250 



GOBIOIDES. 



broad, stiff and sharp dorsal fin, running the entire 

 length of the back ; and on the under side, the 

 anal fringe reaches to the tail. In the tail are 

 thirteen rays, and six in the branchial membrane. 

 Within the mouth, the roof is mottled with dark, 

 ferruginous patches ; and the palate bones, far- 

 ther inward towards the margin of the aesophagus, 

 are set with molar blocks, approximating, some- 

 what, in configuration and structure, double teeth. 

 With these the sea-wolf crushes clams, crabs, oys- 

 ters, lobsters, and the bones of other fishes. These 

 palatine enamelled blocks are sometimes found in 

 a fossil state, and are called toad-stones, or bufo- 

 nites. 



THE SEA WOLF. 



Usually, the wolf-fish is found in deep water, 

 from a quarter to ten miles from the shore, princi- 

 pally on the feeding ground of the cod. When 

 brought on deck, they erect the spines of all their 

 fins, thrash violently with the tail, and bite what- 

 ever may be within their reach. Even in the wa- 



