11 



BUBALIS. 



lucky proach; 



Confounded with the Father-lasher under the name of Gundie. 



Cottus Bubalis, Ctjvier. Jbntns; Manual, p. 345. 



" " Yalirell ; Br. Fishes, vol. i, p. 78. 



" " G-unther; Catalogue of Br. Museum, vol. 



ii, p. 164. 



This species bears so near a resemblance to the Father- 

 lasher, or Sting-fish, last described, that until very recent times 

 they "were confounded together; and for the purpose of 

 distinguishing between them, it will be necessary to describe 

 the Bubalis in comparison with the other, rather than inde- 

 pendently and by itself. It is about the same size, but of 

 slightly a more slender shape; head narrower and more rough; 

 spines sharper and longer; snout somewhat more protruded; 

 fins more developed; the second dorsal and anal carried nearer 

 the tail. In colour the difference is considerable; the species 

 now under consideration, although subject to some variation, 

 being adorned with a mottled variety of brilliant red and brown, 

 with bars of red or crimson across the pectoral fins and lips. 

 The rays of the fins are often highly coloured when the 

 connecting membrane is plain or colourless. 



The habits of this fish, so far as they are known, appear to 

 be different from those of the Father-lasher only in that it 

 keeps in deeper water. It feeds on the smaller crustacean 

 animals, and probably on very young fishes. As it is often taken 

 in crab-pots, which are usually set in places where sand and low 

 rocks are intermingled, we conclude that such are its favourite 

 resorts ; and that it enters those traps for the purpose of obtain- 

 ing a meal from the baits they contain. In its turn it becomes 

 a bait to entice the lobster and crab to a like captivity. 



