BULL-HEADS 
means of _ their 
arm-like fins. Only 
one species occurs 
in British waters. 
Its method of 
spawning is remark- 
able, in that the 
eggs are laid in the 
form of large raft- 
like sheets, which 
float on the surface 
of the sea. The 
number of eggs laid 
by a single fish has 
been computed to 
be 1,345,000. A 
single sheet of 
spawn may measure 
from 2 to 3 feet 
in breadth and from 
25 to 30 feet long. 
The Butt- 
HEADS and GurR- 
NARDS, constituting 
the next family, are 
characterized by the 
r 
Photo by Reinhold Thiele & Co.J 
The curious finger-like processes are used as organs of touch as well as locomotion 
AND GURNARDS 229 
Photo by Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.] 
anew Lane, W. C. 
RED-GURNARD 
—_ === ae 
[Milford-on-Sea 
BUTTERFLY-GURNARD 
The head of all gurnards is encased in an armour of bony plates 
spiny armature of the head and the great size of the breast-fins. The 
former are represented in British 
waters by four species, one of 
which, the MILLErR’s-THUMB, 
inhabits fresh-water. The 
marine species include the Sza- 
SCORPION and FATHER-LASHER. 
The BuLt-HEADS on the 
Indian and Australian coasts are 
represented by the closely allied 
FLaT-HEADS, or CROCODILE- 
FISHES, in which the head, as its 
name implies, is much depressed, 
and fully armed with spines, 
which are highly poisonous, and 
cause a violent irritation. These 
fishes live in shallow water, 
lying on the bottom, with which 
their colours harmonize so com- 
pletely that they are practically 
invisible. The very large ventral 
fins—those seen in the photo- 
graph immediately behind the 
breast-fins—are of great use in 
locomotion. 
The GuRNARDS are well- 
known fishes, common on the 
