THE GOBIES, SUCKERS, AND BLENNIES 173 



species neglects to build a nest like those of the majority 

 of its class and deposits its two eggs in well-chosen sites 

 on the bare earth. The sticklebacks, on the other hand, 

 instead of merely depositing their eggs in the water, like most 

 fishes, build a beautiful nest for their reception, that of the 

 marine form under notice making the most of the decorative 

 possibilities of fucus and corallina, and recalling the flask- 

 shaped nursery of the long-tailed titmice. The stickleback 

 builds its nest among the rocks and continually adds to it, 

 one composite nest, moreover, sometimes serving two families. 

 When the female has deposited the eggs, the male guards 

 them until the young appear. 



Sygnathidae 



The Pipe-Fishes and Sea-Horses 



The fatherly devotion noticed in the lumpsucker and 

 stickleback is rivalled in the pipe-fishes and sea-horse, the 

 males of which, not content with merely guarding the eggs, 

 carry them about, till hatched, in a pouch or fold of the skin. 

 In one species, indeed, the young have been seen to take 

 refuge in the pouch again when threatened by danger. This 

 is fully as remarkable as any of the stories told of vipers and 

 thresher sharks swallowing their young, or of the angler-fish 

 receiving them within its gill-pouches, for the same purpose, 

 and it has the advantage of having been seen by reliable 

 witnesses. The straight-nosed pipe-fish {Nerophis) and its 

 congeners, unprovided with any egg-pouch, is said to carry 

 the eggs in a loose fold of the skin. 



The Broad-nosed Pipe-fish {Si-phonostoma typhle) grows to 

 a length of 1 2 in., and is dark brown in colour, with a variable 

 quantity of light spots. In some localities it is said to be 

 confused with the young of the gar-fish. Herdman and 

 Dawson mention having taken one measuring 6 in. off the 

 Isle of Man in September, 1894. 



