XXIII ACANTHOPTERYGII 689 
Fam. 1. Gobiidae.—Suborbital arch ligamentous or absent. 
Gill-membranes more or less broadly attached to isthmus; 4 to 
6 branchiostegal rays; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth ; pseudo- 
branchiae often present. All or most of the praecaudal vertebrae 
with transverse processes bearing the ribs, to which epipleurals 
are attached. Post-temporal forked, as in normal Perciformes. 
Ventral fins with 1 feeble spine and 4 or 5 branched rays, 
often united to form a sucking disk, a transverse fold of skin 
at their base completing the cup. 
Head usually more or less depressed, body varying from short 
and stout to elongate and eel-shaped, but never with a very 
high number of vertebrae, these varying from 24 to 37 
(10-14+13-24); scales cycloid or ctenoid, or absent; no 
lateral line; mouth moderate or large, dentition various; soft 
dorsal‘and anal fins nearly equally developed, varying from very 
short to very elongate ; usually a large anal papilla. 
Fia. 420.—Gobius ruthensparri. Nat. size. (From Holt and Byrne, Report 
Fisheries Ireland for 1901.) 
A large family of some 600 species, the great majority marine, 
mostly carnivorous and of small size. The largest form (£/eotris 
marmorata, from the rivers of Siam, Borneo, and Sumatra) grows 
to nearly 3 feet, whilst the smallest (MWistichthys luzonensis, 
from the Philippines) measures only 12 to 14 millimetres, and 
is believed to be the smallest known Vertebrate. Gobiids occur 
in all the seas outside the Arctic and Antarctic circles, and they 
have representatives in the fresh waters of all parts of the 
world. 
The genera are numerous but difficult of definition. The 
following are the principal: leotris, Oxymetopon, Vireosa, 
Rhyacichthys, Gobius, Crystallogobius, Aphia, Gobiosoma, Gobiodon, 
Benthophilus, Typhlogobius, Luciogobius, Sicydium, Lentipes, Peri- 
ophthalmus, Boleophthalmus, Amblyopus, Trypauchen, Trypau- 
VOL. VII es 
