GOBIOID.E, 



by Dr. Tyson, in the twenty-fourth volume of the Philoso- 

 phical Transactions. The second term, that of Dragonet, 

 was deduced by Pennant from the trivial name, attached to 

 the second British species, dracunculus ; that name, in its 

 turn, having probably been given with a double reference 

 to its speckled appearance, and also to its large wing-like 

 ventral and pectoral fins ; which induced Bellon, Seba, and 

 others, to consider these species as allied to the flying 

 fishes. 



When examining different books to obtain local and pro- 

 vincial names for the various fishes to be included in this 

 work, I find that I made the mistake of transferring the 

 name of Gowdie to the Great Weever, instead of to the 

 Gemmeous Dragonet. The prevailing colour of this last- 

 named fish is a golden yellow ; it is called Yellow Skulpin 

 in Cornwall, and the Northern term Gowdie, from gawd, 

 gold, means yellow or golden : the go wan is a golden flow- 

 er ; hence gowd and Gowdie are probably derived from the 

 French word gaude, which is also a yellow flower. 



The species of the genus Callionymus have two very 

 strongly marked characters. The branchial aperture on each 

 side is only a small orifice near the nape of the neck, while 

 the ventral fins, widely separated, and situated under the 

 throat, are even larger than, as well as placed in advance of, 

 the pectoral fins. The Gemmeous Dragonet is a handsome 

 fish, with a smooth skin, and having the head singularly 

 spotted and striped with blue on a yellowish ground. When 

 fresh from the water, these colours are vivid, and the appear- 

 ance of the fish attractive. Linnseus indulged his fancy 

 by attaching the term Callionymus, which signifies literally, 

 beautiful name, to a prettily marked species; and the word 

 lyra was doubtless suggested by the resemblance of its elon- 

 gated dorsal filament and fin-rays to the strings of a musical 

 instrument. 



