CKKSTKl) m,i;NNY. 



219 



pliob's, here also, as Nii.ssoN has remarked, demands the retention of 

 the Linna}an name. Pholis was a Mediterranean fisli, and in Ronde- 

 LET (Artedi's and LiNNa:us's, as well as WiixuoiinY's, chief authority 

 with regard to this species), certainly- did not mean the more Atlantic 

 species whicli occurs in Scandinavia, and wliich now hears the name. 

 But LiNN^us also quoted Gronovius's Mas. /c/ith., va]. II, no. 17.0, 

 a passage which leaves no room for any doubt as to his application 

 of Blennhts pliolis. Here too, where LlNN^;us lias quoted S'l'UOEM, 

 the case is the same; and with regard to galen'ta we now have the 

 further advantage that hardly anyone at the present day will refer 

 the species here in question to the same genus as the species with 

 which it has been confounded by LlNN.fEUS. There is thus no danger 

 of confusion, even if we retain the Linnnean specific name in both 

 genera, in Bleuniiis from tlie 10th and in Chiroloplii.f from the 12th 

 edition of jSi/stema Nahivce. 



The form of body of the Crested 151enny is, so to 

 speak, oil the point of transition to the ribbon shape; 

 it is fairly thick anteriorly, but the caudal part, which 

 is the longer, is perfectly ribbon-shaped. Among the 

 characters given above ^ve iind a peculiarit}-, of which 

 there is onlj- a slight trace in Blennius phoUs, but 

 which is all the more developed in other forms within 

 the faniilv. This consists in the circumstance that on 

 the posterior margin of the gill-opening we find, in 

 the iirst place, at the top, by the upper corner, a 

 dermal flap — evidently a continuation of the branchio- 

 stegal membi'ane, ^vllich here advances above the slit, 

 and in other species, e. g. Cliims supcrciUosns" , is con- 

 tinued do^vn to the liase of tlie ])ectoral fin, where, in 

 Blennius ocellaris for example, it projects in a dermal 

 flap over the upper corner of the axil — and in the 

 second place, farther downwards and inwards, on a level 

 with the upper half of the base of the pectoral fin, a 

 bony ridge, covered with skin, and here of uniform 

 height, but in CI i mis snpcrciliosiis at the lower end 

 produced into a hook. The upper supporting rays of the 

 caudal fin (in the specimens belonging to the Royal 

 Museum) are remarkable for the circumstance that the 

 two anterior ones are real spinous rays, with a mem- 

 brane between them, as well as in continuation with 

 the dorsal fin. The membrane of the anal fin also 



advances over the margin of the caudal fin. Of the 

 latci-nl line of the body we can oidy find a row of 6 

 jwres at the lieginning, but the head is furnished with 

 the ordinary rows of distinct pores, both in the margin 

 of the preoperculum, with a continuation under the 

 lower jaw, and in the suborbital ring with a continua- 

 tion on the snout. 



Tlie Crested Blenny is a northern form, whicli, 

 at depths varying from .some few to ISO fathoms, ex- 

 tends from the extreme north of Norway to the south 

 coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. As early as 1762, 

 Strom described it as occurring in the south of Norway. 

 During Gaimard's expedition Kroveh obtained speci- 

 mens at Bosekop in Finmark. In Christiania Fjord, 

 according to Collett, it is taken almo.st yearly; ))ut 

 on the coast of Sweden it is extremelj' rare. In July, 

 1S61, Malm took three small specimens, the smallest 

 somewhat under 27 mm., the largest 34 mm. in length, 

 at the entrance of Gullmar Fjord; and C. A. Hax.ssox 

 has procured for the Royal Museum a specimen 21 cm. 

 long, a male, which was taken in December, 1879, in 

 an oy.ster- dredge, at a depth of 12 fathoms, in Dynekil 

 near Stromstad. Day gives several instances of its 

 occurrence on the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. 

 Farther south it has not been found. 



The habits of the Crested Blenny ai-e but little 

 known. According to Couch, it is now and then taken 

 in crab-]jots, into which it is probal)ly enticed Ijy the 

 bait. In its stomach have been found inollusks, worms, 

 Hydroids, Spongias and seaweed. Its food thus seems 

 to be the same as that of the true Blennies; and in 

 captivity it lives in the same way as the Shanny, ready 

 in a moment to hide under a stone or some similar 

 object. When resting at the bottom of the aquarium, 

 it curls its tail up to its head, and depresses the anal 

 fin laterally, as if to support itself more securely. It 

 is far too rare, and its size far too small, for it to 

 possess any economical importance. 



" = Blfiiiiiiis mustelaris, Mas. Ad. Friil. Lixn.eus's two original specimens are still to be found in the Royal Museum; and they 

 show that the character, "caput absque cristis", is due to an oversight. Linn.eus's var. ,i may perhaps be explained by the fact that in the 



3+34 (31) . 2 



one specimen the membrane is torn behind (lie third ray in the dorsal fin. The fin-formula is: D. 



8(7) 



A. 



28 (26) 



