THE TRUE -FISHES. 187 
and ventral fins unite in forming a disk or sucker by 
which they attach themselves to rocks. The Zifaris is an 
allied form in which the ventral and pectoral fins also form. 
a sucking-disk. The Zepidogaster has two sucking-disks. 
NotTeE.—According to Gunther, the male lump-fish forms a nest, the 
female laying 150,000 eggs, and the former guarding them with jealous 
care. ' The young: follow the male, or, according to Duncan, cling to it 
at first by their suckers ; later they are often seen at the surface of the 
water off shore on the New England coast.- 
Star-Gazers ( Uranoscopide).—In these fishes the eyes 
are placed upon the top of the head. They are armed 
with spines capable of inflicting dangerous wounds. Al- 
lied are the toad-fishes (Batrachida) (Fig. 229). The fe- 
male toad-fish ex- 
cavates a hollow 
among the rocks, 
where the eggs are 
deposited, and in 
which the male 
takes its place, de- 
fending the nurs- Fic. aaa (Batrachus tau). 
ery’ with great 
pugnacity. The young said hatched’ cling to the rocks 
by their yolk-bags. One of this family, from Panama, 
has a perfect poison-gland, the spine calling to mind the 
venom-fang of a snake. 
Cod (Gadidz).—The cod is one of the most valuable 
of all fishes. They attain a length of five feet anda weight 
of oné hundred pounds. They have three distinct dorsal 
fins, and a barbel projects from the under jaw. Their 
range is from Cape Hatteras north on both sides of the 
Atlantic. In November they spawn in-shore along the 
New. England coast ; each female depositing about -9,300,- 
ooo eggs that rise to the surface and float, the young ap- 
pearing twenty days later. In summer the fish seek the 
