THE BLEXNY FAMILY. 221 



the mid-dorsal line tend to break up into diffuse spots, and 

 a few faint bars of pigment are to be seen on the dorsal fin. 

 The ventral fins have moved still further forward, their tips 

 being nearly level with the base of the pectorals. The belly has 

 greatly decreased in size, doubtless owing to the absorption of 

 yolk, and the abdomen no longer protrudes. By the beginning 

 of May, the young blennies have increased to 2f inches. The 

 brown pigment is scattered diffusely as very fine dots over 

 nearly all the head and trunk, tending thereby to disguise the 

 lines and blotches described in the early stages. Traces of the 

 former regular arrangement can, however, be still discovered. 



' On extrusion from the protecting chamber of the parent, 

 the young blennies show great activity : they vary in length 

 from 41 to 51 mm. and are in some cases probably even longer. 

 They seek the shelter afforded them by stones, crabs, submerged 

 sticks, and similar structures, since they are greedily devoured 

 by the young cod, haddock, whiting, and other fishes (including 

 their parents) : indeed, so much are they hunted that this fact 

 alone shows how the numbers of the species are kept in check. 

 When unmolested, as in a separate vessel, the young viviparous 

 blennies stretch themselves along the horizontal branches of 

 zoophytes, feeding on the hydroid polyps, and on the minute 

 sessile- eyed crustaceans that lurk amongst them. The sides of 

 the young are mottled with dark brownish touches on pale 

 olive, the markings beneath the dorsal fin somewhat resembling 

 arabic characters. A darker band runs along the lateral region, 

 and on this are a series of silvery spots. The dorsal fin is 

 marked by dark touches at somewhat regular intervals, as in 

 the adult 1 .' Except for the silvery spots, the pigmentation 

 therefore does not differ essentially from that of the unborn larva. 



In the following September occurs a specimen of 4| inches 

 which probably represents the same series as those described 

 before as about 2^ inches in May. The trunk and dorsal part of 

 the head are of a uniform brown tint, but the dorso-lateral 

 blotches and the lateral chain of darker colour can still be 

 distinguished, probably more clearly in the fresh specimen. 

 The whole body is stouter and more like that of the adult. 



1 W. C. M. loc, dt. 



