78 



THE SEAS 



to stones, shells and weed. In these cases the eggs when 

 first shed are covered all over, or in certain places, with a 

 sticky secretion, which soon hardens and glues the egg fast 

 to the stone or shell with which it may be in contact. This 

 method is typical of many of those little fishes which are so 

 common in the rock pools and the tidal zone. The blennies, 

 the gobies and the suckers, all fasten their eggs in little 

 clusters to the insides of empty shells, and under over- 

 hanging ledges or in crevices in the rocks. 



Egg of Blenny (125) 



Fig. 12. 



Egg of Goby (x 20) 



The eggs, which are comparatively few in number, vary 

 considerably in shape. Those, for instance, of the common 

 blenny are rounded or spherical, with a httle disc -shaped 

 base that cements them to the rock, while those of the 

 gobies are elongated and flattened (Fig. 12). 



It is quite a common occurrence for th^se kinds of fishes 

 to guard their eggs. Not infrequently a blenny {Blennius 



