THE LUMPSUCKERS 



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The members of the typical genus Cyclopterus are ugly ' ' lumpy ' ' fishes, with 

 the thick, short body covered with a viscous tuberculated skin; the large head has a 

 very short, blunted muzzle; and there are rows of villiform teeth in the jaws, but 

 none on the palate. The skeleton is remarkable for its softness, owing to the small 

 amount of mineral matter entering into the composition of the bones. In the British 

 species ( C. lumptts) , represented in the upper figure of the accompanying illustra- 

 tion, the skin is so thick as to almost conceal the first dorsal fin; and in the adult 

 the large rough tubercles are arranged in four longitudinal series on each side of the 



LUMPSUCKER AND VIVIPAROUS BLENNY. 



(One-third natural size.) 



body. In the young, however, these tubercles are not developed. Although these 

 fishes may reach a length of a couple of feet, they do not usually measure more than 

 twelve or fourteen inches. Yarrell writes that " in the month of March the colors 

 of the lumpfish are in the highest perfection, combining various shades of blue, 

 purple, and rich orange." These voracious fishes feed chiefly on the fry of other 

 species. In the Arctic lumpsucker (C. spinosus) there are large, conical bony 

 plates, surmounted with a spine, on the head and body of the adult. In the allied 

 Liparis the skin is naked, and more or less loose. 



