490 THE DBAGONETS. 



eight or niue. It is nowbei'e found iu uumbers together, 

 thereby giving reason to suppose it lives alone or in pairs. 

 Prom the shape of its body it would seem to be slow in 

 its movements, and of a sluggish disposition, with which 

 supposition all we know of its habits agrees. It dwells in 

 deep water, probably where the bottom is soft, and only 

 comes near the shore on the approach of the breeding- 

 season. Both from its conformation and manner of living, 

 Swedish ichthyologists imagine it to live in monogamy. 

 It is said to be very tenacious of life, and to exist very 

 long out of tlie water. Its food consists of such small 

 prey as it can secure. One commonly finds in its stomach 

 several kinds of small Crustacea and univalve testacea, 

 large quantities of the crushed shells of these animals, 

 closely packed together, being often found in the thin 

 intestinal canal. Its flesh is white and jialatable ; but 

 being included amongst fishes tabooed by the fishermen, 

 it is not sought after, and, when accidentally captured 

 by nets or otherwise, is usually cast overboard. 



The Gallionijmiismacnlatas, Ilafin. {FldchUj Sjo-kocJc, or, 

 spotted dragonet, Sw.), pretty common in its proper home, 

 the Mediterranean, is very rare in the Scandinavian seas, 

 only two specimens having hitherto been taken, viz., one 

 in the Sound in 1830, and the other in the Bohus Skar- 

 gard, in 1836 ; both were males, the females not having 

 as yet been met with. It does not appear to be the same 

 species as that depicted and described by Yarrell, under 

 tlie name of the Sordid Dragonet (C. Dracunculus, Linn.). 

 It is much smaller than the C. Lyra, probably not 

 much exceeding six inches in length. The habits of both 

 would seem to be very similar. 



The Common Angler, Fishing Frog, or Sea Devil 

 ( Vanlig Marulk, Sw. ; Padclefisk, Norw. ; Kav-taske, i.e. 

 sea-purse, Dan. ; Lophius piscatorins, Linn.), was not 

 uncommon in our Skargard, and on the Avestern coast of 



