186 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



Expedition" bi'ought home specimens from the northern- 

 most parts of that region. It also occurs to the south, 

 though it is there "degenerate", as far as the Avest 

 coast of France, and on the American coast as far as 

 Ne\v York. 



This species is one of those that may be called 

 migratory. It moves from one place to another along 

 the coast of the sea which it inhabits, occurring in con- 

 siderable quantities at a, certain spot for some years 

 and tlieii suddenly diminishing in number, not to re- 

 appear in anj^ aljundance until after the lapse of ten 

 or twenty years. It occurs in water of no great depth, 

 ■where the bottom consists of clay or stones overgroAvn 

 with seaweed. Except during the spawning-season it 

 leads a solitary life and always keeps close to the bot- 

 tom. It passes tlie hours of daylight in dark crevices, 

 awaiting the approach of some victim. It is due to its 

 sluggisli disposition that it spends the greater part of 

 its existence in idleness and solitude. Rashness and 

 voracity are the other chief traits of its character. In 

 the latter respect it is surpassed by few, if any, fishes. 

 Three Roach, each nearly 100 mm. long, have ])een 

 found in a Sea Scorpion 220 mm. in length. Its ti- 

 midity is so slight that, when touched, it only makes 

 a leisurely movement to avoid the object that has dis- 

 turljed it, and soon stops, as still as if nothing had 

 happened. If it is caught, as often happens at ''forsk- 

 niny" (tishing Avith hand-lines for Codlings), and then 

 marked in a- way sometimes employed l)y the fisher- 

 men, by cutting away a part of one of its fins, and 

 again di'opped into the water, after a few minutes it is 

 ready to take the same hook and submit to the same 

 operation. Though so little sensitive, still it is not re- 

 markably tenacious of"^ life. When drawn out of the 

 water, it wriggles a few times in its eftorts to get free, 

 and, not succeeding in this, seems quite indifferent to 

 its fate, seldom showing any marked sign of life, even 

 though it is still alive. It seems to grow quickly, for 

 small specimens are rare. In Sweden it probably does 

 not propagate its s]:)ecies until it has attained a length 

 of about 1,50 mm.; no smaller specimens, at least, oc- 

 cur at the spawning-place. Its movements in the water 

 are speedy but not prolonged, and the winding curves, 

 like those of an Eel, in wliich its body moves, are ap- 

 parently the result of considerable exertion. Tlie gi^eat 

 size of its fins does not contribute greatly to the sj^eed 

 of its movements, but seems rather intended to main- 



tain the equilibrium of its bulky and unwieldy body. 

 Its food consists chiefly of other fishes, though, espe- 

 cially in winter, when the supply of fish is scanty, it 

 does not despise crustaceans, worms and mollusks. The 

 spawning-season begins in December and lasts through 

 the winter; but as eai'ly as the beginning of October 

 these fishes begin in large shoals to approach those 

 parts of tlie coast where the bottom consists of sand, 

 here and there overgrown with seaweed. The males 

 and females are then in company, but the former are 

 so greatly in the minority that one scarcely finds one 

 male to ten females. The latter come nearer shore 

 than the males, which extremely seldom occur at the 

 place where the roe is deposited. We might here find 

 grounds for the conjecture that the roe is fertilized 

 before its deposition, and that there is some closer 

 commerce between the sexes out at sea. In this case 

 the serrate teeth on the inside of the pectoral and vent- 

 ral fins in the male would help it to retain the female 

 during copulation. 



It is only the female of this species that is used 

 for food l)y the poor, who prove the truth of the pro- 

 verb: "the Cottus is the liest of fishes, when there is 

 no other to be got." If carefully j^repared, the flesh 

 is eatable, but it always retains a rank flavour which 

 is repulsive to most people. Tlie liver, however, is 

 one of the island delicacies, but if eaten in any quan- 

 tity, its flavour is also unpleasant. Tlie male is con- 

 sidered poisonous by most of the islanders, and is there- 

 fore not eaten: tlie}' never bring it home, but throAv 

 it back into the sea, as soon as caught. 



In the islands on the east coast tliis fisli is some- 

 times taken in nets really set for the Four-horned 

 Cottus; and in autumn it is speared with leisters by 

 torchlight. In consequence of the indift'erence to danger 

 displayed by it, the sport is by no means difficult, 

 and is a coniniou pastime among young people. If 

 the fisherman misses the fish, it moves only a yard 

 or two and stops again to await another blow. In 

 winter it is also fislied for with the BJauk-hrok (bright 

 hook), wliich exactly resembles that used for Perch. 

 The fisherman cliooses a spot in deep water, at the 

 foot of rocks or precipitous shores where the bottom 

 is stony. Bacon, meat, the eye of the Cottus or any- 

 thing eatable whatever is used as bait, for tlie Sea, 

 Scorpion is no dainty feeder. As it ahvaA's pays more 

 attention to the quantity tlian to the (juality of its food. 



" Cf. Smitt, Catalogue of llu> Swcilisli Deiiartnietit of the Fisheries Exhibition in London ISSS 



P- 



174. 



