda, on account of its large maxillary, to be the 
young of Gillichthys, and described the young of Gillichthys with 
short maxillaries as a new species of Godius.* 
All the species in the bay have the habit, if disturbed, of hiding 
in crab or clam holes. Clevelandia will sit on its tail and pectorals 
until the hand is near it. Then with a quickness which would do 
honor to a Johnnie Darter, with a flirt of the tail and a stroke of the 
pectoral, it disappears in its hole from which it, however, at once 
thrusts its head to await developments. Several of them frequently 
take refuge in the same hole. 
Gillichthys is the largest of these gobies, and is found from San 
Francisco to San Diego, or somewhat further south. It then disap- 
pears and is found again at the head of the Gulf of Mexico. About 
San Diego the young are abundant throughout the year. The adult 
can be caught with hook and line in quantities, especially just at the 
* We discovered our mistake sometime before the description of the new species 
was printed, and hoped to make the necessary corrections in the proof, which never 
reached us. C. Ha & R. Suk. 
