TH FISHES OF THE IRISH SEA* 35 



Walker), Menai Straits (White), and on the North Coast of Wirral (Byerley) ; taken 

 also near Piel in Barrow Channel ; and common at Port Erin. It lays its eggs in 

 winter. 



TRIGLA LUCERNA, Linn. Yellow Gurnard. 



(See T. hirundo, Day's British Fishes, vol. I. p. 59, PI. XXIV.) 

 (Fish. Mus., Zool. Dep., Univ. Coll., Liverpool.) Local names, "Tubs" and "Gurnets." 



This species ranges from Norway to the Mediterranean, and occurs all round 

 the British Islands, especially on the off-shore grounds. 



This yellow or " sapphirine " gurnard is known locally as "Tubs." It is said to 

 be " very common " by Byerley (1854), but is really much the rarest of the 3 species 

 of gurnard found in our district. It is only occasionally found in any numbers in the 

 trawl on the off-shore grounds, or more rarely on lines, and for the most part in summer. 

 We have taken it in the Barrow Channel, near Piel. It breeds during the spring and 

 early summer (January to June), and Mr. A. O. Walker, when trawling in the Dee for 

 shrimps in March, has taken the young. He records them as common in 1857. They 

 are also found in other places in our in-shore waters, e.g., near the Deposit buoy at the 

 mouth of the Mersey. Small specimens of this species are of a greyish colour, and the 

 pectoral fins are marked with blue spots, while the older fish are of a light yellow colour. 



TRIGLA PINI, Bloch. -Red Gurnard. 



(See T. cuculus, Day's British Fishes, vol. I., p. 58, PI. XXIII.) 



The Red Gurnard, known locally here as " Soldiers," is usually taken in the 

 trawl and occasionally on lines, but there is no special fishery for it. It is not so abundant 

 as the grey, but not so scarce as the yellow in Lancashire waters. It is taken mostly 

 on rough ground in spring and summer, especially May to July. Byerley (1854) speaks 

 of it as the least frequent of our three species of gurnard, but that is certainly not the 

 case now. It is sometimes in quantity on the off-shore grounds, is taken in the Menai 

 Straits, and is fairly common at Port Erin and the neighbourhood. 



The distribution is in the main like that of the last species, from Scandinavian 

 seas to the Mediterranean. 



TRIGLA GURNARDUS, Linn. Grey Gurnard. 



(Day's British Fishes, vol. I., p. 62, PI. XXV.) 



(Fish. Mus., Zool. Dep., Univ. Coll., Liverpool.) Local Name, " Knowds " or "Gurnets." 



The distribution is practically the same as that of the two previous species, i.e., 

 from Norway to the Mediterranean. 



The Grey Gurnard (locally "Knowds") is taken by the trawl, sometimes in 

 large numbers, especially in the latter part of the year, and in the deeper waters. This 

 is an abundant British species, and is our commonest gurnard in the Irish Sea. It may 

 be taken all over our district. We have had it from the Barrow Channel and Menai Straits, 

 and it is very common in the neighbourhood of Port Erin, and also off Maughold Head, 

 Isle of Man. 



