THE GENERA OF THE CLININ^. 77 



designate by patronymic names those that appear to be 

 of this description. The researches of naturalists and 

 collectors^ in some ten years hence, will probably double 

 the number of species now known. In the mean time, 

 however, it is not a little remarkable, that those types of 

 form, or of sub-genera, which are necessary to connect 

 Tripferygion, Lahrisomus, Clinus, and BlennopMs, may 

 actually be traced in the admirable descriptions of M. 

 Valenciennes : his C. Delalandii, for instance, has the 

 dorsal fin imperfectly three-cleft j while in Tripterygion 

 these clefts are so deep as to divide the dorsal into three 

 distinct fins. The passage from Labrisomus^ on the other 

 side, is marked by L. Gobio, which, according to our 

 observing author, is " remarkable for its thick and wide 

 head * ; " and he names it accordingly : this form is im- 

 mediately met by another in the adjoining genus of Cli- 

 nus (as now restricted), namely, the C. cottoides, which 

 he considers to bear precisely the same relation.! Now 

 that these two fishes, so resembling each other, never- 

 theless stand at the approximating confines of two 

 different genera, will be established on the very same 

 authority. The teeth of the jaws in C. Gobio, our 

 author describes as " petites, coniques, et pointues ; la 

 superieure en a 26 egales, et qui vont jusqu' a la com- 

 missure ; I'enfe'rieure n'en a que seize, qui n'occupent 

 de chaque cote que moitie de la longueur, et dont les 

 deux demieres sont plus grosses, et plus crochues." 

 This is precisely in accordance with the characters we 

 have assigned to our genus Labrisomus. Of the Clinus 

 cottoides, on the other hand, it is asserted that, " Les 

 dents sont en velours, sur des bandes assez larges ; le 

 rang exterieur differe a peine des autres." It should be 

 especially remarked, that the passage of these two groups, 

 thus effected, takes place by means of two thick-headed 

 fishes (the only ones in their respective genera), just as 

 the CottidcB pass into the BatrachidcB, and connect the 



* " Sa grosse et large tete, qui, k la piemiere vue, la ferait prendre pour 

 notre cotte de riviere (Coitus Gobio]." — Hist. Nat. des Poiss. xi. 395, 



+ " Les inegalites fie sa tete donnent k cette espfece, au premifere coup 

 d'oeil, quelque ressemblance avec les Cotles."— lb. p. 367. 



