GOBIID^. 171 



from the immature fish in the belly being more s-wollen. Mature females do 

 not have the head thickened, while it is somewhat more pointed than in the 

 male : the cleft of the mouth is of less depth : the teeth unchanged, while the 

 second dorsal and anal taper posteriorly as in the immature. 



Uses. — Food for every larger fish in the vicinity, and for Crustacea as well 

 as for sea birds, but on the borders of the Mediterranean they are largely used 

 for human beings. Along the Maritime Alps, they are the object of a distinct 

 fishery, especially during the month of March, laeing considered a very recherche 

 dish. 



Habitat. — In innumerable numbers in the Christiania Fjord, and from the 

 western shores of Norway along the western shores of Europe, through the 

 Mediterranean and Adriatic, also up the Black Sea. 



I have obtained them at Aberdeen : they have been recorded from the Solway 

 Firth and Firth of Forth : also from the Bristol Channel and Weymouth and 

 the south coast. 



The example figured, 2\ times magnified, is a male from Aberdeen. This 

 fish does not appear to much exceed 1^ inches in length. 



