110 NOTES ON THE REPRODUCTION OF TELEOSTEAN FISHES 



Trii,'loicl ova obtained at Marseilles by Marion, and subsequently 

 by myself, appear, from local considerations, to be referable to this 

 species. The only two which I observed measured 1"25 and 136 mm. 

 in diameter, with a single oil-globule of '26 and "28 mm. The 

 characters of the larva, according to my notes, cannot be stated 

 in such a way as to clearly distinguish the species from either ■ 

 T. gurnardus or T. pini, and I suspect that all gurnards are prac- 

 tically identical in conformation and pigment in the vitelligerous 

 condition. 



Since the tub attains a large size in the Mediterranean I suppose 

 that the dimensions of ova taken in that district may be of some service 

 in the determination of Plymouth tow-net material. I have therefore 

 assigned with due reserve to this species a Trigioid egg taken between 

 the Eddystone and Hand deeps on the 27th July. It measures 

 1'35 mm. in diameter, with an oil-globule of '28 mm. It is chiefly the 

 large size of the globule that inclines me to refer it to the tub rather 

 than to the Polperro bull-dog. 



Only two species of gurnard, viz., the tub and the grey gurnard, 

 T. gurnardus, appear to make their way into the Plymouth estuary. 

 Neither of them would appear to breed to any great extent in the 

 neighbourhood, yet the young of the season appear in some numbers in 

 the river in the autumn and winter. I do not propose to discuss the 

 matter here, but will merely remark that the Trigla nigriiKs of Malm 

 is certainly the young of T. hirundo. Smitt, who gives (Hist. Scand^ 

 Fish., Ed. ii., 1895, I) a figure of one of Malm's specimens, seems to 

 incline to the same view; but makes a reservation to the effect that 

 (1) the fin -rays of T. nigri2Jes may increase in number in the further 

 development of the individual, so as to bring it in harmony with 

 some species other than T. hirundo; (2) the ossicles of the lateral 

 line of T. nigripes are not present in the adult. 



Malm's specimen is about 20 mm. long. Plymouth examples of about 

 30 mm. agree equally well in fin-ray formula with T. hirundo, so that 

 it seems probable no increase of fin-rays takes place. The double row 

 of lateral-line ossicles is quite distinct from the single row of much 

 stouter bony structures in a T. gurnardus which is only a little larger 

 than the young 2\ hirundo. 



It appears from Smitt's remarks that the Scandinavian naturalists 

 have found a dilliculty in associating T. nigripes with 7\ hirundo on 

 account of the rarity of the latter. But the Tub or Latchett is not 

 rare on the Danish coast in summer, and the drift of the surface water 

 has been shown by Fulton to pass, under certain conditions of wind, 

 from the Danish to the Scandinavian coast. The young 2\ hirundo seems 

 to have a longer pelagic existence than other gurnards, since a specimen 



