DUBLIN NATURAL HI8T0BT SOCIETT. 123 



small inlets of the west coast. The action of this little fish, and the singularly 

 recurved spincA of the snout, must render an observation of its habits of inte- 

 rest. Of the stieklubacks, the ten-spincd and the Bf'tecn-spined frequent the 

 harbours, particularly the latter (Gasterosteus spinachia), in great numbers, in 

 Dingle Harbour. They are taken in the seine, and I have admired their play- 

 fulness and extreme beaiity when placed in a tub of water. Except in anger or 

 alarm, they do not exhibit their spines, which then lie closely adpressed to the 

 dorsal ridge, in a sulcated groove. They are interesting in their movements in 

 seeking and attacking their prey, through the tangled masses of Fucus serratus 

 and Confervse, among which they form their nests and deposit their eggs; it 

 unshyingly, almost immediately after capture, seizes the food offered. Passing 

 over many species and families, which are altogether deep-water fish, the next 

 presents the ribbon-shaped form, the Ticnioidce, in which is the beautiful Cepola 

 rubescens, red-band fish, which assumes the richest carmine to a pale rose-tint. 

 It has frequently been taken on the west coast, and sometimes cast ashore 

 among sea- weeds after a gale of wind. It is met at low spring tides among the 

 stems of laminaria and the stronger fuci. It would form a beautiful object in 

 one of the crystal cisterns, to observe its sinuously-gliding motions between 

 the stems of sea plants, its eyes large in proportion to its head, directed in pur- 

 suit of the soft molluscous animals upon which it preys. Through the kindness 

 of Dr. Farran, I obtained a specimen from the south coast. Of the Mugilidae, 

 the mullets are among the most lively and playful of our harbour fish. The grey 

 mullet (Mugil capito) are in great numbers in Ventry Harbour, and of large 

 size. Every water seems suited to their growth — salt, brackish, and fresh, and 

 they are easily fed. The atherine or sand-smelt (Atherina presbyter) are in 

 abundance in Dingle Harbour, and frequent sandy inlets in the winter and 

 spring months in great numbers, at which seasons they are in a prime state for 

 the table. They are in Dingle Harbour all through the year, but in spring ap- 

 proach the shore to spawn. It is different from the true smelt (Osmerus oper- 

 lana), which belongs totheSalmonidte, or trout family. The next con tains a great 

 many pretty species among the GobioidsD, or the gobies. Of these, the blennies 

 are remarkable — the viviparous blenny possesses much of interest in its exami- 

 nation. The spotted gunnell (Gunneilus guttata) is very numerous in Dingle 

 Harbour, and called the butter-fish, from the unctuous feel of the body. It is 

 every tint of rich brown, yellow, and purple, and the large dark spofs in some 

 specimens are very conspicuous along the line of the dorsal fin. Young speci- 

 mens of the sea- wolf ( Anarrhicas lupus) have been taken in Dingle Harbour, 

 and a large specimen in the Bay, remarkable for its hideous head and powerful 

 jaws. The black goby (Gobius niger), beautiful in the spawning seasons with 

 the deeper shades it assumes, and the rich orange tints of its dorsal fins, is 

 plentiful in Dingle Harbour ; and also the spotted, the one-spotted, and the 

 double-spotted gobies, have all been taken in Dingle and Ventry Harbours, and 

 also in deep water in the Bay. In Ventry Harbour I met with a very beautiful 

 species, presumed to be the Gobius reticulatus, peculiar to the Mediterranean, 

 and distinguished by the rich rosy tints of its dorsal fins. In a calm and sunny 

 day, in the month of August, and in a little sheltered inlet in Sneem Harbour, 

 I watched for some time the movements of multitudes of gobies. I was sur- 

 prised at the number of the black goby, which occupied, with their young, a 

 muddy recess between rocks, from which they occasionally darted, seizing, and 

 returning with their prey. The shanny (Pholis lievis) was more exposed, and, 

 in sandy grounds, they occasionally rose to the surface, perpendicularly, with 

 the aid of the pectoral fins, and, with the aid of the same movement, appeared 

 singularly to raise themselves, or creep up the face of any perpendicular rock or 

 stone. Both these species had numerous young, which they seemed carefully to 

 protect. The speckled gobies were in clear, sandy, and sunny spots, and the 

 two-spotted goby remained near the surface, perfectly motionless. Of the Dra- 

 gonets, the gcmmeous (Callionymus lyra) is beautiful in the living state, richly 

 marked, and the transparent beauty of its dorsal fins is singularly delicate. It 



