GOBIES. 
251 
THE DOUBLY-SPOTTED GOBY. 
GOBIUS FLAVESCENS. 
Plate XIII, figs. 3 and 4. 
Second dorsal fin relatively short , the length of its base being at most 3 / 4 of the distance between the first dorsal 
fin and the tip of the snout. Peduncle of the tail relatively long and deep, its length at the upper margin being 
about, equal to that of the base of the second dorsal fin, and its least depth more than 7 % of the length of the 
body, than 30 % of the length of the head or than 40 % of its own length at the upper margin. Eyes , in 
adult specimens, far apart at the top, and their longitudinal diameter from about, 26 to 29 % of the length of 
the head, or f rom 36 to 38 % of the distance between the first rays in the first and second dorsal fins. Number 
of the scales in a transverse row on the body at, the beginning of the anal, fin between 10 and 12, and in a row 
along the sides of the body about 40. The dorsal side in front, of the first dorsal fin and the middle of the 
ventral side in front of the anal fin scaleless. Seven rays in the first dorsal fin. Upper part of the body a more 
or less greenish, blackish, brown, with severed more or less distinct, light, transverse patches on the back; the sides 
marked, with a row of more or less lustrous, dark spots, one at the middle of the base of the caudal fin and, {in 
the male) another behind, the base of the pectoral fin being the most, prominent; the ventral, side light with a yel- 
lowish lustre. Dorsal and, caudal fins marked with alternate, dark {red) and light ( yellow ) stripes, composed of 
spots. Anal, pectoral and ventral 
R. br. 3 (4); D. 7^-^; A. P. 17 1. 18; V. \/ 5 ; 
(J. x+ 11 (13)“ + ^; L. lat. circ. 35 — 40. 
Syn . Gobius flaveseens, Fabr., Reise n. Noriv. (1779), p. 322. 
Gobius Ruuthensparri, Euphrasen, Trangrums-Acten , p. 52 ; 
Vet.-Akad. Handl. 1786, p. 64, tab. Ill, fig. 1; Betz., Fh. 
Suec. Lin., p. 326; Cuv., Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss.. vol. XII, 
p. 48; Fr., Vet.-Akad. Handl. 1838, p. 243; Kr., Danm. 
Fi.ske, vol. I, p. 399; Yarr., Hist. Brit. Fish., ed. II, vol. I, 
p. 285; Nilss., Skancl. Fn ., Fisk., p. 226; Gthr, Cat. Brit. 
Mus., Fish., vol. Ill, p. 76; Lindstr., Gotl. Lans Hush. 
Sallsk. Arsber. 1866, p. 15 (sep.); Winth., Naturh. Tidskr. 
KbkvD, ser III, vol. IX, pp. 199 et 22 1 ; ibid., vol. XI, p. 55 ; 
ibid., vol. XII, p. 17; Coll., Vid. Selsk. Forh. Christ. 1874, 
p. 179; ibid., Tillfegsh., p. 58; Hcee, Schr. Naturw. Ver. 
Schlesw. Holst. 1875, 1. c.; Id., Arch. Naturg., Jahrg. 46 
(1880), I, p. 310, tab. XVI, fig. 5; Malm, Gbgs , Boh. 
Fn., p. 434. tab. VI, fig. 1; Day. Fish. G:t Brit., Irel., 
vol. I, p. 160, tab. LII, fig. 1; M5b., IIcee, Fische d. Osts., 
p. 55; Lillj., Sv., Norg. Fisk., vol. I, p. 609. 
Gobius minutus , Nilss., Prodr. Ichth. Scand ., p. 94. 
Gobius bipunctatus, Yarr., Hist. Brit. Fish., ed. I, vol. I, 
p. 255. 
Obs. As Fabricius’s description of this species — - “macula 
caudali utrinque atra. Pinna D. 7. 12” — • is quite as clear as 
Euphrasen’s remarks thereon, which were first published in 1784 in 
the Swedish “ Trangrums-Acten" , the current rules of nomenclature 
require that the name given the species by Fabricius should be re- 
stored, though it has been generally known for a long period by that 
of Gobius Ruuthensparri. 
fins for the most part, colourless. 
According to Fries (1. c.) it is “without doubt this species in 
particular that bears the name of Aat (food) on the coast of Nor- 
way”, “being so called,” writes Strom ( Bondm . Beskr., p. 266), “be- 
cause it is eaten by other fishes.” Muller {Prodr. Zool: Dan., p. 
44) applies this passage in Str6m to Gobius Aphya, which Kroyer 
(1. c.) therefore gives among the doubtful synonyms of the Doubly- 
Spotted Goby. The Aat which is given among the Gobies by StrSm, 
with a reference to Artedi’s Gobius Aphya, is, however, described 
as being transparent, and may with equal justice be regarded as a 
Gobius minutus or an Aphya minuta. 
The greatest length attained by the Doubly-Spotted 
Goby is between 60 and 65 mm. The greatest depth 
of the body is about 16 or 17 % (in gravid females 
about 20 %) of the length thereof. The length of the 
head is from 2 1 1 / 2 to 23 V 2 %, and its greatest breadth 
(thickness) about 12 or 13 %, of the length of the body. 
The least depth of the tail is 7 or 8 % of the length 
of the body. The other point in the external form of 
the body which distinguishes this species of the genus, 
as well as the following ones, from the preceding, is 
the circumstance that the first dorsal fin begins some- 
what farther back, the distance between it and the be- 
ginning of the snout being apparently never less than 
28 % of the length of the body. The last ray in the 
first dorsal fin is, as usual, farther apart from the next 
ray than is the case with the others. There is a dis- 
15, according to Winther. 
