THE GOBIES AND SUCKERS. 367 



year, and it is one of the only European cases of what is 

 termed an "annual vertebrate." 



tThe Four- A. small species occurring in brackish 

 33T water. 



Wilsson's A small and rare semi-transparent deep- 

 Goby, water goby, having dark spots on the jaw 

 and fins. 



Parnell's This goby has light bands on the dorsal 

 Goby. fi nj dark on t h e cau dal. 



The Gemmeous Dragonet is a beautiful smooth-skinned 

 species, the male being orange and blue in colour, with red 

 Gemmeous and lilac markings, and having the dorsal fin 

 Dragonet. y e n ow with lilac bands, with a long ray. The 

 duller female, known as the "Dusky Skulpin," is brown, 

 with various spots and blotches, and lacking the long 

 dorsal ray. The mouth is pointed, its opening being of 

 small size; and the food consists chiefly of molluscs. 



[The Spotted Dragonet^ a deep-water species, has been 

 once dredged near the Hebrides. There are black spots 

 on the fins, sometimes on the body.] 



2. THE SUCKERS. 



Among the ugly fish of the sea none can perhaps bid 

 against the Lumpsucker for sheer repulsiveness of exterior, 

 with its slimy skin and rows of tubercles, the 

 sucker or s ^ n almost enveloping the front dorsal fin. It 

 Cock- grows to a weight of 20 Ibs., the colour of the 

 pai e. ma l e being normally red, that of the female 

 blue. The young, which are of a bright green, are often 

 taken in the salmon-nets. The eggs, also reddish, are de- 

 posited among the rocks, and are jealously guarded by the 



