A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



12. Red Gurnard. Trig/a cum/us, Linn. 

 Sometimes frequent on the coasts, at others 



it is rare or entirely absent for several seasons 

 in succession. 



13. Tubfish or Sapphirine Gurnard. Trigla 



hirundo, Linn. 



This gaily coloured fish is occasionally 

 taken in all the Essex estuaries. 



14. Piper. Trigla lyra, Linn. 



Dale (loc. cit.) says, ' This was caught 

 near Harwich.' 



!$ Pogge. Agonus cataphractus, Linn. 



This curious fish is very frequently taken 

 in the shrimp nets, and small ones may be 

 often seen amongst the boiled shrimps. Yar- 

 rell says (British Fishes, i. 71), on the eastern 

 coast it is very plentiful.' 



1 6. Lump-sucker. Cyclopterus lumpus, Linn. 

 Is frequently caught on the coast and in 



the mouths of the rivers. 



1 7. Sea Snail. Lifaris vulgaris, Flem. 

 This is very common, and frequently taken 



in shrimp and eel trawls. It is a very vari- 

 able fish, some specimens being beautifully 

 coloured and others almost without markings. 

 Couch says (Hist, of Fishes of Brit. Islands, 

 1860, ii. 191), 'it is found even at the mouth 

 of the Thames.' 



1 8. Network or Montagu's Sucker. Liparis 



montagui, Donov. 



Not infrequently taken in shrimp trawls. 

 Day says (Fishes of Great Britain, i. 187) 

 ' it is common off the mouth of the Thames.' 



19. Doubly- spotted Sucker. Lepadogaster 



bimaculatus, Penn. 



Has been rarely recognized, but there is 

 one specimen in Brightlingsea marine station 

 caught in the mouth of the Colne. 



20. Spotted Goby. Gobius minutus, Gmel. 

 Common. Yarrell says (British Fishes, i. 



260), ' It is apparently a new species from 

 Colchester.' Day (Fishes of Great Britain, \. 

 1 66) calls it numerous at the mouth of the 

 Thames, and says it ' is commonly found 

 amongst whitebait brought to the London 

 market.' 



2 1 . Two-spotted Goby. Gobius ruthensparri, 



Euphr. 



This little fish is common on the shores of 

 the Wallet opposite Clacton, where it flourishes 

 on the hard, almost rock-like London clay. 

 It is frequently caught and boiled with the 

 shrimps. 



22. Transparent Goby. Aphia pelludda, 



Nardo. 



Possibly this may be common on the Essex 

 coasts, but as the shrimpers throw away all 

 the unsaleable fish they catch the opportuni- 

 ties for seeing it are few. I have seen 

 examples that were captured in the Wallet 

 by the fishermen employed at the Biological 

 Station at Brightlingsea. 



23. John Dory. Zeus faber, Linn. 

 Occasionally taken in the shrimp trawls, 



but the specimens are usually small. 



24. Boar-fish. Capros aper, Linn. 

 According to Day (Fishes of Great Britain, 



i. 137) numbers were caught at Harwich and 

 Southend about May, 1879. Mr. Carrington 

 further records (Zoologist, 1879, p. 342) the 

 fact of the capture of these specimens in a 

 shrimp trawl. 



25. Mackerel. Scomber scombrus, Linn. 

 Dale says (Hist, of Harwich, 1732, p. 429), 



' These in their season are here to be caught.' 

 As they are so plentiful both on the Kentish 

 coasts and on those of Suffolk they are no 

 doubt equally frequent on the Essex coast, 

 although there is no regular fishery for them. 



26. Common Tunny. 

 Linn. 



Orcynus thynnus, 



Jenyns (British Vertebrate Animals, p. 363) 

 calls it rare, and quoting Donovan he states 

 that three were captured in the mouth of the 

 Thames in 1801 and brought to Billingsgate 

 market. In Essex County Chronicle of October 



26. 1897, Mr. H. L. Matthams records the 

 finding of a specimen of this fish on the shore 

 at Foulness on the 20th of that month. It 

 measured 9 feet in length and weighed about 

 5 or 6 cwt. (see also Zoologist, 1897, P- 579)- 



27. Blackfish. Centrolophus pompilus, Linn. 

 One was captured in the Colne and for- 

 warded to Dr. Gtlnther at the British Museum, 

 and was described by him in Ann. and Mag. 

 Nat. Hist. 1882, pp. 204, 338 ; also in Zoo- 

 logist, 1882, pp. 75, 152. 



28. Swordfish. Xiphias gladius, Linn. 



Mr. Montford records (Zoologist, 1847, P- 

 1911) the finding of a dead one off the coast 

 of Essex in 1834. C. Parsons also mentions 

 (Zoologist, 1862, p. 8289) the capture of a 

 living one in Potton creek, the sword of 

 which was 3 feet long. An Essex specimen 

 mentioned by Day (Fishes of Great Britain, 

 i. 148) was probably the same fish. Buckland 

 (Familiar Hist, of Brit. Fishes, p. 37) says a 



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