THE LUMP-SUCKER. 



253 



mollusks and marine worms. The flesh of this species is firm, white, and well-flavored, and in 

 spite of its small size the Dragonet repays the trouble taken in its capture. It generally 

 remains near the bottom of the sea, and does not often enter shallow water except when young, 

 when it approaches the shore, and sometimes is taken in the net of the shrimper. 



It is a lovely fish, well deserving its name of Gemmeous Dragonet, as its scales glitter 

 as if set with gems, and of Gowdie, or golden, on account of the gilded lustre of its exterior. 

 The name of Dragonet is given to it on account of the dragon-like aspect of the body 

 and fins. 



The color of this beautiful fish is golden-yellow of different shades, variegated with 

 spots and streaks of sapphire upon the head and sides. The under surface is white. The 

 first dorsal fin consists of four rays, the first being enormously lengthened, and reaching, if 

 depressed, to the base of the tail. The succeeding rays rapidly diminish in length, the fourth 

 being extremely short, barely an inch in length. The pectorals are rounded and triangular, 

 the central ray being the largest. The length of the Gemmeous Dragonet is about ten or 

 eleven inches. 



GEMMEOUS DRAGONET.— C'atliomjmus lyra. 



More than twenty species of Dragonets are known, spread over a very large portion of the 

 globe, and inhabiting the temperate seas of the Old World, and the Indian Ocean from Mo- 

 zambique to the Western Pacific Islands. They are marine fishes, and inhabit the bottom 

 of the sea at no great distance from the shore. 



We now come to a very small, but curious family, termed Discoboli, or Quoit-fishes, 

 because the spines of the ventral fins are modified into a flattened disc, something like the 

 quoits of the ancients. This disc has a soft, leathery margin, and enables them to attach 

 themselves to rocks or stones, after the manner of the gobies. 



A very good example of these curious fishes maybe found in the Lump-sucker, other- 

 wise called the Lump-fisii, Sea-Owl, and Cock-Paidle, the latter name being given to it on 

 account of the elevated ridge along the back, which is covered with a notched and tubercu- 

 lated skin not unlike the comb of the cock. 



The sucker or disc of this fish is capable of very powerf ul adhesion, retaining its hold with 

 such tenacity, that on one occasion, when a Lump-fish was placed in a pail containing several 

 gallons of water, it immediately affixed itself to the bottom, and held so firmly, that when 

 grasped by the tail and lifted, it raised the vessel in which it was placed, notwithstanding the 

 combined weight of the water and pail. 



