82 GENERA AND SPECIES. 



21 or 22 rays, and is about the same size as the second half of the 

 dorsal, but unlike it is not joined to the caudal. The caudal has 12 

 or 13 rays, the pectorals have 14, and the ventrals, unlike those of 

 the other British Blennies, have a spine and 2 or 3 rays. The 

 mouth extends to the front edge of the eye, and there are about 40 

 teeth in the upper jaw, the lower having about 35. It is the largest 

 of our Blennies, being some 9 inches long, and has received its name 

 from being frequently caught in lobster pots, to which it is attracted 

 by the bait. It feeds on molluscs and small Crustacea, and lives 

 among rocks in deep water, and not in tidal pools. In colour it is 

 brownish grey, banded, blotched, and spotted. Like some of the 

 other Blennies, it uses its pectorals and ventrals like hands and feet 

 for crawling and feeling. 



Box. Plate ii. SPARIDsE. 



ii. vulgaris, BOGUE. Body narrow and not compressed. 



The Bogue has a long dorsal fin with 14 weak spines in the first 

 sweep of the curve, and 14 or 15 rays in the second ; in the anal are 

 3 spines and 15 rays, in the caudal are 17 rays, in the pectorals are 

 21 rays, and in the ventrals are a spine and 5 rays. The scales 

 are cycloid, there are 3 or 4 rows of them on the cheeks, and there 

 are 75 in the lateral line. In colour this Mediterranean and Atlantic 

 species, occasionally straying into British waters, is yellowish green 

 on the back and silvery on the abdomen, with yellow streaks 

 parallel to the lateral line. It is generally 8 or 9 inches long, but 

 reaches 16, and feeds mainly on seaweeds. 



Brama. Plate v. CORYPH&NID&. 



32. rail, RAY'S BREAM. First few dorsal rays much higher 



than the spines, and rapidly decreasing in height. 



Ray's Bream has 3 or 4 short spines, and 29 to 34 rays, the fin 

 rising at once to the tip of the longest ray and then curving 

 suddenly downwards to continue parallel to the back. In the anal, 

 which is somewhat similar in curve to the dorsal, are 2 spines and 

 27 to 28 rays, in the deeply-forked caudal are 19 rays, the long- 

 pointed pectorals have 19 to 23 rays, and the ventrals a spine and 

 5 rays. The mouth, which is very oblique, extends to the outer 

 edge of the eye, the lower jaw projecting to meet the curve of the 

 head. The front nostril is round, the hinder one is a slit. The 

 body is flat and little more than double as long as it is deep. In 

 colour it is blackish above, whitish below, with black edges to the 

 vertical fins. It is a deep-water fish, rare in our seas, but ranging 

 from the Faeroes to the Cape of Good Hope. Our specimens have 

 been generally washed ashore after a storm ; the first was found 

 left by the tide in the Tees in September, 1681, and, being described 

 by Ray, was named after him. 



