GOBIID^. 165 



As food. — Said to be good by those wbo have tried it, but its size renders it of 

 little use for this purpose except for large fish and aquatic birds. 



Habitat. — From the Baltic (where it is of small size) and coasts of Scandinavia 

 to the Orkneys, Great Britain and Ireland, also the British Channel, as well as 

 the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of Europe. 



In the Orkneys it is pretty frequent according to some observers, but W. Baikie 

 says it is rare ; while at Weymouth and along the south and south-west coasts 

 of England it is abundant in tidal pools. In short, as observed by Jenyns, 

 it is found on many parts of the coast, but not in any abundance. 



It attains to at least 9| inches in length, and is the largest of the British 

 species of this genus. The example figured was from "Weymouth. 



4. Gobius minutus, Plate LII, fig. 4. 



A;phya, Eondel. vii, c. 3, p. 210. A'pUja colitis, Willughby, p. 207, pi. xii, f. 5. 

 Marsio, Bay, p. 7Q. Gobius, sp. Artedi, Genera, p. 29, and sp. 4 Synon. p. 47. Oobius, 

 No. 276, Gronov. Zooph. i, p. 81. Spotted (JoSi/, Pennant, Brit. Zool. (Ed. 1) iii,p.2I5, 

 pi. xxxyii. (Ed. 2) iii, p. 187, t. xli. Duhamel, Peches, pt. ii, sec. 6, pi. 3, f. 3. 



Oobius aphya, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 450 (pt.) ; Artedi, ed. Walb. iii, p. 192 ; 

 Bl. Schn. p. 70 ; Risso, Eur. Merid, iii, p. 281. 



Oobius minutus, Gmel. Linn. p. 1199 ; Lacepede, ii, p. 571 ; Donovan, Brit. 

 Fish, ii, pi. xxxviii ; Turton, p. 94 ; Fleming, Brit. An. p. 206 ; Tarrell, Brit. 

 Fish. (Ed. 1) i, p. 258, c. fig. (Ed. 2) i, p. 288 (Ed. 3) ii, p. 325 ; Jenyns, Manual, 

 p. 386 ; Parnell, Fishes Firth of Forth, p. 82, pi. xxix and Wem. Mem. vii, p. 

 242, pi. xxix {female) ; Cuv. and Val. xii, p. 29 ; Nilsson, Skan. Faun, iv, p. 222 ; 

 Ekst. Fische Morko, p. 260 ; Templeton, Mag. Nat. Hist. (2) 1837, i, p. 410 ; 

 Fries, Wiegm. Arch. 1840, p. 237 ; White, Oatal. Brit. Fish. p. 53 ; Thompson, 

 N. Hist. Ireland, iv, p. 116 ; Kroyer, Dan. Fish, i, p. 407, c. fig : Guichen. Bxplor. 

 Alger. Poiss. p. 78 ; Giinther, Catal. iii, p. 58 ; Mcintosh, Fish. N. TJist. Pro. R. 

 Soc. Edin. v, 1862-66, p. 614 ; CoUett, Norges Fis. p. 53 ; Winther, Ich. Dan. 

 Mar. 1879, p. 17 ; Giglioli, Peso. Ital. 1880, p. 29 ; Canestrini, Arch. Zool. 1861, 

 p. 148, t. ix : Moreau, Poiss. France, ii, p. 212. 



Eleotris minuta, Bl. Schn. p. 66. 



Oobius gracilis, Jenyns, Brit. Vert. p. 387 (male) ; Tarrell, Brit. Fish. (Ed. 2) 

 i, p. 290, c. fig. (Ed. 3) ii, p. 331 ; Thompson, Pro. Zool. Soc. 1837, p. 67 and 

 1. c. p. 116 ; White, Catal. p. 53. 



OobvU'S wriipunctatus, Parnell, Fish. Firth of Forth, p. 83, pi. xxix (male) and 

 Wem. Mem. vii, p. 243, pi. xxix; Thompson, 1. c. p. 117. 



Gobius reticulatus, McCoy, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist, vi, p. 403. 



Gobius rhodopterus and Ilckstromii, Giinther, Catal. iii, pp. 17, 57. 



Yellow goby and one-spotted goby, Couch, Fish. Brit. Isles, ii, pp. 159, 167, pi. c. 

 fig. 1 and pi. ci, fig. 3. 



Oobius attenuatus, or tail-spotted goby (young). Couch, 1. c. p. 166, pi. ci, fig. 2. 



B. V, D. 6/t-o1tt. P- 21, V. 6, A ^^It^, C. 11, L. 1. 60-70, L. tr. 12-14. 



Length of head 4 to 4f , of caudal fin 6j- to 6|, height of body 6| in female to 8, 

 in the total length. Uye — diameter 4 to 4=^ in the length of the head, 3/4 to 1 

 diameter from the end of the snout and superiorly placed close together. The 

 eye in the female in some examples is a little nearer the end of the snout than is 

 that of the male. The greatest width of the head equals (or exceeds in large 

 specimens) its length behind the middle of the eyes, and is about equal to its 

 greatest height in smaller examples. Lower jaw slightly the longer. Cleft of 

 the mouth oblique, the upper jaw reaching to below the first third on even centre of 

 the orbit. Cheeks swollen. No warts on the head except in large examples, when 

 a horizontal row exists across the cheeks, from which several shorter ones 

 descend. Barbels absent. Teeth — in several rows in both jaws, the front and an 

 outer series in the mandible being slightly larger than the remainder, none on the 

 palate nor on the tongnie. Fins — spines of first dorsal flexible but not prolonged, 

 they are lower than the height of the body : there is some considerable interspace, 



