LUMP-SUCKERS. 



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adhesive disc on the lower surface of the chest, surrounded by a fringe of skin, 

 and supported by the rudimental pelvic tins, the gill-opening being narrow. All 

 the members of the family, which are arranged under two genera, are carnivorous 

 and coast-dwelling fishes, restricted to the colder seas of the Northern Hemisphere, 

 and ranging into the Arctic Ocean. They derive their name from their habit of 

 attaching themselves to rocks by means of the adhesive disc. 



The members of the typical genus Cyclopterus are ugly " lumpy " fishes, with 

 the thick, short body covered with a viscous tuberculated skin; the large head 



LUMP-SUCKER AND VTVIPABOTJS BLBN1TS (J llilt. size). 



has a very short, blunted muzzle; and there are rows of villiform teeth in the 

 jaws, but none on the palate The skeleton is remarkable for its softness, owing 

 to the small amount of mineral matter entering into the composition of the bones. 

 In the British species (C. lumpus), represented in the upper figure of the accom- 

 panying illustration, the skin is so thick as to almost conceal the first dorsal fin ; 

 and in the adult the large rough tubercles are arranged in four longitudinal series 

 on each side of the body. In the young, however, these tubercles are uol developed. 

 Although these fishes may reach a length of a couple of feet, they do not usually 

 measure more than 12 or 14 inches. Yarrell writes that " in the month of March 

 the colours of the lump-fish .ire in the highest perfection, combining various 



