114. BLENNIIDiE BLENNIUS. 759 



1158. H. gominattis (Wood) J. & G. 



Olive brown, faintly barred wnth darker; sides plain (in our speci- 

 mens), or with "several pairs of spots of a reddish-brown color, ar- 

 ranged pretty regularly in a double row" (lFoof7); vertical fins edged 

 with darker, especially tlie anal; dorsal black in front. Head not very 

 blunt, the anterior profile straight, obliipie; orbital cirrus not large, 

 shorter than eye, branched at tip; interorbital space concave, not half 

 diameter of eye; a slight transverse groove behind eye; canines in both 

 jaws very strong, hooked backwards, the lower considerably stronger 

 than upper; gill-openings extending downward' to opposite or slightly 

 below lower edge of pectoral. Dorsal fin not eniarginate, the spines 

 slender, but rather stiti", lower than the soft rays; pectorals shortish, 

 veutrals rather long. Head 3^ ; depth 4. D. XI, 15 ; A. 18. L. 2 J 

 inches. South Atlantic coast of the United States; abundant in empty 

 shells and clusters of tunicates. 



{Blennius (jcminatns Wood, Jouru. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. iv, 278, 1824: ^ Blennius 

 geminatus Guuther, iii, 223.) 



405.— BI.E]\]\IUS Linnajus. 



Blennies. 



(Artedi; Liuuieus, Syst. Nut. : type Blenuins oceJlaris L.) 



• Body oblong, compressed, naked ; head short, the profile usually 

 bluntly rounded; mouth small, horizontal, with a single series of long, 

 slender, curved, close-set teeth in each jaw, besides which, in the lower 

 jaw at least, is a fang-like canine tooth on each side; premaxillaries not 

 protractile; gill-oiienings wide, extending forward below, the mem- 

 branes free from the isthmus, or at least forming a fold across it. Dor- 

 sal fin entire, or more or less emarginate, usually free from caudal, the 

 spines slender; pectorals moderate; ventrals well developed, I, 3; no 

 pyloric coeca; lateral line dev^eloped anteriorly. Species very numer- 

 ous, lurking under rocks and algae in all warm seas; some species in 

 the lakes of ]S'orthern Italy. [Blennius, the ancient name, from ^jlewa^ 

 slime.) 



a. Orbital cirri present. (Blennius.) 

 b. Both jawa with caniuo teeth. 

 c. Dorsal little einargiuato. 



1 159. B. fucorum Cuv. & Val. 



Olive green, becoming darker above, with numerous brown spots 

 on the cheeks and sides of the body; below faintly reddish. Orbital 



