204 ACANTHOPTERTGII. 



Miillgrannoc and Bulcard, now as Bully or Bully cod, Comisli, 8tone-fish, Parnell. 

 Shaw and parrot-fish, Ireland. Le Pholis, French. 



Habits. — This fish is found in rock pools accessible at low water, and does not 

 appear to frequent deeper localities. It frequents most of our rocky coasts 

 and is exceedingly active, creeping with great facility up and between stones 

 and crevices in rocks, where it may be frequently seen looking out but immediately 

 withdraws its head should it fancy itself perceived. It appears to voluntarily 

 spend a considerable portion of its time out of the water, remaining on rocks or 

 within crevices where by aid of its pectoral and ventral fins, aided by its tail, 

 it can creep either forwards or backwards and spring actively about. If 

 frightened it will readily conceal itself under stones or among sea-weed, and 

 should it be captured it will seize the captor's finger, to which it will hold on 

 with considerable tenacity. 



One was captured at Topsham, in Devonshire, in June, 1847, and having been 

 placed in a salt water aquarium was quiet for some hours, but subsequently tried 

 continuously to jump out. Having placed an Actinia in the glass the blenny 

 immediately leaped on to it completely out of the water, it was then low tide. 

 The tide flowed till ten o'clock, and exactly at that time it plunged again into its 

 natural element, and during five months Mr. Ross asserted that it proved a regular 

 and correct tide indicator. It had the power of altering its position with great 

 facility by means of its pectoral and ventral fins. At times it reclined on its side : 

 or it remained quite erect resting on its pectorals, rotating its head. 



It is tenacious of life, living for some time after its removal from its native 

 element. Donovan having remarked on its having continued alive for thirty 

 hours under such circumstances, and Montagu that if kept in damp situations 

 it may live days, Couch observed that it soon expires if placed in fresh water. 

 Lacepede records how one of these fishes was found enclosed within the two 

 valves of an oyster shell, where it is supposed it had entered in order to feed 

 on the oyster. After it had been dredged and carried to a considerable distance, 

 the fish was found alive in its prison. At Looe, in Cornwall, Mr. Clogg obtained 

 a mussel which had closed its two valves on a shanny, opposite the middle of its 

 pectoral fin. It had been taken by a fisherman in search of bait : the fish when 

 first brought into the boat was alive, with its head firmly fixed by the mussel in 

 its deadly grasp. 



It eats insects, shells, small Crustacea, and sea- weed. Mcintosh, at St. Andrew's, 

 observed that it feeds on Balani, small littoral shells, and sessile-eyed crustaceans. 

 In one I examined at Penzance I found among other things several shells of 

 the common mussel, three of which had passed the pylorus. 



An example was retained in confinement more than half a year at Ventnor, 

 kept in a tumbler of sea water of about three quarters of an inch in depth. 

 Anything that moved it ate : if an insect was placed outside the tumbler it made 

 vigorous struggles to penetrate the glass to get at it. Mr. Guyon (Zool. p. 3514) 

 observes this fish devoured spiders, scolopendrss, caterpillars, and mullnscs, every 

 movable creature being acceptable to it, nor did it disdain a bit of roast beef, 

 mutton, fowl, or chop. One kept by Couch for upwards of six months in 

 confinement did not increase in size. In warm weather it mounted on to a stone 

 in the tank, where it basked for hours at a time, so that in summer full half of 

 its time was spent out of the water : but when the air grew colder it remained 

 under water. In no case did its actions correspond with the ebb and flow of the 

 tide as described above. 



Breeding. — It deposits its ova on the upper surface of small caverns in the 

 rocks (R. Couch, Zool. 1846, p. 1419), about June, according to Parnell, while 

 Mr. Dunn considers some at least spawn in spring. I took minute ones at Penzance 

 in August. 



Uses. — May be employed as a bait for crab and lobster-pots. 

 As food. — Too small to be of any consequence. 



Habitat. — From Scandinavia and the Atlantic coasts of Europe, but it does 

 not appear to extend far, if at all, into the Mediterranean, where Blennius Canevw, 

 Vinciguerra (Ann. Mus. Civ. xv, 1880, p. 448), would seem to represent it. This 



