THE SUCKER FAMILY. 183 



of Fabricius, it is doubtful if the wolf-fish would be much 

 inconvenienced by the attacks of the lump-sucker. Even in its 

 larval condition the young wolf-fish makes an easy prey of the 

 young lump-sucker. 



As an example of the paternal solicitude of the lump-sucker 

 for the eggs, the following account may suffice'. About the 

 middle of May a male was found at St Andrews, a short 

 distance from low- water mark, in a broad runlet, with his head 

 close to a mass of ova placed on the seaward edge of a stone. 

 The stream of sea-water was so shallow as to leave the stone 

 partly exposed at ebb-tide, and was quite insufficient to float 

 the fish, which was 11^ inches in length. Accordingly, for a 

 considerable period, twice daily, the devoted male had to lie in 

 the runlet on his side, a portion of his body, including the 

 region of the upper gill-cover (in this position), being above 

 water. From the situation of the eggs on the stone just 

 described, the current of the runlet flowed into the mouth of 

 the fish, which, in the warm sun of June, must have been less 

 comfortable than under ordinary circumstances, a fact which is 

 at variance with the ' accidental ' theory formerly mentioned. 

 The cool and ever-changing stream, however, sufficed for 

 aeration ; the movements of the hyoidean apparatus and the 

 lower jaw, as well as the direction of the stream, causing a 

 current over the upper as well as the lower gills. Thus, 

 although the action of the gill-apparatus and the heart was 

 occasionally a little hurried in the warm sun, no serious effect 

 ensued. For some weeks this faithful male was found at 

 low tide in this position, sometimes on one side, sometimes 

 on the other. In order to test the case still further, Dr Scharff, 

 now of the Museum of Science and Art, Dublin, removed the 

 fish a couple of yards from the eggs and placed it on a stone. 

 It wriggled actively into the water, at once rushed to the 

 eggs, and assumed its former position with the snout almost 

 touching them. The same ensued when it was placed in the 

 runlet at a somewhat greater distance. The solicitude of the 

 males for the eggs which they have under charge was further 



1 Vide Ann. Nat. Hist., Aug. 1886, p. 81, On the Paternal Instincts of 

 Gijdopterus, by W. 0. M. 



