594 



THE OCEAN WORLD. 



but the brilliancy with which Nature has gifted them is their misfor- 

 tune ; it betrays them to their enemies, which are found in the air as 

 well as in the water, and without their prodigious fecundity this 

 species would long since have disappeared. 



Twelve species of Trigla are known. In the British seas the com- 

 monest species is the Grey Gurnard (Trigla gurnardus), a silvery- 

 grey fish, more or less clouded with brown and speckled with black. A 

 rare species with us, but very common in the Mediterranean, is the Bed 

 Gurnard, Trigla pini (Fig. 389). It is of a fine bright rose-red colour, 



Fig. 389. The Red Gurnard ( i'rigla piui). 



paler beneath and more vivid about the fins, of which there are two 

 distinct dorsal and one ventral. Beneath the pectorals are three 

 detached rays ; both jaws and front of the lower palate are armed with 

 fine velvety teeth. The Perlon, or Sapharine Gurnard (T. hirundo), 

 is a large and handsome fish, remarkable for the lively green and blue 

 hues of the inner surface of its large pectoral fins. 



The Flying Gurnard (Dadylopterus volitans) somewhat resembles 



