274 ACANTHOPTERYGIT. FAMILY OF GOBIES. 



patient observer. They also abound on the northern 

 and western shores of France, and M. d'Orbigny 

 has often seen them in sea-pools in the neighbour- 

 hood of Rochelle, where he has observed one esta- 

 blish itself under a shell, round which it will trace, 

 in the soft mud, a number of deep ruts, in the form 

 of diverging rays, and where it will keep watch 

 like a sentinel, waiting the minute animals which 

 sink into these gutters, and thus become its prey. 



(Sp. 75.) G. gracilis. The Slender Goby, which 

 has a strong general resemblance to the preceding, 

 was first described by that excellent and indefati- 

 gable Naturalist, Mr. Jenyns, upon the examination 

 of specimens brought from Colchester, and supposed 

 to have been captured on the Essex coast. It is 

 probably as abundant a species as the Freckled 

 Goby, and has generally been mistaken for it. 

 Dr. Parnell states that the two are frequently cap- 

 tured together. This last gentleman informs us 

 that he has taken it in numbers in the south of 

 England, also in the Solv/ay Firth, and in the 

 Forth ; and Mr. Thompson has procured examples 

 from the coasts of Down and from Lowth. Its 

 length is about three inches. It differs from the 

 Freckled Goby in being more elongated and slender 

 throughout, and in the snout being longer : the two 

 dorsals are further asunder ; the rays of the poste- 

 rior are larger, and gradually increase in length as 

 they approach the tail, whereas in the other species 

 they decrease. In other respects they are similar, 

 even as to colours, -vsath the exception of the anal 



