82 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



Length of head, 31 to 3f, of caudal fin 6^ to 6|, height of body 4£ to 5 in 

 the total length. Eye — diameter 4f in the length of the head, 1/2 to 2/3 of a 

 diameter from the end of the snont, and 1/2 a diameter apart. Very similar to 

 T. draco, but has no spines above the orbit. Interorbital space concave. Two 

 sharp and forwardly directed spines below the angle of the preopercle. Oper- 

 cular spine rather long, strong, and straight. The maxilla reaches to beyond the 

 vertical from the hind edge of the orbit. A row of small papilla? along the upper 

 edge of the lower lip. Teeth — villiform in jaws, vomer, palatines, and pterygoid 

 bones, none on the tongue. Fins — second and third spines of the first dorsal fin 

 the longest. Lower five or six pectoral rays unbranched, or with the divisions 

 very indistinct. Caudal very slightly emarginate. Scales — scarcely any on the 

 head. Colours — back gray, becoming paler towards the abdomen, where it is 

 tinged with yellow. Several narrow longitudinal irregular gray lines pass along 

 the back, and are continued on to the head, which may also be spotted with 

 black. First dorsal fin black, with some narrow white lines posteriorly. Fins 

 yellowish. Caudal yellow, with a dark base, and a wide black band along its 

 posterior margin. 



Names. — Little- or lesser-weever : sting-fish. Locally termed adder-pike : 

 black-fin : otter-pike. Mor wlber, Welsh. Stangster or Stang, Celtic, Moray Firth 

 (Gordon). Bishop ed or stung by a bishop, one of these fish, Cornwall. Stony - 

 co bbler, Toughal (Ball) (see poison pate, p. 50, ante). Be Kleine Peterman, Dutch. 

 Habits. — This species is rather more active and much more venomous than 

 T. draco* Dr. Lowe, in his Fauna of Norfolk, while quoting Sir J. Browne's list, 

 and his assertion that " it has a short, small prickly fin along the back which 

 often venomously pricketh the hands of fishermen," combats the idea, contending 

 that although he has watched them carefully he could only observe that they 

 made sudden bounds with their fins extended, as do many other species. 



Means of capture. — Sometimes taken in sprat nets, or by baits when small 

 hooks are used. Ogilby observes that it is said to take a fly when towed after a 

 boat. 



Breeding. — In spring. 



As food. — It is stated to be exceedingly good meat (Pennant), and they are 

 taken in great numbers in Holland. 



Habitat. — From the North Sea and British coasts along those of France and 

 Spain to the Mediterranean ; while two bad specimens of fish from the Seychelles 

 existed in the British Museum which the curator has referred to this species. 



Common on the English coast, in some places being more abundant than the 

 T. draco : they do not appear to be quite so frequent in Scotland. Edward found 

 them the most numerous of the two in Banffshire, and Baikie (Zool. 1853) 

 records a couple from the Orkneys and one from Kirkwall Bay. In Ireland they 

 are most common along the eastern and southern shores, but are present from 

 the north to the south, Ball states them to be very abundant at Youghal. 



Ogilby records as a very unusual sized example, one 6^- inches in length, 

 taken at Portrush, in the country of Antrim, where they are not uncommon 

 (Zoologist, 1876, p. 4753). 



The example, figured life size, was taken at Weston-super-mare in a shrimp 

 net. 



* See a paper on the stingirg properties of this fish, Allman ; Ann. Nat. Hist., Nov. 1840. 



