232 the FIFTEEN-S FINED STICKLE- BACfi. 
two preceding. The body is (lender, being only an i n cti 
thick, and nine long ; towards the tail it is quadrangu- 
lar, and extremely final! : The whole (kin is fmooth ; 
black upon the upper part, and filvery upon the lower. 
It has two pectoral fins, one dorfal, rifing in a triangular 
form from the middle of the back ; between which and 
the head there are fifteen unconnected fpines, inclining a 
little towards the tail; on the middle of the belly there 
are two, at the anus one : The fins of the belly are want- 
ing. The fpecies inhabits the Baltic and German ocean, 
particularly the coafts of the Netherlands ; it is called 
ersfkr upper. Willoughby is miftaken in fuppofing, that 
if is never found on the coafts of Britain *, 
* Ichthyolog. p. 340* 
