So MARINE AND FRESHWATER FISHES 



which characterises the male, was originally described as 

 a distinct species, under the title of the Dusky Skulpin 

 {Callionymus dracunculus), and it is interesting to find that 

 the male, in its immature condition, agrees in form and 

 colour with the adult female. The phenomena attending 

 the spawning operations of the Dragonet, as witnessed by 

 the writer of examples confined in the tanks of various 

 aquaria, are veiy remarkable, and were briefly referred to 

 by him in ' Nature' of July 30, 1873. At such times, the 

 male, resplendent in his bridal livery, swims leisurely round 

 the female, who is reclining quietly on the sand, his opercula 

 abnormally distended, his glittering dorsal fin erect, and 

 his every effort being concentrated upon the endeavour to 

 attract the attention and fascinate the affections of his 

 chosen mate, much after that manner of courting commonly 

 pursued by the male birds of the Pheasant family and 

 other Gallinacese usually termed "shewing." The female, 

 at first indifferent, becomes at length evidently dazzled by 

 his resplendent attire and the persistency of his wooing, 

 she rises to meet him, the pair — so far as such a course is 

 practicable with fishes — rush into each other's arms, and, with 

 their ventral areas closely applied, ascend perpendicularly 

 towards the surface of the water. In connection with these 

 manoeuvres, it may be safely predicated that the ova are 

 extruded and fertilised, but in the limited depth of water 

 of an aquarium tank, the matrimonial tour cannot, 

 apparently, be sufficiently prolonged to assure the consum- 

 mation of this act ; the fish after reaching the surface being 

 projected by their previously gained impetus slightly above 

 the water, when, falling apart, they sink slowly to the 

 bottom, and the process after short intervals is repeated. 

 It is, however, by no means impossible nor even improbable 

 that the fertilisation of the eggs in Callionymus may take 



