370 FISHES. 



tentacles, which the fish appears able to erect at will. 

 Like the rest of the group, it is a most active fish, making 

 endless attempts to leap over the side of any vessel in 

 which it may be confined. 



The somewhat larger Yarrell's Blenny, which has been 

 recorded to a length of 7 inches, is distinguished from the 

 Yarrell's foregoing by the presence of small scales. In 

 Blenny. colour it is brown, with dark bands, the latter 

 being sometimes absent. On the head are four tentacles. 

 This species appears common on every part of the coast, 

 and is either dredged or taken in the crab-jDots. 



The elongated Butterfish grows to a length of near 12 

 inches, the dorsal fin being continuous with the tail and 

 Gunnel or ventral, its base marked by black, white-edged 

 Butterfish. gpots. There are no tentacles on the head 

 of this blenny. According to Cunningham,^ these fish 

 were seen by Mr Holt to be spawning at the St Andrews 

 aquarium m February, the parents taking turns in rolling 

 the eggs into a ball, coiling their bodies round the mass. 

 This blenny is found on every part of the coast, and the 

 male is known to mount guard over the eggs. 



The most interesting, however, of the group is unques- 

 tionably the Viviparous Blenny. The young, as many as 

 Viviparous 300 in number and ij^ inch in length,^ are 

 Blenny. born early in the year, and there appears to 

 be some evidence in favour of a second brood. This 

 blenny, which seems, unlike the rest, least in evidence on 

 our south-west coast, grows to a length of 24 inches. It 

 is of an olive-brown colour, the body being marked with 

 arched bands. The dorsal fin, which has a deep notch 

 just before the tail, is continuous. 



1 Marketable Marine Fishes, p. 344. 



2 M'Intosh and Mastennan (Life-Histories, p. 13) gives the length as 

 2 imlu's, imd points out that it is proportionately great. 



