64 TIIK FRESH-WATER FISIIKS (F KUKOPE. 



small fishes, and include some of the smallest, though the Cat-fish, 

 Anarrhichafs lupus, is a gigantic Blenny growing to a length of more than 

 six feet. 



The characters of the genus Blennius, so named by the Greeks from the 

 slimy surface of the skin, are, first, the ventral fins are jugular; second, 

 the spinous and soft portions of the dorsal fin are nearly equal in extent ; 

 third, the jaws are armed with a single series of immovable teeth, and some- 

 times with a small curved posterior canine tooth, but never with flattened 

 crushing teeth. The gill-opening is wide, body naked, and the caudal fin 

 distinct. 



Blennius vulgaris (POLLINI). 



D. 12/1718, A. 1920, V. 23, P. 13, C. 11. 



In this species (Fig. 27), as in most Blennies, the head is short with the 

 face inclined in front so as to make the snout somewhat prominent. The height 

 of the body is about the same as the length of the head, which is one-fifth of 

 the length of the fish. There is a strong curved tooth which is functionally 

 canine, in both jaws, on each side. There are twenty or more teeth in the pre- 

 maxillary bone, and from ten to twelve teeth in the mandible. The eye is 

 near to the angle which the face makes with the upper part of the head ; its 

 diameter is one-fifth of the length of the head. The male has a tentacle over 

 the eye, but it is often insignificant except during spawning, and is wanting in 

 the female. There is a low, fleshy crest which runs along the middle line of 

 the head in males when spawning, which at other times subsides to a low 

 ridge or may be entirely wanting. Fleshy lips margin the mouth and extend 

 back to below the anterior orbital border. The jaws are equal in length. 



The gill-opening does not ascend so high as the level of the orbit, but 

 descends to the middle of the throat. The operculum is covered with skin, and 

 has neither serrations nor spines. The pseudo-branchiae are small and fringe- 

 like. There are short and sharp gill- rakers on the gill-arches. 



The dorsal fin commences over the gill aperture, at the origin of the lateral 

 line. Though it is undivided, the anterior part is distinguished by having 

 shorter rays than the posterior part. The anterior spinous rays are of nearly 

 equal length, not half the height of the body, but the posterior soft part of the 

 fin has the rays higher, and they are longer than those of the opposite anal 

 fin. The rays of the ventral fin, which are used as a locomotor organ, are a 

 little shorter than those of the caudal fin. The pectoral fin has a some- 

 what elongated oval outline, and is about as long as the head. 



Neither the dorsal nor anal fin unites with the caudal. All the fins except 



