296 



of 



i of this fierce animal. [See GLUTTON and | Japanese, the Carolina, the Lineated, the 

 WOLVERINE.] | Flying, &c. ; with the last mentioned of which 



GURNARD . ( TVfctaO A genus of Acan- we sha11 close our account of the Gurnards. 

 ! thopterygious fishes, of which there are se- 



veral species. The generic characters are 

 head nearly square, covered with bony 

 plates ; two dorsal fins, the rays of the first 

 spinous, those of the second flexible ; teeth 

 in both jaws and on the front of the vomer 

 pointed, small, and numerous ; seven bran- 

 chiostegous rays ; and three slender appen- 

 dages at the base of each pectoral fin. 



I The GREY GURNARD. (Trigla yurnardus.) 

 \ This fish is distinguished by its elongated 

 body, and varies from one to two feet in 

 i length : the back is of a greenish brown 

 i colour, marked with black, yellow, and 

 j white spots ; the lateral line is very promi- 

 nent, and strongly serrated ; and the sides 

 1 are of a pale hue, variegated with numerous 

 ; white spots : the belly is white ; the nose | 

 ; long, sloping, and bifurcated. The eyes are 

 ; large : near the extremity of the gill-covers 

 i there is a strong, sharp, long spine j and ex- 

 ! actly above the pectoral fins there is another. 

 The first dorsal fin consists of eight spiny 

 rays, and the second of nineteen soft rays ; 

 the pectoral fins are transparent, and sup- 

 | ported by ten rays, bifurcated from the 

 middle ; the ventral fins contain six rays, 

 and the anal nineteen. The Grey Gurnard 

 is common on our coasts, feeding on worms, 

 insects, &c. It bites eagerly at a red bait, 

 ! and is usually taken with a hook in deep 

 ' ater, though in calm weather they may be 

 I seen in considerable numbers on the surface. 

 They make a sort of croaking noise, or croon, 

 | whence probably arises the name of crooner, 

 by which they are called in Ireland. 



The RED GUKNARD. or CUCKOO GURNARD. 

 (Trigla ciiculus.) This is an elegant species, 

 about a foot in length, and of a slender 



The FLYING GURNARD. (Trigla volitans.') 



form ; its colour a beautiful bright red, more 

 or less distinctly marked by whitish trans- 

 verse bars, the sides and belly silvery white : 



This singular and beautiful species is about 

 a foot in length ; of a crimson colour above, 

 and pale beneath ; the head blunt, and 

 armed on each side with two very strong 

 and large spines pointing backwards. The 

 whole body is covered with strong, sharp- 

 pointed, and closely united scales : the pec- 

 toral fins extremely large, transparent, of an 

 olive-green colour, richly marked with nu- 

 merous bright blue spots : pectoral processes 

 six in number, not separate as in other spe- 

 cies, but united, so as to appear like a small 

 fin on each side the thorax : tail pale violet, 

 with the rays crossed by dusky spots, and 

 the base strengthened by two obliquely 

 transverse bony ribs. In the Mediterranean, 

 Atlantic, and Indian seas, the Flying Gur- 

 nard swims in shoals ; and is often seen 

 darting from the water and sustaining itself 

 for a while in the air, after the manner of 

 the genus Exocetus. 



GYMNOPHTHALMTD^. The name of 

 a family of Lizards, in which the eyes are 

 distinct and exposed, the eyelids being rudi- 

 mentary. There are several genera, which 

 will be found described in Mr. Gray's valu- 

 able List of the Reptiles in the British 

 Museum ; but, important as these are to 

 naturalists, it is quite out of the scope of this 

 work to refer to them. 



GYMNOTUS. A genus of Malacoptery- 



S'ous fishes, which contains the well-known 

 YMNOTUS ELECTRICUS, or ELECTRIC EEL ; 

 a fish possessing the extraordinary pro- 

 perty of communicating a sensation simijar 

 to an electrical shock, when touched with 

 the hand or an electric conductor. The 

 Gymiiotus is a fish of a disagreeable appear- 



ance, bear 



iring a ge 

 , though 



neral resemblance to a 



pressed ; and the usual length is from four 

 to five feet, though it is sometimes six, or 

 even eight. It is a native of South Ame- 

 rica, where it inhabits the larger rivers. The 

 seat of the organs which produce this curious 

 electrical effect is along the under side of 



large eel, though thicker in proportion, 

 and much darker. It is nearly of equal 



scales extremely small ; lateral line com- thickness throughout : the head is broad, 

 - 1 of pointed white scales edged with j depressed, and obtuse : the tail is corn- 



! black ; a similar row on each side the back : 



: fins transparent ; the first dorsal marked on 



i the edge by a black spot ; the second tinged 



i near its edge with yellow. It is common on 



the English coasts ; feeds on crustaceous 



animals ; and spawns in May or June. 



The SAVPHIRINE GURNARD. (Trigla hi- 

 rundo.) This valuable species is distin- 

 | guished by the large size of its pectoral fins, 

 which are beautifully edged and spotted 

 with a fine blue colour. It is larger than 

 the preceding, more abundant, and quite 

 equal to any others as food. The head is 

 I larger and more flattened than that of the 

 i Red Gurnard ; the eyes are large ; the 

 scales small, oval, and smooth ; and the 

 \ lateral line bifurcates at the tail. It is a 

 I native of the European seas ; and is fre- 

 ' quently taken on the Cornish coasts, and 

 I some other parts of this island. By means 

 of its large and long pectoral fins it occa- 

 sionally springs out of the water to some 



the tail. They are composed of four bundles 

 of parallel membranaceous laminae, placed 

 very near each other, and nearly horizon- 

 tally, extended from the skin to the central 

 medial plane of the body, connected together 

 by numerous vertical lamiuse, arranged 



! distance. There are several other species ; | transversely. The little cells, or rather the 

 as the Shining, the Mailed, the Piper, the j small prismatic and transverse canals, inter- 



