202 PISHES OF AUSTRALIA. 



quantities are caught by professional fishen-ncn in the offing 

 at Coogee (near Sydney). In regard to their capture in 

 Tasmanian waters, Johnston (quoted by Ogilby) wrote in 

 1882, as follows: "At times during the winter season, these 

 beautifully-coloured fishes, with their gaudily-painted pec- 

 toral wings, may be seen around our wharves in small 

 schools, dashing, or rather flying, through the water with 

 sudden bounds, after their prey. . . . They are rarely cap- 

 tured however, on our coasts ; and are, therefore, unimpor- 

 tant here, from a commercial point of view." Though, the 

 foregoing quotation is of interest, it is not correct to des- 

 cribe the pectoral fins as "wings" nor their mode of pro- 

 gression out of the water as "flying." 



Though the Sharp-beaked Gurnard has been twice re- 

 corded from Western Australia, little is known of its occur- 

 rence in the waters of that State. 



FLYING GURNARDS OR SEA-ROBINS. 



(Family : Ccphalacanthidcr.'} 



IN these fishes, the head is a parallelepiped ; the upper sur- 

 face and the sides being entirely hard and bony. From the 

 hinder portion of the head, on each side, there is an enormous 

 spine pointing backwards. The pectoral fin on each side 

 is so greatly enlarged as to almost form a kind of wing. 

 The principal one amongst these fishes, and that which ; s 

 found on our coasts, is the Flying Gurnard or Sea-Robin 

 (Cephalacanthus spinarclla). These fishes and the true 

 Flying-Fishes are the only fishes which are enabled by their 

 long pectoral fins to take sustained flying leaps out of the 

 water. When young, the pectoral fins o^ the Flying-Gur- 

 nard are much shorter ; and, consequently, the fish is unable 

 to raise itself from the water. On our coast, this species 

 attains a length of 12 or more inches. 



(In connection with the technical name of this species, 

 it is worthy of mention that the fish will usually be found 



