THE GENUS GASTEROSTEUS. 73 



mandibles nearly cover the chin. The dorsal fin is midway between the snout 

 and the base of the caudal fin. Pointed scales extend alon<^ the base of the 

 first sj)iny dorsal fin. There is no pointed scale at the base of the pectoral 

 fin. The back is greenish, with paler sides and silvery abdomen. Dark 

 greenish stripes run along the sides. This species, under the name of the 

 Arundel Mullet, is one of the celebrated good things of the county of Sussex, 

 sometimes found in the Aran, nearly twenty miles from the sea. 



Moreau mentions that the roe of the Mullet is salted and dried in Provence, 

 and made into a kind of caviare, which is sold under the name Boutarffue. 



Family: G A S T E R O S T E I D^. 

 Genus : Gasterosteus (Artedi). 



The sticklebacks belong to a great division of the spiny-rayed fishes 

 in which the spinous dorsal fin, when present, is represented by isolated 

 spines, and the ventral fins are either in the throat, or, if abdominal, have 

 the pubic bones attached to the arch which supports the pectoral fin. The 

 mouth is small, and at the extremity of the snout. In this group of fishes 

 Dr. Giinther includes two families, the Gasterosteida, which comprise the 

 single genus Gasterosteus, and the Fistulariida', or Tobacco-pipe fishes, 

 which are all marine. 



These fishes have an elongated and compressed body ; the opening of 

 the mouth is oblique ; the teeth are villiform, and placed on the jaws. The 

 infra-orbital bones cover the cheeks. There are no spines to the opercular 

 bones. There are no scales, but large scutes form an incomplete armour along 

 the sides. Formidable isolated spines occur in front of the soft dorsal fin. 

 The ventral fins are joined to the pubic bone, and each is composed of a 

 spine and a small ray. There arc three branchiostegal rays. The air- 

 bladder is simple and oblong, and there are few pyloric appendages to 

 the stomach. 



Gasterosteus aculeatns (Linn^us). — Stickleback. 



D. 3, 10—12, A. 1/8—9, V. 1/1, P. 10, C. 4/12/5. 



This Stickleback (Fig. 28) is characterised by its three isolated dorsal 

 spines, which are separated from each other ; the middle and longest of the 

 spines is about three-fourths of the greatest height of the body. The 



