280 ACANTHOPTERYGII. FAMILY OF GOBIEg. 



possess great quickness of sight, and dart with 

 SAviftness when alarmed, though not to a great dis- 

 tance ; and I have seen this Sordid Skulpin repeat- 

 edly mount after prey, and invariably return to the 

 same spot again. This motion is chiefly performed 

 by the ventral fins ; and the eye is well adapted to 

 the habit, the muscles of the organ being fitted to 

 direct the sight upwards and not downwards. They 

 sometimes take the hook, though rarely ; and they 

 are very much preyed upon by the larger fish, in 

 the stomachs of which they are often found. They 

 feed on shell-fish, worms, and molluscous animal^.* 



