300 | VENOMS 
consider this variability to depend upon the amount of venom that 
has penetrated into the wound, and especially upon the season 
at which the accident takes place. The most serious results are 
recorded during the spawning season, and fishermen regard the 
Lesser Weever as being the more poisonous.” 
3.—Gobiide. 
In the fishes belonging to this family the body is elongated and 
depressed, while the spines in the anterior dorsal fin and in the 
ventral fins are slender, flexible, and seldom very solid. The ventral 
Fie. 109.—Callionymus lyra (Dragonet or Skulpin. Family Gobiideæ). 
fins are inserted on the breast or on the throat, and are either 
separated or united together in the shape of a funnel. The skin is 
naked or covered with large scales, and the mouth is furnished with 
teeth. The males are distinguished by the presence of a long 
genital papilla. These fishes are carnivorous. 
Several species of venomous Gobiidæ are met with on the shores 
