308 LIFE BY THE SEASHORE. 



creature. It has a peculiarly elongated and compressed form, 

 is exceedingly slimy to the touch, so that though it is not 

 particularly difficult to catch it is very difficult to retain when 

 caught, slipping through the fingers like the proverbial eel. 

 It is most commonly found under stones or weed, often 

 quite out of the water, and when uncovered regains the 

 water by very vigorous contractions of the body. Apart 

 from the eel-like shape, it is readily recognised by a row of 

 dark spots, usually about twelve in number, which run 

 down the back on or close to the long uniform dorsal fin. 

 Otherwise the colouring is not striking. The pectoral fins 

 are not large and the ventrals very small, so that there is 

 little to break the uniformity of the long, lank body. The 

 anal fin is present along about the posterior half of the 

 body. In water the gunnel swims easily and rapidly, but 

 at low tide it is most frequently found under stones in the 

 quiescent state. About six or seven inches is a common 



FIG. 88. Gunnel (Centronotus gunnellus). After Day. 



length, though larger specimens may be found, In early 

 summer one sometimes finds the young, curious white 

 creatures, with the heart clearly visible through the trans- 

 parent body-wall. 



Allied both to the gunnel and the shanny is the vivi- 

 parous blenny, a comparatively large fish it reaches a length 

 of two feet common between tide-marks. It is a little 

 apt to be confused with the shanny, although when the two 

 are put together the differences are well marked. As its 

 name indicates, the viviparous blenny (Zoarces viviparus) 

 gives birth to living young, instead of laying eggs, as the vast 

 majority of fishes do. The young are from one to one and a 

 half inches in length at birth, and are to be found in various 

 stages of growth at all seasons in the rock pools, while the 

 full-grown adults only occur there at times. Perhaps the 

 most obvious distinction from either the shanny or the 

 gunnel lies in the fact that the viviparous blenny has no 

 apparent tail fin, the dorsal and anal fins merely meeting at 



