2 3>o THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Phctc h If. Savi7/«-A'<r.i, F.Z.S.] L.V;i//,rJ-.,..j., 



BAR-TAILED FLAT-HEAD 



yi shalloiv-ivater jiih 



ehtta b) If. Suvil.,-K,ni, F.Z. S ] [.Vlil/trd-on-Sta 



ROCK FLAT-HEAD 



About forty sp€itfs of jiat-hfajs are hno".vn 



coasts of Britain, and extending from tropical to arctic seas. Their curiousl)- shaped heads 

 give them a ver)' quaint appearance. One of the most remarkable peculiarities of these fishes 

 is the separate condition of some of the raj's of the breast-fins, which form finger-like organs, 

 used to feel the ground and rake over loose stones, to disco\'er small shrim[)s and other 

 animals hidden underneath. Furthermore, the gurnards are peculiar in that the_\- are enabled 

 to communicate one with another b\' means of sounds produced b_\' the expulsion of air from 

 one compartment of the air-bladder to another. The females are much more common than 

 the males, and also slightl)' larger. The j'oung are remarkable for the ennmious size of the 

 breast-fins, though even in the adult these are unusuall_\- large. 



Close allies of the Gurnards are the Flvixi;-c;l'KXARI)S, which, b\' reasi:)n of the extreme 

 development of the breast-fins, are enabled to take fl.ving leaps out of the water. One species 

 is common in the Mediterranean. The flving-gurnard is not to be mistaken for the true 

 " flying-fish," or flying-herring, described later. 



The curious mail-clad .Akmek Bl'LL-HE.\d, or Poc.cE, commonl_\- taken in shrimp-nets, is an 

 ally of the flsing-gurnard. 



CHAPTER V 



LUMP-SUCKERS, GOBIES, BLENNIES, BARRACUDAS, GRET MULLETS, 

 STICKLEBACKS AND THEIR ALLIES, GARPIKE, AND FLYING-FISHES 



BV W. P. PVCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S. 



UGl.V in appearance and carnivorous in habits, the Sucker-fish Famil\- are distinguished 

 by the presence of a large round sucker on the belly, with which they adhere to rocks. 

 Furthermore, the sucker-fishes are remarkable for the softness of their skeleton, which 

 may be cut through at any point with an ordinary knife. The male lump-sucker is smaller 

 than the female, but much more brightl)- coloured, especially during the breeding-season, when 

 he dons a livery of blue, scarlet, and yellow. He is also a model parent, alwa\-s remaining near 

 the eggs and keeping a constant stream of fresh water running over them b_\- the action of 

 his breast-fins. A single female may produce as man}- as 136,000 eggs in a single season. 

 In Scotland the male is known as the CoCK and the female as the Hex Padole. The species 

 is more common off the coasts of Scotland than elsewhere in the British Islands. 



Like the Lump-suckers, the Gobies, which form the next family, have the ventral fins 

 modified so as to form a sucking-disk, which is used as an anchor. But the gobies are easily 



