96 NATURAL HISTORY. 



has the lateral line armed with bony plates, and affects deep water. According to Couch, its colour is 

 a mottling of red and brown. It is frequently found in lobster-pots. A variety of it occurs on the 

 coast of California and the Gulf of Georgia. All these fishes have the fins well developed. 



The other British representatives of this family are the Gurnards, which form the genus Trigla. 

 The head is elevated, with the eye near its summit; its surface is bony and marked with radiating lines; 

 the body is covered with small scales. There are three filaments in front of each pectoral fin, which, 

 when the animal is at rest, have the aspect of legs. There are bristle-like teeth on both the jaws and 

 on the vomer. The air-bladder is usually divided into two parts, which are furnished with lateral 

 muscles. The stomach forms a pouch. There are several British Gurnards, but they also range round 

 the western coasts of Europe and into the Mediterranean. The Red Gurnard (Trigla pini) is a 

 common British fish, reaching a length of about fourteen inches. It feeds on Crustacea, is readily 

 caught with a trawl, and is excellent food, especially during the winter months. The head has a 

 squarish form, the ventral fins are placed under the throat, and all the fins are well developed. 

 The Streaked Gurnard (Trigla lineata) is also red, with large pectoral fins, which are more or less 

 spotted with blue. It has a shorter head than the Red Gurnard, and is rather smaller. The 

 Sapphirine Gurnaixl, or Tub -fish (Trigla hirundo), has extremely small scales. The space between 

 the eyes is concave ; the colour is brownish-red, and the broad pectoral fins are margined with blue. 

 The snout is rather elongated. It lives among stones, and feeds on shell-fish, crabs, and other fishes. 

 The air-bladder in this species is divided into three lateral lobes. In some European languages the 

 grunting or crowing noises which these fishes produce have gained for them the name of Sea Cocks. 

 Trigla lyra is also known as the Piper ; it is another Red Gurnard, chiefly met with in the West 

 of England. The name Piper is in allusion to the sounds emitted when the fish is handled. This 

 species reaches a length of two feet. The Grey Gurnard (Trigla yuruardus) is by far the most 

 abundant British species. Its head is more depressed than in the other species ; the lateral line 

 carries a series of bony plates, which are white, and each has a rough crest. The pectoral fin does 

 not reach as far back as the beginning of the anal fin, which distinguishes it from the other British 

 species. The colour is brownish-grey, spotted with white. 



FAMILY XXX. CATAPHRACTI. 



The next family, the Cataphracti, is a group of genera, distinguished by having the body com- 

 pletely encased in bony plates, or scales, which are marked with keels. This family is represented in 

 the British seas by Agonies cataphractns and Peristethus cataphmctiun. The former, sometimes known 

 as the Armed Bullhead, and sometimes called the Pogge, is a little fish about six inches long, met with 

 in the northern parts of Europe. It frequents the mouths of rivers ; has a very small mouth, that is 

 incapable of taking an ordinary hook ; has a wide head, defended with bones and armed with spines. 

 The body is covered by rows of large strong scaly plates. The colour is brown. 



The Peristethus cataphractum is a red fish known as the Armed or Mailed Gurnard. It has a 

 large head and remarkably long snout, the extremity of which is forked laterally. The body is 

 octagonal and covered with a series of large plates, the middle of each of which is longitudinally 

 keeled. The fins are well developed. 



FAMILY XXXI.COMEPHOEIDJE. 



The last family of the Cotto-scombriformes is termed Cpmephoridffi. It is represented by a single 

 species Comephorus baikalensis, a fish of uniform green colour, having the pectoral fin longer than 

 the head, and chiefly remarkable, according to Dr. Giinther, for the soft condition of the skeleton, and 

 the circumstance that the opercular bones are separated. There are eight vertebra? in the abdomen 

 and thirty-five in the tail. 



The ninth division of this order is the Gobiiformes, and comprises three families. 



FAMILY XXXII. DISCOBOLI. 



The Discoboli are a remarkable group of carnivorous fishes living upon the sea bed. They are 

 familiarly known as the Suckers, from the circumstance that the space between the ventral fins is 

 occupied by a round disc which has a cutaneous margin and a base of bone. There are only two 

 genera in this family, which are named Cyclopterus and Liparis. 



