161 
LITTLE GOBY. 
Liille Gohy, Doxovan; pi. 38. 
Gobius minutus, GusTnEii; Cat. Br. M„ yol. iii, p. 58. 
1 JUDGE that the species new to be described is the same 
which is termed Gobius minutus by the generality of naturalists, 
and the small size of the one or two that have come under 
my notice, scarcely reaching two inches in length, will go far 
to support the propriety of the name. But, on the other 
hand, there are so many species of this family which are little, 
if at all of greater bulk, and one or two which are usually 
found smaller, that the species bearing this name can scarcely 
be thought well distinguished by the appellation; the more 
especially as the figure of it given by Donovan, which we 
may suppose to be of the actual size of the example from 
which it was drawn, is a little more than three inches in 
length. 
From the accounts I have received it appears to prefer soft, 
sandy, or oozy ground, and the specimen from which our 
figure and de.scription are derived was from the bay of Weston, 
on the Bristol Channel In shape it comes nearest to that 
which I have termed the Yellow Goby, but compared with 
that fish the eyes were a little smaller, and scarcely so near 
each other. Dorsal fins still closer together; middle rays of 
the tail more lengthened. The ground colour had a tendency 
to yellow, but freckled over, and the body was encompassed 
with seven dark bands, between each pair of which, across the 
lateral line, a shorter line. A dark line also descends from 
the eye; and there are spots on the first dorsal, and a dark 
patch at the root of the tail. Ventral and anal fins dark. 
VOL. II, 
T 
