of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
249 
COTTIDiE. 
Short-Spined Cottus (Cottus scorpius.) 
A female, b\ inches in length, and weighing 402 grains, was caught in 
February in St Andrews Bay. The ovaries weighed 38 grains, and were 
of a beautiful rich strawberry colour, each ovum possessing this tint. The 
ova, which were all enumerated, numbered 2742. They were translucent, 
of uniform size (r27 to 1*20 mm. in diameter),"^ and no minute eggs 
were present. A second specimen, 11 j inches in length, and w^eighing 
17 ounces, was caught on April 2. It was spent, only live large red ova 
being contained in the ovaries. 
Long-Spinbd Cottus (Cottus huhalis). 
The fecundity of four specimens was determined, all caught at Dunbar 
in the early part of March. The details are as follows : — 
Length of 
Fish 
(in inches). 
"Weight 
of 
Fish. 
Weight of 
Ovaries 
(in grains). 
Weight of 
part taken 
(in grains). 
Number of 
Ova 
counted. 
Total 
Number 
of Ova 
in Ovaries. 
1 
2 
3 
4 
3| 
71 
5 
6| 
278 grs. 
1750 
557 „ 
1312-5 „ 
56-3 
296 
140 
130 
15-44 
10-6 
10-15 
10 
\ 
- 
( Large, 435 
[Small, 800 (?) 
r Large, 302 
I Small, 850 (?) 
' Large, 396 
[ Small, 900 (?) 
f Large, 443 
[Small, (?) 
1,586 
2,917 
8,433 
23,735 
5,462 
12,413 
5,759 
(?) 
A number of other specimens were examined. In all the mass of the 
ovaries was made up of large, gelatinous, translucent ova, with minute 
ova in the interstices ; and it was a matter of great difficulty to determine 
the number of the latter with any exactitude. In some cases the ovaries 
were green, in others they were greyish or brown. The large, slightly 
brownish translucent ova were of uniform size, having a diameter of 1 -50 to 
1'39 mm.; the largest of the smaller were 0'72 mm. in diameter, graduat- 
ing in size to those only clearly visible under a lens. From a spent female 
a few (four) eggs were squeezed, each with a diameter of I'd' mm. The 
condition in Cottus huhalis is very different from that in some other fishes 
having demersal ova — e.g., the herring and lumpsucker — in which there is 
a practically equal development of the ova throughout the ovaries. From 
the number and appearance of the opaque eggs, it seems improbable that 
they represent the residuum for next season's spawning. It is far more 
likely that the spawning of Cottus huhalis is prolonged, and that the ova 
ripen and are extruded in successive crops. Minute ova were not 
detected in the single specimen of Cottus scorpius examined. 
Grey Gurnard (Trigla gurnardits). 
In March and April, a number of female gurnards with apparently 
well-developed roes were examined, and portions of the latter weighed 
and prepared. In all, the enumeration was unsatisfactory owing to 
the presence of great numbers of exceedingly minute ova. The largest 
ova in the March and April specimens were 0*7 mm. One specimen, 
caught on 12th May in the Firth of Forth, was 121 inches long and 
weighed 10\ ounces. The ovaries weighed 478 grains. Six grains pre- 
* Unless when represented in italics, the measurements were made after the eggs 
had been prepared as described on page 244. 
