158 SALT-WATER FISHES 



Thus another species, the white, or transparent, goby 

 {Aphia), was found by Professor White in the Menai Strait 

 in great abundance in 1897, but during the six years that 

 have since elapsed only stray individuals have been taken on 

 the same grounds. Prof. Herdman and Mr. Dawson mention 

 that its numbers vary in the Lancashire district from year 

 to year, and in some seasons it is netted in company with the 

 shoals of young herrings. 



The third result to which the further study of such small 

 fishes may always be expected to lead is the addition of new 

 species hitherto overlooked. Of this one case was cited above. 

 Again, in the group under notice, Dr. Scharff described Gobius 

 friesii for the first time in working out the results of the Irish 

 surveys in 1889 and 1891; and yet more recently, in 1897, 

 Messrs. Holt and Byrne added G. scorpoidei, one example of 

 which they dredged in the mouth of Falmouth Harbour 

 among a quantity of dead shells. 



From this alone it will be apparent that the gobies, though 

 neglected by the fishermen, are of great interest to the shore- 

 naturalist, for their haunts come within the scope of his 

 necessarily restricted operations, and it is open to all to find 

 the rarer kinds in a ramble among the rock pools. The 

 rarer flat-fishes, on the other hand, and gadoids, reside out in 

 the deeper offshore waters, and are, as a rule, discovered only 

 by elaborately equipped scientific expeditions. 



There are, as may be seen by reference to the foregoing 

 list, twelve gobies at present named as British, though, for 

 the reasons given above, this list may be regarded as subject 

 to^early additions. 



The Four-spotted Goby {Gobius quadrimaculatus) is the 

 one which Day apparently confused with G. jeffreysii. Neither 

 call for detailed account. 



G. scorpoides, equally rare, has just been mentioned. 



The Black Goby (G. niger), or Rock Goby, is the largest 

 species but one in our seas, and has white blotches on its dull 



