380 BEARDED LOCHE. Class IV. 



is on that account, in some places, called the 

 Groundling: it is frequent in the stream near 

 Ameshury, in Wiltshire, where the sportsmen, 

 through frolick, swallow it down alive in a glass 

 of white wine. 

 Descrip- The largest we ever heard of was four inches 



TION". ° 



and three quarters in length, but they seldom 

 arrive to that size. The mouth is smail, placed 

 beneath, and has no teeth ; on the upper man- 

 dible are six small beards, one at each corner 

 of the mouth, and four at the end of the nose ; 

 the dorsal fin consists of eight rays ; the pecto- 

 ral of eleven ; the ventral of seven ; the anal of 

 six ; the tail is broad, and has sixteen or seven- 

 teen rays; the body is smooth and slippery, 

 and almost of the same thickness : the color of 

 the head, back, and sides, is in some white, in 

 others of a dirty yellow, very elegantly marked 

 with large spots, consisting of numberless mi- 

 nute black specks : the pectoral, dorsal, and 

 caudal fins, are also spotted ; the belly and ven- 

 tral fins of a pure white ; the tail broad, and a 

 little rounded. 



