300 



VENOMS 



consider this variability to depend upon the amount of venom that 

 has penetrated into the wound, and especially upon the season 

 at which the accident takes place. The most serious results are 

 recorded during the spawning season, and fishermen regard the 

 Lesser Weever as being the more poisonous." 



3.— Gobiidae. 



In the fishes belonging to this family the body is elongated and 

 depressed, while the spines in the anterior dorsal fin and in the 

 ventral fins are slender, flexible, and seldom very solid. The ventral 



Pig. 109. — Callionymus lyra (Dragonet or Skulpin. Family Gobiidce). 



fins are inserted on the breast or on the throat, and are either 

 separated or united together in the shape of a funnel. The skin is 

 naked or covered with large scales, and the mouth is furnished with 

 teeth. The males are distinguished by the presence of a long 

 genital papilla. These fishes are carnivorous. 



Several species of venomous Gobiidae are met with on the shores 



