23'5> fHE FlFTEEN-stlNEE STICKLE-fiACiI. 



two preceding. The body is flender, "being only an inch 

 thick, and nine long ; towards the tail it is quadrangu- 

 lar, and extremely fmail : The whole Ikin is fmooth ; 

 black upon the upper part, and filvery upon the lower. 

 It has two pectoral fins, one dorial, riling in a triangular 

 form from the middle of the back; between which and 

 the head there are fifteen unconneftecl fpines, inclining a 

 little towards the tail; on the middle of the belly there 

 are two, at the anus one : The fins of the belly are want- 

 ing. The fpecies inhabits the Baltic and German ocean, 

 particularly the coafts of the Netherlands ; it is called 

 erslkrupper. Willoughhy is miftaken in fuppofing, that 

 it is never found on the coafts of Britain *, 



* Ichthyoloj. p. 340^ 



