Fishes. 2029 



Extraordinary Habit of the Shanny or Shan (Blennius Pholis). — " The little fish 

 which forms the subject of these remarks is in the possession of Francis Ross, Esq., 

 Topsham, Devon, and I had an opportunity of seeing it whilst staying with him dur- 

 ing the summer. It has been the subject of many learned discussions, and the Royal 

 Cork Cuvierian Society gave it the lead in their Proceedings for the season. I send 

 you a verbatim copy of my relative's remark, and I doubt not it will not only prove 

 interesting to the naturalist, but to many others. 



" ' A specimen of this fish was brought to me on the 3rd of June. On placing it 

 in a glass vessel of sea water, it appeared perfectly quiet for some hours, but at length 

 became restless, and made frequent attempts to throw itself out of the water. It then 

 occurred to me, that on a former occasion, when by the sea-side, I had a gatteruginous 

 blenny, in a vessel with some actinia: and serpula, which regularly passed a portion of 

 its time on a stone ; I therefore placed one in the glass. The Blennius Pholis imme- 

 diately leaped on it completely out of the water. It therefore appears that these 

 changes are necessary to its existence. On going to the front of the house, I per- 

 ceived that it was near low water. Knowing that it would flow till ten o'clock that 

 night, I watched the movements of my little captive, and as the clock struck had the 

 gratification of seeing it plunge again into its natural element. It has now been 

 more than five months in my possession, and has proved throughout that period a 

 regular and correct tide-indicator. I was well aware that these fish are constantly left 

 by the receding tide on the rocks, remaining concealed in small basins or holes, under 

 the weed, till the returning flood : still I was not prepared to see a fish voluntarily quit 

 the water, and pass so large a portion of its existence in a different element, and by 

 instinct alone time its change of position so exactly. A great diversity of colours and 

 markings have been observed by collectors to exist in the blenny : this, I have ascer- 

 tained, is occasioned by the situation in which they are taken. Whilst in the water 

 the colours are less strongly marked : the fish is then a pale yellowish brown, with the 

 blotches indistinct; but after being a short time exposed to, and inhaling atmospheric 

 air, the colour changes to a deeper brown, and the markings become nearly black, 

 with a regular series of white spots above and following the course of the lateral line. 

 I have noticed that it has a power of altering its position on the stone with great fa- 

 cility, by means of its pectoral and ventral fins. At times it reclines on its side ; at 

 others it is perfectly erect, resting on its broad pectorals, and turning its head from 

 side to side. The specimen is small, being about 3^ inches in length : it will take 

 crumbs of bread and small earth-worms, two or three a day being sufficient : it con- 

 tinues in good health, and has become so familiar as to take its food from my hand, 

 and if he is not attended to will dash the water about to let me know he is on the look 

 out for his bit of meat or rice. 



" ' N. B. Blennius Pholis of Linneus, Cuvier and others ; order Acanthopterygii ; 

 family Gobiadae or Gobies ; generally small, of little or no value as food, found on 

 most of the rocky coasts of our island.' " — Henry Greatwood ; Usk, October 11, 1847, 

 ( extracted from the l Monmouthshire Merlin.') 



Voracity of the. Trout. — An article in the ' Zoologist' (Zool. 1649), on the habits 

 of the trout in Lake Huron, reminds me of the habits of a trout in a small basin in 

 my garden, in which I keep a few gold and silver fish. Some years since I had about 

 half a dozen of these fish in the basin, about two or three inches long. My boys had 

 caught some trout in the brook, and must needs turn them into the basin with the 

 gold-fish. For about a week matters went on very peaceably ; at last one gold- tish 

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