BLENNIES AND THEIR ALLIES 39 1 



Concerning; the precise systematic position of the beautifully 

 Dragonets. a r j 1 j 



coloured fishes commonly known as dragonets (Call 'iony rail s), there is 

 some difference of opinion ; Dr. Giinther placing them with the gobies, whereas 

 Day, on account of the wide separation of the pelvic fins (which in the latter and 

 their near allies either form a disc or are very close together), refers them to a 

 separate family. Be this as it may, these fishes, in addition to the feature already 

 mentioned, are characterised by the head and anterior portion of the naked body 

 being depressed, while the remainder is cylindrical The pointed mouth has a 

 narrow horizontal cleft, and a very protractile upper jaw; the large eyes have a 

 more or less upward direction ; small teeth are present on the jaws, but none on the 

 palate ; and there is a strong spine at the angle of the preopercular. Of the two 

 dorsal fins, the foremost has from three to four flexible spines ; the pelvics are five- 

 rayed ; and the gill-opening is very narrow, and generally reduced to a perforation 

 on the upper border of the gill-cover. There is a large amount of sexual difference 

 among the dragonets, the adult males having the fin-rays produced into filaments 

 and the intervening membranes brightly coloured, whereas the females wear a 

 much more sombre livery ; and it is due to this variation that there were long- 

 supposed to be two British representatives of the genus, namely, the gemmeous, 

 and the sordid dragonet ; the former being the male and the latter the female. In 

 the adult male of the common dragonet (C. lyra) the first dorsal spine is greatly 

 elongated ; the general colour of the smooth skin being yellowish, beautifully 

 banded and spotted with lilac; the first dorsal fin bearing several lilac spots, and 

 the second having lilac bands. In length, the male measures about 10 inches. The 

 yellow scalpin, as the male is called in some parts of Britain, is generally found 

 in comparatively deep water, whereas the female often approaches the margin of 

 the tide. Both sexes feed on molluscs and other hard-shelled creatures, as well as 

 on worms. Out of some thirty representatives, the majority are inhabitants of the 

 coast-regions of the temperate zone of the Old World, although a few are found in 

 the Tropical Pacific. 



The Blexxies and their Allies, — Families CepoliDuE, Blexxiid^e, etc. 



The well-known blennies, together with five less important families, constitute 

 a sectional group of spine-finned fishes, all of which ma}- be treated under one 

 heading. As a group, these fishes are characterised by the body being in general 

 more or less nearly cylindrical in form ; the dorsal fin is elongated, and its spinous 

 portion, if distinct, is also long, being equal to or even exceeding the soft part in 

 length, while occasionally the whole tin may be spiny : the anal is also more or less 

 elongate; the pelvics, when present, are thoracic or jugular in position : and the 

 caudal fin, which may be absent, is rounded or somewhal truncated. 



The first family of the group (CepoUdce) is represented by the 



-DclUd-i 1SD.GS. _. - 1 • 



small marine band-tishes, of which one species (Cepola rubesc&ns) is a 

 casual visitor to the British coasts. The essential characters of these tishes are to 

 be found in the elongate ami band-like form of the body: the presence of one spine 

 and five soft rays in the thoracically-placed pelvic fins; and the absence of spines 



in the single dorsal and anal fins. The eyes are rather large and lateral, the teeth 



