THE TRUE FISHES. 1 87 



and ventral fins unite in forming a disk or sucker by 

 which they attach themselves to rocks. The Liparis is an 

 allied form in which the ventral and pectoral fins also form 

 a sucking disk. The Lepidogaster has two sucking-disks. 



NOTE. According to Gunther, the male lump-fish forms a nest, the 

 female laying 150,000 eggs, and the former guarding them with jealous 

 care. The young follow the male, or, according to Duncan, cling to it 

 at first by their suckers ; later they are often seen at the surface of the 

 water off shore on the New England coast. 



Star- Gazers ( Uranoscopida}. In these fishes the eyes 

 are placed upon the top of the head. They are armed 

 with spines capable of inflicting dangerous wounds. Al- 

 lied are the toad-fishes (Batrachida) (Fig. 229). The fe- 

 male toad-fish ex- 

 cavates a hollow 

 among the rocks, 

 where the eggs are 

 deposited, and in 

 which the male 

 takes its place, de- 

 fending the nurs- FlG - 229. Toad-fish {BatraJius tau). 

 ery with great 



pugnacity. The young when hatched cling to the rocks 

 by their yolk-bags. One of this family, from Panama, 

 has a perfect poison-gland, the spine calling to mind the 

 venom-fang of a snake. 



Cod (Gadtda). The cod is one of the most valuable 

 of all fishes. They attain a length of five feet and a weight 

 of one hundred pounds. They have three distinct dorsal 

 fins, and a barbel projects from the under jaw. Their 

 range is from Cape Hatteras north on both sides of the 

 Atlantic. In November they spawn in-shore along the 

 New England coast ; each female depositing about 9,300,- 

 ooo eggs that rise to the surface and float, the young ap- 

 pearing twenty days later. In summer the fish seek the 



