40 A COKNISH FAUNA. 



GOBIOIDM.— ^sx Blennies). 



The Gattorugine. (Blennius Gattorugine). The Tompot. Common. 



The Butterfly Blenny. {Blennius ocellaris). Not uncommon near 

 Falmouth, but elsewhere it is rare. 



The Shanny. (B. pholis). The Bully or Bullcod, dear to the 

 youth of our sea-coasts. The smooth Blenny. Common 

 everywhere. Voluntarily spends a large portion of its time 

 out of water in the crevices of the rocks, and can, by the 

 aid of two false pectorals and its tail direct its motions when 

 on shore. 



Montague's Blenny. (B. Montagui). Not uncommon. 



Yarrell's Blenny. (Blenniops Ascarii). Not uncommon in Corn- 

 wall, but rare in West Cornwall. 



Butterfish. (Gunnellus vulgaris), line eyes. Spotted gunnel. 

 Common. Traditionally said to have derived its name of 

 Gunnel from the ignorance in common of the naturalist who 

 first observed it, and of a fisherman to whom he showed it. 

 The fisherman said "it looked very much like a gunnel" 

 (meaning the gunwale of a small boat), and the naturalist 

 assumed that the fisherman knew the fish, and had called it 

 by its proper name. Couch (see " Fauna ") alludes to this. 



The Wolf -fish. (Anarchichas lupus). The Catfish. Yery rare. 



The Rock Goby. ( ' Gobius nigerj. The black goby, also called 



Miller's thumb. Common. 

 The Pagan ellus. (G. Paganellus). A Mediterranean species. 



Bare in this country, but recorded as having occurred in 



Cornwall. 



The two-spotted Goby. (G. bipunctatus). Is recorded as having 

 occurred in Cornwall, but it is not common. 



The Broadfinned Goby ( G. biocellatus) and the Tail spotted Goby 

 (6r. attenuatus) are distinguished from G. bipunctatus, and 

 from each other, by Couch, but it seems to me that they are 

 thus distinguished on insufficient grounds. In very little 

 fish like these the accidental variations are out of all pro- 

 portion numerous to those of large fish. Take for instance 

 the white goby, admitted by Yarrell as G. albus, and by 

 Gunther as Latrunculus albus. Couch sweeps it away at once 



