134 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



in holding it in the hands. It occurs abundantly under 

 stones near low-water mark, and is locally known as the 

 " Catlug." Its eggs, appearing like little heaps of 

 yellowish glass beads, are often found adhering to stones 

 and old shells in the early spring. 



Only one species of Stickleback, the fifteen-spined, 

 has been recognised locally. It is occasionally seen 

 amongst the weeds at low water during the summer 

 months, and more commonly in the deeper and larger 

 rock-pools. 



Though not a member of any of the last-mentioned 

 families, the Gemmeous Dragonet may be noticed here. 

 The name is usually applied to the male fish, in allusion 

 to its brilliant and beautiful colours; the female, much 

 more soberly coloured, being known as the Dusky 

 Skulpin. It is a small and widely-distributed species, 

 and the young are often captured in numbers in shrimp 

 trawls on the sandy shores of Lancashire. It occasionally 

 visits Manx waters in large numbers in late autumn, 

 and becomes a nuisance to fishermen by swallowing the 

 bait set for marketable fish. 



The Angler Fish (Fig. XXXI.) 

 This fish, also known as the Fishing Frog or Devil- 

 fish, is fairly common all round the British coasts, and 

 sometimes attains a length of 6 feet. Young specimens, 

 from one to two feet in length, are not uncommon in 

 Port Erin Bay in autumn, and several captured and 

 kept in our tanks have afforded many opportunities of 

 observing the use of the apparatus with which the living 

 prey is lured to the vicinity of the cavernous mouth. 

 Lying motionless on the sand or gravel of the sea bottom, 

 its colour resembling that of the bottom to a remarkable 

 degree, the Angler waves to and fro the long and slender 



