LESSER WEEVEH. 



131 



The Grent Weever lives in wntcr of a iiiodei-ate 

 depth with a sandy buttom. It buries itself in tlie 

 sand and keeps in hiding, in order more suddenly 

 to attack its i)rey, which consists of small fishes and 

 crustaceans. The spaAvning-season occurs during the 

 summer months, when it goes nearest shore and is 

 oftenest caught. Its flesh is said to be of excellent 



fla\()ur, but, as we have mentioned, it is generallv 

 thrown away by tlie fishermen. 



The ccMunion name of the species in Bohuslan is the 

 one we have given. The same name occurs also in other 

 districts, though the pronunciation is somewhat changed, 

 e. g. Fdrsing. Fjdsing etc. In Norway, according to Asca- 

 Nius, it is called Kveise. (Fries, SMrrr.) 



LESSER WEEVER. 

 TRACHIN[TS VJPERA. 



Fis. ?,b. 



No pyeorbital or su'praorhitaJ spine. Anterior dorsal fin black, ivith 6 spinous rays. Second dorsal fin., as well 

 as the annl. irifJi nhoitt 24 rays. Cheeks naked. Greatest depth of the hodi/ ahont 20 or 21 % of the length. 



Fig. 35. Lesser Weever. Natural size. 



R. hr. r, ; //. 6 24; A. 

 + ,r; L. lat. (i2 ( + 4 caud). 



23 



P. 1+ 8 + 5 ; V. 



U. .r+10 



Si/n. Boderemi ou Bois de Roc, Ddh.4M., 7V. d. Peches, II, sect. 

 VI, p. 135. tab 1, fig. 2. 

 Trachinus vipera, Cuv., Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., vol. Ill, p. 

 254; Kroy., Danm. Fishe, vol. I, p. 71; Nilss., Shand. 

 Fn., Fisk., p. 46; Gthr, Vat. Brit. Miis., Fish., vol. II, 

 p. 236; Steind., Stzber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Math. Naturw. 

 CI., LVI (1867) 1, p. 607; D.\y, Fish. G:t Bvit., Irel., 

 vol. I, p. 81, tab. XXXI; Lillj., Sv., Nonj. Fiskar, vol. 

 I, p. 89. 



Among the older collections of the Royal Museum 

 from the time previous to 1839, is a jar labelled "Tra- 

 chinus ilraco, Fiirsing, — Suecia — ," but containing, 

 in addition to a specimen of tlie Great Weever, the 

 Lesser Weever which we have tigured here (tig. 35). 

 The reasons for the inclusion of this species in the 

 Scandinavian Fauna which have been given by Kr0Yer, 



NiLssoN and Lilljeborg, thu.-< find a further support. 

 With this exception the Lesser Weever has not been 

 observed on the coasts of Scandinavia. In Eng- 

 land and France and in the Mediterranean, on the 

 other hand, it is as common as the preceding species, 

 if not more so, and is all the more feared as its small 

 size — it is said never to exceed 135 ram. in length 

 — renders it less easy to distinguish, when it is caught 

 with other fishes. Its colouring, too, is duller: the back 

 is yellowish gray^ the sides silvery and the belly yellow; 

 but the scales are punctated with brown dots, which 

 are collected into a row of spots below the lateral line. 

 The top of the head is marked with spots formed of 

 black dots. Instead of describing it we shall give in 

 the following table a comparison between the specimen 

 of the Lesser Weever which belongs to the Royal Mu- 

 seum, and 7 specimens of the preceding species. 



