THE GOBY FAMILY 



231 



distinguished b}- their smaller size, elongated bodies, hard skeleton, and the disposition and 

 structure of the fins, characters which need not be discussed further. 



One species, the SPOTTED GoRV, or Pole-wtnx;, found in the Thames, is noteworthy 

 on account of its nest-building habits. The male chooses the empt}' shell of a cockle or 

 mussel, selecting one with its concave surface downwards. Beneath this the sand is cleared 

 awa)- and cemented by a special glue-like secretion formed by the skin of the fish. A cylindrical 

 tunnel is then built to gi\-e access to the nest, and the whole is covered over with loose 

 stones. In the nest-chamber formed b)- the shell the eggs are laid, the male immediately 

 after mounting guard over them till they hatch, which the\- do in about nine days. 



Another species, the Pellucid Gouv, is remarkable in that its whole life's course is run 



.^.^!^. 



Phtia *. Riinh,!J Thiil, f^ f, ] 



[c>la»«r; Tani. Cf^. C. 



LUMP-SUCKER 



Knoiun alio as tht Cxk and //t/i PaJJ.'e 



in a single }-ear. In June and July the eggs are laid; they are hatched in August; by the 

 time winter has arrived the fish have reached maturity-, and die off in the following July and 

 August, so that in September only the fry are to be met with. 



One of the strangest of all fishes is a member of the Goby Famil}-. This is the 

 W.ALKING-FL^H, so called from its habit of spending most of its time on the mud-banks of 

 rivers, or on the roots of trees growing in the neighbourhood. The late Surgeon-General Day, 

 describing these fishes as he saw them along the side of the Burmese rivers, writes that at 

 first sight they look like large tadpoles. When suddenl)- startled by something, awa\- they go 

 with a hop, skip, and a jump inland among the trees, or on the water like a flat stone or 

 piece of slate sent skimming b\- a schoolbo)-. When climbing, the breast-fins are used, as if 

 they were arms, to grasp the boughs. If placed in deep water, these fishes are speedily 

 drowned ! 



