274 BY THE DEEP SEA. 



as though modelled in butter, like young Canova's butter lion. 

 But Couch says its general colour is chestnut-brown, lighter 

 beneath. The head is broad and flat, the cheeks chubby, the 

 eyes small. The dorsal fin, which is marked with irregular 

 dusky clouds, has its fore-end just above the pectorals ; it is 

 there very slight, but a quarter of an inch further back it 

 gently rises to its full height and continues with equal depth 

 to the tail. The anal fin is about one-third shorter than the 

 dorsal, the curtailment being at the fore-end. The tail and 

 some of the fin-rays are prettily dotted with black. Like the 

 Two-spotted Sucker it reposes with its tail beside its head. 



TOPKNOT. 



And now for a short time we will leave these rocks, and step 

 across to the sandy shore that spreads for a little distance 

 round this segment of the bay. We shall not find much 

 animal life there, except what has been washed in with the 

 loose weeds and rubbish. You see from the absence of rocks 

 there is no protection, and no firm basis in the ever-shifting 

 sands for one to make a home. It is only burrowing molluscs, 

 a crab or two, and two or three fishes that we may expect to 

 find. Occasionally, where the water is very clear, we may see 

 small flat-fish swimming in their strange but elegant fashion, 

 and when wading we may chance to put a bare foot on one 

 that is resting on the sand, where they are invisible. Among 



