146 SALT-WATER FISHES 



the writer is not aware of any existing record of its having been 

 heard from fish in that position. On the American and other 

 tropical coasts, however, the so-called " drums " utter sounds 

 beneath the water which make themselves distinctly heard by 

 the occupants of boats passing over fish lying at some depth. 



The Sea-scorpion (Cot/us scorpius) is, like most of these 

 fishes, well armed, carrying spines above the eyes and on the 

 gill-covers. It grows to a length of 15 in. in our seas, and is 

 grey in colour on the back, with often some yellow on its 

 white underparts ; and in some examples there are red shades 

 on the fins, but this is not apparently a constant character. 

 It frequents estuaries, and appears to live in brackish water 

 without inconvenience. It has no scales. Its teeth are feeble, 

 as are those in all the bullheads and gurnards. It seems to 

 be rarer on our south-west coast than the father-lasher ; indeed, 

 Cunningham has not found it at Plymouth at all. Mcintosh 

 says that its eggs are abundant on the east coast of Scotland 

 in March, attached to stones, weeds, and debris. On the west 

 coast they are apparently found about a month earlier. They 

 are some shade of pink or red and covered with small 

 punctures, and they hatch out at the bottom of the shallow 

 water. The larvK exhibit remarkable vitality. 



The Father-lasher (C. bubalis) is a smaller species, with a 

 longer spine on the upper portion of the gill-cover. Although 

 the majority of individuals have the dull covering characteristic 

 of the bullheads, purple-red examples are sometimes taken ; 

 and Cunningham thinks that these must have resided among 

 the red weeds. 



The father-lasher deposits its spawn among the weeds, 

 often above low-water mark, and thus exposed to the air when 

 the tide recedes. 



The Four-horned Cottus (C. quadricornis) has four rough 

 tubercles, in pairs, on the head, and there are also rows of 

 tubercles along the sides. Like the father-lasher, it grows in 

 our seas to about a foot, or a little more, in length. It is also 



