76 



WITH HARD CHEEKS. 



M. Kroyer on the fishes of Denmark, and that of M. Fries 

 and Ekstrom on the Fishes of Scandinavia. It is included 

 also by M. Nilsson in his Prodromus. 



Like the other species of this genus, it is voracious in its 

 appetite, and swims rapidly. There is reason to believe that 

 this fish does not deposit its spawn at the same period of the 

 year as the Cottus bubalis , some specimens of the former, 

 examined in the month of November, exhibited little or no 

 appearance of roe, while female specimens of the latter, if 

 examined at the same time of the year, would be found to 

 contain ova of large size, which are deposited in January, 

 and are of a fine orange yellow colour. It has even been 

 stated of C, scorpius, that it spawns in the spring, and that 

 the ova are as black as ink. 



In its habits this species resembles the Father-Lasher, and 

 is found under stones and among fuci in the pools above low- 

 water mark on our shores. They are very common, and 

 every haul of a net of almost any description is nearly certain 

 to produce examples of one species or the other, but seldom 

 of both in the same immediate locality : no use, however, is 

 made of them, and, on account of their numerous spines, they 

 are handled with caution, only to be thrown overboard ; but 

 if allowed to remain on the deck of the vessel, they are ob- 

 served to be very tenacious of life. Their food is small 

 crustaceous animals and the fry of other fish generally, which 

 their wide mouths enable them to overcome without making 

 any nicety in the selection necessary. Fin-rays : 



D. 8 or 9 14 : P. 17 : V. 1 + 3 : A. 1 1 : C. 12. 



The head large, more elevated than that of the River Bull- 

 head ; upper jaw rather the longer ; teeth small and sharp : 

 eyes large, situated about half-way between the point of the 

 nose and the occiput ; irides yellow, pupils bluish black : one 

 pair of spines above the nostrils, with an elevated ridge 



