BLENNIID,E. — LXXXIII. 157 



No pyloric caeca or air-bladder. Vertebrae about 25. Small, car- 

 nivorous fislies, creeping about on sea-bottoms after the fashion of 

 the Darters, a group which the Gobies much resemble. Genera 70 ; 

 species about 400, chiefly of tropical seas and ponds. South of 

 Cape Hatteras a multitude of species are found, but only one is at 

 all common X . of that point. 



a. Ventral fins united; dorsals separate, free from caudal. (Gobiince.) 

 b. Ventral disk not adcate to belly; teeth simple; shoulder girdle without 

 fleshy processes. 



c. Body with ctenoid scales ; dorsal spines 6 Gobius, 203. 



cc. Body with small, cycloid scales ; dorsal spines 7 or 8. 



Microgobius, 204. 

 ccc. Body entirely naked Gobiosoma, 2u5. 



203. GOBIUS (Artedi) Linnaeus. (The old name, from kco^los, 



gudgeon.) 



434. G. soporator Cuv. & Val. Olivaceous, dotted. C. short. 

 Head 3; depth 4f. D. VI- 1, 9. A. I, 8. Scales 35-13. L. 6. 

 Tropics ; N. to Carolina. (Lat., sleeper.) 



204. MICROGOBIUS Poey. (fiucpos, small ; Gobius.) 



435. M. eulepis Eigenmann & Eigenmann. Yellowish, dotted ; 

 1st D. with black spot. Head 4; depth h\. D. VII - 15. A. 16. 

 Scales 50-14. L. 2. Fortress Monroe. («5, well ; Xori's, scale.) 



205. GOBISOMA Girard. (Gobius; aw/ia, body.) 



436. G. bosci (Lace*pede). Body moderately chubby; cheeks 

 tumid. Olive with darker cross-shades. Head 31; depth 5 to 6. 

 D. VII- 14. A. 10. L. 2\. Cape Cod to S. C. (To M. Bosc, 



French consul at Charleston.) 



Family LXXXIII. BLENNIID^E. (The Blexxies.) 



Body oblong or variously elongate, naked, or covered with smooth 

 scales; teeth well developed; suborbital ring without "stay"; D. 

 lonrr, continuous, or divided ; the anterior portion, and sometimes 

 the whole fin of spines, either stiff or flexible; anal long; V. jugu- 

 lar, few rayed or wanting ; C. present ; tail not isocercal ; pseudo- 

 branchiae present; air-bladder usually wanting. Vert. 30 to 100. 

 Genera 50 ; species nearly 300. a varied group mostly inhabiting 

 shallow sea-bottoms and rock-pools. A few are ovoviviparous. 

 (Blenrtius, ancient name, from fi\ivva, slime.) 



a. Teeth long, slender, curved, like comb-teeth, in front of jaws only ; body 

 naked ; soft rays forming about half of D. ; V. well developed. Vertebras 

 30 to 40. Carnivorous, oviparous, tropical. (Blenniince.) 

 b. Gill membranes broadly united to the isthmus. 



(1. Mouth large; head pointed; no canines. . . . Chasmodes, 206. 

 dd. Mouth small, the head blunt in profile. 



