478 VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF LAKELAND 



to wait for their prey, and work their way into sand that is 

 tolerably hard. In June 1889 Mr. Nicol trawled as many as 

 six quarts of Weevers to eight or nine quarts of shrimps ; but, 

 happily, these dangerous fishes are not often present in such 

 numbers. They sometimes attain a length of six inches, but 

 average about three inches. 



Order A GANTHOPTER YQII. Fam. PEDICULA TL 



ANGLER. 



<i Lophius piscatorius, L. 



The Angler is by no means a rare fish in the waters of the 

 English Solway, but specimens of large size are seldom captured 

 in the nets. They are generally found stranded after heavy 

 weather at sea, and only at considerable intervals of time. 

 Small specimens, on the other hand, are taken almost every 

 year in the stake-nets set on the scars of the Solway to catch 

 Flounders. The colour of those taken on our coast is constantly 

 darker than in Couch's figure. Mr. Nicol captured two small 

 examples in a trawl-net in May 1890. T. C. Hey sham wrote 

 to Yarrell on the 13th of May 1835 : 'A few days ago I received 

 a specimen of the Common Angler (Lophius piscatorius) about 

 eight inches long.' This notice occurs in the draught of a letter 

 written by Heysham to acknowledge the receipt of the second 

 and third parts of Yarrell's British Fishes. 



Order A CA NT HOP TER YQII. Fam. GO TTIDM. 



RIVER BULLHEAD. 



Coitus gobio, L. 

 This small fish is not uncommon in the smaller streams of 

 our lower grounds, which alone are suitable to its peculiar 

 requirements. Richardson supplies the information that the 

 name of ' Tom Carle ' used to be applied to this fish upon the 

 Eamont. 



