628 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Fh,lc by IV. SavilU-Kinl^ r.Z.S.'\ {Milftrd-on-Sra 



BAR-TAILED FLAT-HEAD 



^ shallonc-lL'iifcr fih 



Photo h If. SavilU-K,nt, f,Z. S.] [Mil/ord-on-S,, 



ROCK FLAT-HEAD 



About forty species of fiat-headi are knoiun 



coasts of Bi'itain, and extending from tropical to arctic seas. Their curiously shaped heads 

 gi\e them a \er)' quaint appearance. One of the most remarkable peculiarities of these fishes 

 is the separate condition of some of the rays of the breast-fins, which form finger-like organs, 

 used to feel the ground and rake over loose stones, to discover small shrimps and other 

 animals hidden underneath. Furthermore, the gurnards are peculiar in that the}- are enabled 

 to communicate one with another by means of sounds produced by the expulsion of air from 

 one compartment of the air-bladder to another. The females are much more common than 

 the males, and also slightly larger. The }'oung are remarkable for the enormous size of the 

 breast-fins, though even in the adult these arc unusuall)^ large. 



Close allies of the Gurnards are the Flvin(.;-GURN.\RDS, which, by reason of the extreme 

 development of the breast-fins, are enabled to take fl}'ing leaps out of the water. One species 

 is common in the Mediterranean. The flying-gurnard is not to be mistaken for the true 

 " flying-fish," or flying-herring, described later. 



The curious mail-clad /\rmeL) Bull-HE.VD, or Pogge, commonl}' taken in shrimp-nets, is an 

 ally of the flying-gurnard. 



CHAPTER V 



LUMP-SUCKERS, GOBIES, BLENNIES, BARRACUDAS, GREY MULLETS, 

 STICKLEBACKS AND THEIR ALLIES, GARPIKE, AND FLTING-FISHES 



BY VV. P. PYCRAFT, A.I..S., I'.Z.S. 



UGLY in appearance and carnivorous in habits, the Sucker-fish Famil\- are distinguished 

 by the presence of a large round sucker on the belly, with which thc_\' adhere to rocks. 

 l'\irthermore, the sucker-fishes are remarkable for the softness of their skeleton, which 

 may be cut through at any point with an ortlinar)' knife. The male lump-sucker is smaller 

 than the female, but much more brightly coloured, especially during the breeding-season, when 

 he dons a liver)' of blue, scarlet, and )'cllow. He is also a model parent, alwax's remaining near 

 the eggs and keeping a constant stream of fresli water running over them b}- the action of 

 his breast-fins. A single female may jiroduce as many as 136,000 eggs in a single season. 

 In Scotland the male is known as the Coriv and tlie female as the Hen Padhle. The species 

 is more commrtn off the coasts of Scotland than elsewhere in the 15ritish Islands. 



Like the Lump-suckers, the GoBllls, which form the next family, have the ventral fins 

 modified so as to form a sucking-disk, which is used as an anchor. But the gobies are easily 



