callionymim:. 177 



As food. — Its flesh is white and firm. 



Habitat. — The coasts of Norway, Denmark, and the German Ocean, hut 

 reputed not to extend to the Baltic : found round the British Isles : it is not rare 

 off the French coast, but exceedingly uncommon in the Mediterranean.* 



Couch has with justice observed that " the habits of naturalists rather than of the 

 fish have caused it to be regarded as rare " around the British Isles. In the 

 Orkneys Lowe obtained a single male example about 6 inches in length entangled 

 among the sea- ware ; while Baikie remarked upon its being rare in the Orkneys 

 and Zetland. It is occasionally found off Banffshire (Edward). It has likewise 

 been recorded from the Moray Firth, and Lossiemouth : at St. Andrews it is 

 common in deep water, and in the stomach of the cod (Mcintosh). In the Firth 

 of Forth it is common, and after storms from the east has been captured as far 

 inland as Alloa and Kincardine (Neill). It has been recorded from Cumberland 

 and along the east coast, but stated by Lowe to be very rare off Yarmouth. Along 

 the south coast it is by no means uncommon, and extends up the Bristol Channel. 



In Ireland it is occasionally found all round the island. Templeton in 1821 

 recorded a fine specimen taken in Carrickfergus Bay, while a female was also 

 found inside a cod fish. At Belfast it is not uncommon, and one 8 inches in 

 length was secured at Donaghadee. 



It attains to at least 12 inches in length. The examples figured, life size, were 

 from Southend at the mouth of the Thames. 



2. Callionymus maculatus, Plate LIII, fig. 5 (male). 



Dracunculus, Rondel, x, c. 12, p. 304 ; Aldrov. ii, c. 51, p. 262 ; "Willughby, 

 p. 136, t. H 6, f . 3 ; Ray, p. 79. Cottus, sp. 5, Artedi, Genera, p. 49, and sp. 4, 

 Synon. p. 77. 



Callionymus maculatus (Rafin.) Bonap. Fauna Ital. Pesci, fig. 2, male, fig. 3, 

 female ; Schagerstr. Yet. Akad. Handl. 1833, p. 133 ; Fries, ibid. 1837, p. 48 ; 

 Fries och Ekstr. Skand. Fisk. p. 102, pi. xxiv ; Kroyer, Dan. Fiske, i, p. 442 ; 

 Nilss. Skand. Fauna, Fisk. p. 216, Giinther, Catal. iii, p. 144, and Ann. and Mag. 

 Nat. Hist. (3) 1867, xx, p. 290 ; Steincl. Ich. Span. u. Port. 1868, p. 66 ; Winther, 

 Prod. Ich. Dan. Mar. 1879, p. 19 ; Collett, Norges Fiske, p. 62 ; Giglioli, Pesc. 

 Ital. p. 30 ; Moreau, Poiss. France, ii, p. 169. 



Callionymus lyra, Risso, Ich. Nice, p. 113, and Eur. Merid. iii, p. 262. 



Callionymus dracunculus, Briinn. Pise. Mass. p. 17 ; Nardo, Prod. Adr. Ich. 

 sp. 46. 



Callionymus cithara, Cuv. Regne Anim ; Cuv. and Val. xii, p. 280. 



Callionymus reticulatits, Cuv. and Yal. xii, p. 284. 



B. vi, D. 4/9-10, P. 16, Y. 1/5, A. 8-9, C. 9-10. 



Length of head 4 to 4f, of caudal fin 6, height of body 9 to 13 in the 

 total length. Eye — directed upwards and outwards, 1/3 to 1/4 of the length 

 of the head, and 1^ diameters from the end of the snout ; interorbital space 

 nari'ow. Head broad and depressed, its width being 1| to If in its length. 

 Snout rounded. Upper jaw protractile ; the posterior extremity of the maxilla 

 reaches to beneath the front edge of the eye. A strong spine, much shorter than 

 the eye, exists at the angle of the preopercle, it is compressed and armed with three 

 or four pointed processes, much less developed than in C. lyra : two are directed 

 upwards, while the lower spine has a process pointing anteriorly at its base, but 

 which is occasionally absent. Teeth — in jaws small ; absent from vomer and 

 palatines. Fins — in the male both the dorsal fins are much elevated, the first 

 spine of the anterior fin equalling from 1/3 to 2/5 of the total length, and much 

 higher than the succeeding ones ; second dorsal three times as high as the body 

 below it. In the female the first dorsal fin is triangular, much lower than in the 



* In the British Museum Catalogue examples stated to have come from the Adriatic and the 

 Mauritius are considered by Dr. Giinther to pertain to this species. 



12 



