Popular SHctt'onarn of &mmatco 



any considerable distance; but in a short 

 time they recover, and presently disappear. 

 It is from the scales of this fish that the 

 beautiful silvery matter used in the pre- 

 paration of artificial pearls is chiefly taken; 

 other bright-scaled fishes may, however, be 

 used for the same purpose. 



BLENNY. (Blennius.) A genus of small 

 Acanthopterygious fishes, living in email 

 shoals, and frequenting rocky coasts, where 

 they may be often found in pools of water 

 left by the tide. The Blennies have one 

 well-marked character in their ventral fins, 

 inserted before the pectorals, and having 

 only two rays each. The stomach is slender, 

 with no cul-de-sac ; the intestine large, 

 without caeca, and there is no air-bladder. 

 The form is elongated and compressed, and 

 there is but one dorsal, composed almost 

 entirely of jointless but flexible rays. Their 

 skin is covered with a mucous secretion ; 

 they have teeth equal and closely set, form- 

 ing only a single row in each jaw ; their 

 head is blunt, their profile vertical, and their 

 muzzle short. There are several species ; a 

 brief description of three, however, will be 

 ample. 



The CRESTED BLENNY. ( Blennim ga- 

 lerita.) This species is about four or five 

 inches in length, and is found about the 

 rocky coasts of Great Britain. The body is 

 long, compressed, smooth, and slippery ; 

 colour yellowish brown, freckled with darker 

 coloured specks ; head furnished on the 

 middle with a transverse finny appendage, 

 which can be either raised or depressed at 

 pleasure ; and between the eyes is a small 

 triangular prominence, pointing backward, 

 and red about the edges ; ventral fins very 

 small and short, dorsal shallow, running 

 from the hind part of the head to the tail, 

 which is of a round shape, and the vent 

 situated under the ends of the pectoral fins. 



The OCELLATED BLENNY, or BUT- 

 TERFLY FISH. (Blennius oceJIaris.) This 

 very small species is a native of the Medi- 



GOET.T.ATBD BLBNUT, OR BDTTER*LT-FI8H. 

 (BLBNNIOS OCBTLARI8.) 



terranean. hnt is occasionally found in the 

 South of England by dredging. It has two 

 lobes in the dorsal, the first marked with a 



round black spot surrounded by a white ring, 

 and then a black one. It lives among the 

 rocks and sea- weed, and is believed to sub- 

 sist on minute Crustacea and Mollusca. 



The GATTORUGINOUS BLENNY 



( Btcnnhis Gattorvgiri) is about six inches 

 long ; the body smooth, and eompressed 

 on the sides ; the belly rather prominent, 

 and the vent situated as in the crested Blen- 

 ny. The head is grooved between the eyes, 

 and furnished with two branched mem- 

 branes, situated just above the eyelids, a 

 distinguishing mark of the species. The 

 pectoral fins, which are broad and rounded, 

 consist of fourteen rays ; the dorsal fin has 

 thirty-three ; the ventral two ; the anal 

 twenty-three ; and the tail, which is slightly 

 rounded, has eleven rays. This fish is of a 

 dusky colour, marked across with wavy lines. 

 It has occasionally been found on our western 

 coasts, but is not very common. 



BLEPHARIS. A genits of Acanthoptery- 

 gious fishes, distinguished by their having 

 long filaments to their second dorsal and to 

 their anal fin rays. One species of the 

 Ulepharu, inhabiting the West Indian seas, 

 is known under the appellation of the Cob- 

 blfr-jish, probably on account of the long 

 thread-like appendages for which it is so 

 conspicuous. 



BLEPSIAS. A genus of Acanthoptery- 

 gious fishes, the generic characters of which 

 are, compressed head, cheeks mailed, fleshy 

 barbels under the lower jaw, gills with five 

 rays, and one dorsal fin divided into three 

 unequal lobes. 



BLETHISA. A genus of carabidous Co- 

 leopterous insects, consisting of three known 

 species, only one of which has been found in 

 this country : this is about half an inch long, 

 of a rich bronze or brassy hue, and with 

 numerous indented points on the elytra,: 

 it frequents marshy situations, and is often 

 found crawling upon willow trees. 



BLIND- WORM, or SLOW- WORM. (An- 

 guixfrayilis.) A species of viviparous reptile 

 j belonging to the third subgenus of the family 

 Anyuiilce, which may be said to form the 

 connecting link between the lizards and the 

 true serpents. Though somewhat formida- 

 ble in appearance, the Blind-worm is per- 

 fectly innocuous. Its usual length is about 

 eleven inches ; the head is small ; the eyes 

 are also small, and the irides red ; the neck 

 is slender, and thence the body enlarges, 

 continuing of equal bulk to the tip of the 

 tail, which ends bluntly, and is as long as 

 the body. The general colour of the back is 

 cinereous, marked with very small lines of 

 minute black specks ; the scales are small, 

 smooth, and shining, of a silvery yellow on 

 the upper parts, and dusky beneath ; the 

 tongue is broad and forked ; and the teeth 

 are very small and numerous. The Blind- 

 worm feeds on earthworms, insects, &c., and 

 among the uninformed has the character of 

 possessing the most deadly venom. The mo- 

 tion of this reptile is slow ; from which cir- 

 cumstance, as well as from the smallness of 

 its eyes, its names are derived. Like all 



H 2 



