168 MARINE FAUNA OF ST. ANDREWS. 



Subkingdom VER TEBRA TA. 



Class PISCES. 



Contrasted with the extreme shores of Britain the fish-fauna 

 of St. Andrews bay exhibits certain interesting differences, 

 though of course its features are common to many other parts 

 of the north-east coast. There are, for instance, no shoals of 

 young wrasses (chiefly Jago's goldsinny) gliding amongst 

 the seaweeds, or swarms of grey mullets, as in the tide-runs of 

 the sandy flats and inland seas of the western shores — no large 

 rock-fishes (Ballan wrasses) hiding like dark shadows under the 

 tangles, groups of black gobies between tide-marks, or of 

 young congers breaking the border of the flowing tide into 

 a seething expanse, as in the quiet bays of the southern 

 parts, just as the " schuUs " of glittering pilchards do on the 

 surface of the open water. The curious Hippocampi, exquisite 

 red mullets, and the splendid conger-fishing also belong to 

 the latter region, together with the abundance of the smaller 

 sharks in-shore. The sandy western shores of England are 

 also distinguished by the greater variety of large Pleuro- 

 nectidffi, and the frequent occurrence of red gurnards, angel- 

 iishes, and spotted rays. The adjoining bay, moreover, does 

 not present that richness of finny life — from the little bimacu- 

 lated sucker nestling beside its ova in the hollows of the 



