74 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 



On the Occurrence of Gobius orca, Collett, within 



the Clyde Sea Area. 



By Alexander Patience. 



[Read 29th May, 1906.] 



While carrying on investigations on the steam yacht " Mermaid," 

 during the summer of 1901, I found among the organisms 

 brought up by the trawl a small fish belonging to the family 

 Gobiidae, wriich resembled in some respects Gobius Jeffreysii, 

 Gunther. It differed obviously, however, from that species in 

 the coloration. Professor Macintosh, F.R.S., of St. Andrew's 

 University, was good enough to examine it for me, and identified 

 the species as Gobius orca, Collett. 



The following are the chief specific characters : — Body much 

 compressed, the greatest depth being slightly more than half of 

 the length of the head. Head depressed, and is contained a 

 little more than four times in the total length. Lower jaw 

 projects beyond the upper. Eyes situated superiorly, very large 

 and almost contiguous. Head and throat scaleless. Scales of 

 the body comparatively large. First and second spines of the 

 anterior dorsal produced into filaments. Basal membrane uniting 

 the ventral fins absent. The coloration of the body is of a 

 greyish brown, without distinct spots or bands, but on the sides, 

 below the beginning of the first dorsal fin, at the end of the 

 anal, and base of the caudal, there is a darker shading, tinged 

 with brilliant blue, which gives to the living animal a rather 

 beautiful appearance. The first dorsal is of a uniform brownish- 

 black. The second dorsal has alternate brownish-black and faint 

 white bands. 



1. D. 7 ; 2. D. 10-11 ; A. 9 ; V. 5-6 j P. 17; C. :J 13 3 . 



This species, which is among the smallest and rarest of 

 European fishes, was first described by Robert Collett, of 

 Christiania, in 1874,* from a specimen captured by Professor 



* Annals and Mag. Nat. History, Vol. 13, Ser. 4, pp. 446-7. 



