278 ACANTHOPTERFGII. FAMILY OF GOBIES, 



though not being esteemed by the fishennen, nor 

 caught in quantities, it is not much brought to mar- 

 ket. Mr. Pennant states it is not unfrequent on the 

 Scarborough coast, where it is taken by the hook in 

 thirty or forty fathom water. Dr. Parnell mentions 

 that he procured five specimens at one haul of 

 the sean-net, near Exeter; and had often seen 

 them taken in the shrimpiBg-nets, though of a 

 small size. It has also been discovered, though 

 rarely, near Belfast, and off the coasts of Cumber- 

 land and Cornwall; also at Weymouth, Hastings, 

 Harwich, Yarmouth, and Berwickshire. JMr. Low 

 mentions having seen one specimen in Orkney; 

 Nilsson includes it among the Norwegian fishes; 

 and it is noticed by most northern Ichthyologists. 

 It is also generally stated to be an inhabitant of the 

 Mediterranean; but to this statement M. Valen- 

 ciennes does not subscribe, having never received a 

 single example from these w^aters, and other fishes 

 have been mistaken for it. This fish occasionally 

 takes the bait, but is more frequently caught in the 

 net. Its food is testaceous and moUuscous animals 

 and worms. Its flesh is said, according to Mr. Yar- 

 rell, to be white, firm, and of good flavour. It is 

 very frequently the prey of other fishes. 



(Sp. 79.) C dracunculus. The Sordid Dragonet, 

 probably so called, says Mr. Yarrell, from the dingy 

 hue of its colours, as compared with those of its 

 generic companion, is the more common in various 

 parts of the coast. It is frequently taken at the 

 mouth of the Thames, where, on account of its red 



