The Gurnard. 445 



The Grey Gurnard (Trigla gurnardus) usually measures 

 from one to two feet in length. The extremity of the 

 head, in front, is armed on each side with three short 

 spines. The forehead and the covers of the gills are 

 silvery ; the latter being finely radiated. The body is 

 covered with small scales ; the upper parts are of a 

 deep grey, spotted with white and yellow, and some- 

 times with black ; and the lower parts silvery. About 

 the months of May and June, the Grey Gurnards a,p 

 proach the shores in considerable shoals, for the pur- 

 pose of depositing their spawn in the shallows ; at other 

 times they reside in the depths of the ocean, where they 

 have a plentiful supply of food in crabs, lobsters, and 

 other shell-fish, on which it is supposed they for the 

 most part feed. They are occasionally found on the 

 shores of Great Britain and Ireland, in the spawning 

 season. 



The Lucerna is caught in the Mediterranean Sea, and 

 is of a very curious shape ; its fins about the gills being 

 so large, and spreading so much like a fan on each side, 

 that they appear somewhat like wings. The- tail is 

 bifid, and the scales very small. The flesh is esteemed 

 among the Italians, and the Lucerna is often seen in the 

 fish-markets of Naples, Venice, and other towns on the 

 sea-shore. This fish much resembles the Father Lasher 

 and the Gurnard ; and it is called Lucerna because it 

 shines in the dark. 



The Flying Gurnard (Dactyloptcra Mediterranea), which 

 is the commonest flying-fish of the Mediterranean Sea, is 

 about a foot long ; it is brown above, reddish below, 

 and has blackish fins spotted with blue. The pectoral 

 fins with which it supports itself in the air are of im- 

 mense extent. On each operculum there is a long and 

 pointed spine, with which the fish can inflict severe 

 wounds. 



