THREE-BEARDED ROCKLING. 271 



Bearded Rockling, of which by some it has been considered 

 only as a variety. It is also rare on the east coast of Scot- 

 land. It frequents rocky ground that is well furnished with 

 sea-weed, among which it threads its way with great ease and 

 rapidity. Besides the localities mentioned, it has been taken 

 also at Weymouth, in Belfast Bay, and in the vicinity of 

 Carlisle, probably in the Solway Frith. The individual 

 figured by Willughby, whose early representation of this fish 

 is very good, was obtained by him at Chester. 



Mr. Thompson says it is generally distributed on the coast 

 of Ireland. 



Of its habits, Mr. Couch says, " It keeps in shallow 

 water, feeds on aquatic insects, and will take a bait ; but it is 

 not commonly used as food, because it smells unpleasantly 

 in the course of a few hours. It is not easy to explain 

 the use of the frinared membrane behind the head and before 



O 



the dorsal fin ; it has nothing in common with the fins ; 

 but when the fish is lying perfectly still, and all the fins are 

 at rest, this is often in rapid motion. The barbules on the 

 upper jaw are always extended in front, and probably serve 

 the same purposes as the antennae in insects. 1 " 



Bloch says that it spawns in autumn ; but other observers 

 consider that it deposits its spawn in winter, like most of, 

 if not all, those of the same family. 



Pennant, in his account of the Five-Bearded Rockling, 

 says, " The Cornish fishermen are said to whistle, and make 

 use of the words bod, bod, vean, when they are desirous of 

 taking this fish, as if by that they facilitated the capture, 

 in the same manner as the Sicilian fishermen repeat their 

 Mamassu di pajanu, &c. when they are in pursuit of the 

 Swordfish." But this name of Whistle-fish was, according 

 to Jago's Catalogue, attached to the Rockling with three 

 barbules only, and even among them was but occasionally 

 applied to the larger specimens. Pennant, it will be ob- 



