662 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



months. The habits are fully described by Storer in the Fishes 

 of Massachusetts. The eggs adhere to stones in shallow water. 

 By the end of August the young have reached a length of about 

 one inch. The nest and young are guarded by the parent fish. 

 The species is not an attractive one, and though the flesh is 

 sweet and palatable it is rarely eaten. To the fishermen this is 

 one of the worst nuisances in our waters, since it is always ready 

 to take the hook and swallow the bait intended for more useful 

 fish. In Great South bay the toadfish was taken at the mouth 

 of Swan creek and in Blue Point cove late in September. Young 

 individuals were collected September 10 at the Blue Point Life- 

 saving station. 



In 1898 the toadfish was again found abundantly in Great 

 South bay in August and September. They are distributed in 

 all portions of the bay, except where the water is nearly fresh. 

 In 1901 the eggs were found upon the point of hatching in the 

 middle of July and in the month of August. On July 16, a lot 

 of embryos measuring from -A- to re of an inch were ob- 

 tained. The eggs adhere firmly to the bark of stakes, or the 

 undersurface of sunken wood, stones, or" any other heavy sub- 

 stance which will answer the purpose of concealment. 



The toadfish is not present in Gravesend bay in the hot sum- 

 mer months. Most of the individuals taken were caught in 

 August, September and October. It is possible to keep it in 

 captivity during the summer months by careful management. 



Group BLENNIOIDBI 



Blennylike Fishes 

 Family BLENNIIDAE 



Blewnies 



Genus BLENNIUS (Artedi) Linnaeus 



Body oblong, compressed, naked; head short, the profile 

 usually bluntly rounded; mouth small, horizontal, with a single 

 series of long, slender, curved, close set teeth in each jaw, 

 besides which, in the lower jaw at least, is a rather short and 

 stout fanglike canine tooth on each side; premaxillaries not 

 protractile; gill openings wide, extending forward below, the 



