| 162 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS.— CLASS IV. PISCES. 
informs us that one, which he saw taken on the coast of IKKamtschatka, fran- 
tically seized a cutlass, with which they attempted to kill it, and broke it 
in pieces, as if it had been made of glass. No wonder that the fishermen, 
| dreading its bite, endeavor as soon as possible to render it harmless by 
heavy blows upon the head. The great size of the monster, which in 
the northern waters attains the length of six or seven feet, and in the 
colder and more extreme northern seas is said to become still larger, ren- 
ders it one of the most formidable denizens of the ocean. It commonly 
frequents the deep parts of the sea, but approaches the coasts in spring to 
deposit its spawn among the marine plants. Fortunately for its more active 
neighbors, it swims but slowly, and glides along with the serpentine motion 
| of the eel. : 
“Gopius, the Gobies, or Sea Gudgeons, are easily recognized by the 
union of their ventrals, which are thoracic, and united, either for their 
whole length or at their basis, into a single hollow disk, more or less fun- 
nel-shaped. The rays of the dorsal are flexible, their gills have five rays 
fe) 
only, and, like the blennies, they have but little gill-opening ; they can live 
| for some time out of water. Like the blennies, also, their stomach has no 
cul-de-sac, and their intestines no ceca. In their reproduction, they further 
resemble the blennies ; and some species, as in these, are known to be vivip- 
arous. They are small or middle-sized fishes, which live among rocks near 
the shore, and most of them have a simple air-bladder.”’ 
They admit of division into the following sub-genera : — 
Gobius, comprehending the Gobies, properly so called. They have the 
ventrals united for the whole of their length, and also a transverse membrane 
joining their basis in front, so as to form the whole apparatus into a con- 
eave disk. The body is lengthened, the head moderate and rounded, the 
cheeks turgid, and the eyes near each other, and they have two dorsal fins, 
the last of which is very long. Several species inhabit the European seas, 
the characteristies of which are not sufficiently ascertained. They prefer a 
clayey bottom, in which they excavate canals, and pass the winter in them. 
In spring, they prepare a nest in some spot abounding with sea-weed, which 
they afterwards cover with the roots of zostera (grass-wrack). Here the 
male remains shut up, and awaits the females, which successively arrive to 
deposit their eggs; and these he fecundates, and exhibits much solicitude 
and courage in defending them from enemies. The Goby is the Phycis of 
the ancients ; according to Aristotle, “the only fish that constructs a nest.” 
Gobius Niger. —The Black Goby is a small species, five or six inches 
long, and is of no value, except as bait for other fish. It is one of the few 
fishes that evince affection for their progeny. It prepares a nest for its eggs. 
This fish inhabits the slimy bottoms of the lagoons near Venice, and burrows 
