Fishes . 



measures only four or fi\-e inches, and often occurs in brackish 

 water. The eggs have been found attached to the roots of 

 laminaria or tangle, and resemble those of the Cottus in colour, 

 but they are much smaller, forming clumps of the size of a 

 sparrow's egg. 



A beautiful and curious fish is the male Dragonet [Cal- 

 lionymus lyra), whidi in the full-grown, breeding condition is 

 decorated ^^'ith yeUow and blue longitudinal bands. Inversely to 

 the Bull-heads the female (Fig. 5] remains smaller than the male, 

 which grows to nine inches. The first dorsal fin is much pro- 

 duced in the adult male, which is further distinguished by a 

 long anal papilla. The female and the young are pale brown, 

 yellowish or reddish brown, barred and mottled with darker, 

 harmonising with the sandy or pebbly bottom on which they 

 rest. The 3'oung are often found in shallow pools at low tide, 

 partly buried in the sand, and difficult to detect when they 



FIG. 4. — BULL-HEAD {Cotlus biibalis) AND POGGE (Agomis cataphractus). 



remain still ; if disturbed, a few wriggling movements will soon 

 cause them to disappear completely under the sand. The adults 

 usually dwell in deeper water, where they breed at the end of 

 winter, the operation being preceded by a lengthy courtship. 



