80 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



Jonston, tit. iii, c. 3, punct. 2, p. 91, t. xxi, f. 2 ; Willughby, p. 288, t. S. 10, f. 1; 

 Ray, p. 91 ; Rutty, Co. Dublin, i, p. 358. Trachinus, No. 1, Artedi, Gen. p. 42 ; 

 Gronov. Zooph. p. 80, no. 274 ; Duhamel, Peches, ii, p. 235. Greater weever, 

 Pennant, Brit. Zool. (Ed. 1) iii, p. 171, pi. xxix (Ed. 2) iii, p. 229, pi. xxxiii. 



Trachinus draco, Linn. Syst. Nat. i, p. 435 ; Briinn. Pise. Mass. p. 19, no. 30 ; 

 Gmel. Linn. p. 1157 ; Risso, Ich. Nice, p. 108, and Europ. Merid. iii, p. 260 ; De 

 la Roche, Ann. Mus. xiii, p. 331 ; Martens, Reise nach Venedig, ii, p. 429 ; Cuv. 

 and Val. iii, p. 238 ; Johnston, Fish. Berwickshire, Mag. Nat. Hist, vi, 1833, 

 p. 15 ; Jenyns, Man. Brit. Vert. p. 335 ; Yarrell, Brit. Fish. (Ed. 1) i, p. 20, c. fig 

 (Ed. 2) i, p. 24 (Ed. 3) ii, p. 1 ; Fries och Ekstr. Skand. Fisk. p. 13, t. iii, f . 1 ; 

 Swainson, Fishes, ii, p. 270 ; Nord. in Demid. Voy. Russ. Merid. Poiss. p. 370 ; 

 White, Catal. Brit. Fish. p. 13 ; Gron. ed. Gray, p. 46 ; Giinther, Catal. ii, p. 

 233 ; Schlegel, De Dieren Neder. p. 37, pi. v, f . 5 ; Kner, Sitz. Ak. Wiss Wien, 

 1867, lvi, p. 717 ; Steindachner, Ich. Span. u. Port. 1867, p. 95 ; Collett, Norges 

 Fiske, p. 42 ; Mcintosh, Fish. St. Andrew's, p. 173. 



Trachinus lineatus, Bl. Schn. p. 55, t. x; Risso, Ich. Nice, p. 109, and Eur. 

 Merid. iii, p. 260. 



Trachinus major, Donovan, Brit. Fish. v. pi. cvii ; Flem. Brit. Anim. p. 214. 



Trachinus armatus (Schlegel), Bleeker, Poissons de la cote de Guinee, p. 94. 



Greater weever, Couch, Fish. Brit. Isles, ii, p. 43, pi. lxxiii. 



B. vi, D. 5-6/29-31, P. 16, V. 1/5, A. 31, C. 12, L. 1. 78. Ccec. pyl. 6. Vert. 

 11/31. 



Length of head 4£, of caudal fin 8, height of body 5^ to 6^ in the total length. 

 Eye — 5 to 5|- diameters in the length of the head, 3/4 of diameter from the end 

 of the snout, and 3/4 to one diameter apart, the upper portion of the globe of 

 the eye having an opaque eyelid continued on to it. Dorsal profile nearly 

 horizontal, that of the abdomen more convex ; body compressed. Cleft of mouth 

 very oblique, reaching to slightly behind the posterior edge of the orbit ; lower jaw 

 somewhat the longer. Two small spines at the anterior superior angle of the 

 orbit ; interorbital space rather concave. Four flat and badly marked spines on 

 the preopercle and which are sometimes absent, two being on the lower limb, the 

 anterior of which points forwards. Opercular spine long, strong, and enveloped 

 in loose skin nearly to its end. Suprascapular a short flat plate (rough along its 

 edges) while the scapular is rather larger, but of a similar character. Teeth — 

 villiform in jaws, vomer, palatines and pterygoid bones ; none on the tongue. 

 Fins — second and third spines of the first dorsal the longest, the membrane from 

 the last spine is continued almost to the base of the first ray of the second dorsal. 

 Lower six pectoral rays unbranched, or with the divisions very indistinct. 

 Caudal slightly emarginate, almost square. Scales — cycloid and in oblique lines 

 passing down the body, some also on the sides of the head. Lateral-line — passing 

 along the upper fourth of the body. Vent beneath the vertical from the last 

 dorsal spine. Colours — generally gray or yellow, being darkest along the back : 

 brown or bright yellow lines pass down the body in the direction of the rows of 

 scales, decreasing in vividness as they descend ; while the upper surface and sides 

 of the head are reticulated or spotted with brown or gray, and occasionally with 

 blue lines ; some yellow stripes along the gill covers. First dorsal fin black in its 

 upper three-fourths, sometimes nearly entirely so. The other fins yellowish, their 

 outer edges stained darkest, while the posterior margin of the caudal is nearly 

 olack and some dark reticulations exist on the fin. Old examples are less 

 vividly marked than the smaller ones, while the colours rapidly fade after death. 



Names. — The term weever is stated to be a corruption of the French La vive 

 which this fish was named, due to its existing a long time after removal from the 

 water, but Yarrell referred it to the Anglo-Saxon wivere " a serpent," the wivern 

 being the heraldic dragon. In fact Rondelet considered it to be the veritable draco 

 of the ancient naturalists. Locally known in Sussex as sea-cat : also as cat-fish and 

 sting-bull. The Sand-eel-bill of Ayrshire, so much dreaded by the fisherman there, 

 is probably this fish. Mor wiber fawr, Welsh.. De Pieterman, Dutch. 



Habits. — It swims near the ground, burrowing in the sand, as already de- 



