BULL-HEADS AND GURNARDS 



229 



means of their 

 arm-like fins. Only 

 one species occurs 

 in British waters. 

 Its method of 

 spawning is remark- 

 able, in that the 

 eggs are laid in the 

 form of large raft- 

 like sheets, which 

 float on the surface 

 of the sea. The 

 number of eggs laid 

 by a single fish has 

 been computed to 

 be 1,345,000. A 

 single sheet of 

 spawn may measure 

 from 2 to 3 feet 

 in breadth and from ! 

 25 to 30 feet long. ' 



The B u L L - 

 HEADS and Gur- 

 nards, constituting 

 the next family, are 

 characterized bv the 



Photo by Savillc-Kent, F.Z.S.] 



BUTTERFLY-GURNARD 



T/ie head of all gurnards is encased in an armour of hony plates 



{Mitiord-oit-Sea 



spiny armature of the head and the 



Photo by ReinhoUi Thictc & Co.] \Chanccrx Lane, ]V. C. 



RED-GURNARD 



The curious finger-like processes are used as organs of touch as i^ell as locomotion 



great size of the breast-fins. The 

 former are represented in British 

 waters by four species, one of 

 which, the Miller's-thumb, 

 inhabits fresh-water. The 



marine species include the Sea- 

 scorpion and Father-lasher. 

 The Bull- heads on the 

 Indian and Australian coasts are 

 represented by the closely allied 

 Flat-heads, or Crocodile- 

 fishes, in which the head, as its 

 name implies, is much depressed, 

 and fully armed with spines, 

 which are highly poisonous, and 

 cause a violent irritation. These 

 fishes live in shallow water, 

 lying on the bottom, with which 

 their colours harmonize so com- 

 pletely that they are practically 

 invisible. The very large ventral 

 fins — those seen in the photo- 

 graph immediately behind the 

 breast-fins — are of great use in 

 locomotion. 



The Gltrnards are well- 

 known fishes, common on the 



