74 FLATFISHES. 



nature. By perseverance, however, I captured several, 

 and found tliem to be the One-spotted Goby [Gohius 

 unipunctatus) ; a tmy fish about two inches long, and 

 well marked by a spot of rich dark blue on the dorsal 

 fin. It proved a lively and pleasing tenant of the 

 Aquarium. 



Lying flat on the mud, in many cases with not 

 more than an inch of water above them, enjoying the 

 light and warmth of the sun, were multitudes of Fleu- 

 ronectidcB of several species, such as the Brill, the 

 Plaice, the Dab, and the Sole. All that I saw were 

 very young, from an inch to two inches in length. 

 Though easily caught, they are of little value, for they 

 do not live long in a tank, and are uninteresting from 

 their sluggish habits, as they lie perfectly still on the 

 bottom for hours together, trusting for concealment to 

 the similarity of their russet colour to that of the sand. 



By digging in the sand some specimens of the 

 \j2iu.\iQ,Q[Ammodytes)wQYQ discovered; a slender silvery 

 fish, which has the habit of burrowing into the wet 

 sand on the retreat of the tide ; and also some Bi- 

 valves, as Pullastra aurea, and Venus casina. But the 

 most interesting thing to me was the great multitudes 

 of Actimce that were expanding their flower-like disks 

 on the surface of the mud beneath the shallow water. 

 I was for some time disposed to consider this as a 

 strange species, partly from its colour, but principally 

 from what appeared to me its unusual locality and 

 habit; but I am at length persuaded that it is the 

 Daisy Anemone {A. hellis) ; though widely diflering 

 from those individuals which dwell in the hollows of 

 the honeycombed limestone near Torquay. 



