278 THE BIOLOGY OF THE SEA-SHORE 



favourite food of many fishes and of certain birds, so that 

 destruction begins early in the life-history. Nor, according 

 to the same writer, do the gaudy coloration and protective 

 spines of the larvas prevent a serious reduction in their 

 numbers, so that the contrast between the crowds of young 

 and the comparatively few adults is noteworthy. 



The spawning season for shore fishes extends from 

 early spring to summer. It is not possible to give accurate 

 descriptions of the ova of the different species without 

 entering into details as to their size and microscopic appear- 

 ance, etc., which are beyond the scope of this work. We 

 shall therefore content ourselves with noting such features 

 as are likely to interest the general reader. 



The eggs of the bullhead or " father lasher " {Cottus 

 scorpim) form large masses of dark red or pinkish colour 

 attached to the rocks, stones, or Laminaria between tide- 

 marks. 



Of all shore frequenting fishes the lumpsucker {Cyclo- 

 pterus himpiis) would seem to be the most fecund. Day 

 ( 1 880-1 884) quotes the statement of Johnston that the spawn 

 of a single female will fill a large basin, and gives Bloch's 

 figures of 207,000 eggs for a 6| lb. fish. The eggs, as 

 already noticed, are looked after by the male, who keeps a 

 current of water circulating through the mass by means of 

 his pectoral fins. Cunningham (1888) has taken masses of 

 Cyclopterus spawn from rocks near low-water mark at St. 

 Andrews during January and February. The colour of 

 the eggs varies from red to pale yellow or nearly white. 

 The young Cyclopterus are very common among the algas 

 on any rocky shore and are easily recognised by their tadpole- 

 like appearance and modified pelvic fins. 



A favourite spot for the deposition of spawn is an old 

 bivalve shell : that of Lepadogaster bimaculatus , another 

 form vnxh pelvic fins modified as a sucker, is described by 

 Cunningham {loc. cit.) as being invariably found adhering 

 to the inner surface of the shells of Pecten opercularis, where 

 it is guarded by at least one of the parents. Another writer, 

 Hefford (1910), has taken a spent female of L. bimaculatus 



