244 PISHES OF THE FIRTH OF FORTH. 



culum rounded. Colour of the head, back, and sides, pale brownish- 

 yellow ; throat and belly white ; dorsal and caudal fins freckled and 

 barred with pale brown ; first dorsal fin with a black sj^ot between 

 the two last rays, which assumes a beautiful appearance when newly 

 taken from the w^ater ; lateral line crossed by six or seven dark spots, 

 the one at the base of the tail the most conspicuous. First dorsal 

 fin with fine, flexible, spiny rays, of which the second and third rather 

 the longest, commencing behind the base of the pectorals, and end- 

 ing in a line over the end of the pectoral rays ; second dorsal fin re- 

 mote from the first, commencing in a line over the vent, and ending 

 over the last ray of the anal, the anterior rays longer than the termi- 

 nating ones, all flexible and branched, except the first which is sim- 

 ple ; anal fin similar to the second dorsal, leaving a wide space be- 

 tween its termination and the base of the caudal rays ; ventral fins 

 united so as to form but one fin, the middle rays the longest, extend- 

 ing to the vent ; each ray is branched except the first and last, which 

 is very short and simple, between each is stretched a membrane form- 

 ing the base of the ventral disk. Pectorals, when turned back reach- 

 ing to the middle of the orbit ; the middle rays the longest ; tail even 

 at the end. Ej'es rather large, placed high on the head, approximat- 

 ing; cheeks tumid; under jaw the longest; teeth small and sharp 

 placed in two rows in each jaw, none in the tongue, palatines, or 

 vomer ; a small tubercle in front of the anal fin. Number of fin 

 rays — 



IstD. 6; 2dD. 11; P. 16 ; V. 10; A. 11 ; C. 15; B. 5. 



This fish does not appear to have been noticed by pre- 

 vious authors. I have observed it in most of the sandy bays 

 in the Firth of Forth, but in greater numbers and of larger 

 size in the neighbourhood of the salmon nets above South 

 Queensferry, where it may be found throughout the sum- 

 mer months in water from two to three feet deep. I found 

 it on the south coast of England, equally common with the 

 G. miimtus. I havealso found it in many situations where the 

 nmuitus was not seen ; and the minutns has been taken in 

 many places where the 6^. unipunctatus did not exist. The 

 most northern locality in which it has yet been observed ap- 

 pears to be the Moray Frith, where James Wilson, Esq., ob- 

 tained a fine specimen of three and a half inches in length. 



