ACANTHOPTERYGII 689 



Fam. 1. Gobiidae. Suborbital arch ligamentous or absent. 

 Gill-membranes more or less broadly attached to isthmus ; 4 to 

 6 branchiostegal rays ; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth ; pseudo- 

 branchiae often present. All or most of the praecaudal vertebrae 

 with transverse processes bearing the ribs, to which epipleurals 

 are attached. Post-temporal forked, as in normal Perciformes. 

 Ventral fins with 1 feeble spine and 4 or 5 branched rays, 

 often united to form a sucking disk, a transverse fold of skin 

 at their base completing the cup. 



Head usually more or less depressed, body varying from short 

 and stout to elongate and eel-shaped, but never with a very 

 high number of vertebrae, these varying from 24 to 37 

 (10-14+13-24); scales cycloid or ctenoid, or absent; no 

 lateral line ; mouth moderate or large, dentition various ; soft 

 dorsal and anal fins nearly equally developed, varying from very 

 short to very elongate ; usually a large anal papilla. 



FIG. 420. Gobius ruthensparri. Nat. size. (From Holt and Byrne, Report 

 Fisheries Ireland for ]901.) 



A large family of some 600 species, the great majority marine, 

 mostly carnivorous and of small size. The largest form (Eleotris 

 marmorata, from the rivers of Siam, Borneo, and Sumatra) grows 

 to nearly 3 feet, whilst the smallest (Mistichthys luzonensis, 

 from the Philippines) measures only 12 to 14 millimetres, and 

 is believed to be the smallest known Vertebrate. Gobiids occur 

 in all the seas outside the Arctic and Antarctic circles, and they 

 have representatives in the fresh waters of all parts of the 

 world. 



The genera are numerous but difficult of definition. The 

 following are the principal : Eleotris, Oxymetopon, Vireosa, 

 Rliyacichthys, Gobius, Crystallogobius, Aphia, Gobiosoma, Gobiodon, 

 Bentliopliilus, Typldogobius, Luciogobius, Sicydium, Lentipes, Peri- 

 ophthalmus, Boleophtlialmus, AmUyopus, Trypauclien, Trypau- 



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