GOBIES AND BLENNIES. 
163 
i others inhabit rivers, some are found only in the 
I fresh-water marshes of tropical countries, and one 
I genus is peculiar to the lake of Baikal, that great 
j Alpine sea of fresh water that lies embosomed 
[ among the mountains in the very heart of Asia. 
{ There are three well-marked sub-families of 
I' the Gobiadce^ which are thus discriminated, 
j 1. Blennina. The ventrals in this group are 
I very small and thick, consisting of not more than 
! two or three cylindrical rays each, enveloped in 
the common skin; the head is thick, fat, and ob- 
tuse ; the lips are thick and fleshy. The body is 
I compressed and lengthened, clothed with minute 
scales, and enveloped in an unctuous slime. There 
j! is one long dorsal, composed almost entirely of 
( unjointed, but flexible rays. About one hundred 
and seventy species are contained in this sub-family, 
! of which eight are natives of our own seas: the rest 
! are spread over the fresh and salt waters of the 
countries that border the Atlantic, almost exclu- 
sively. Mr. Swainson indeed says, it appears that 
this Family is distributed over every part of the 
world but Asia ; or at least it is a singular fact, 
that in the two best works we yet possess upon 
the Ashes of India, not one species has been re- 
corded.”'^ But he has overlooked Salarias, Cir- 
rhibarba, and Opistognathus, which are all Indian 
' genera. The Blennies are almost all Ashes of 
very small size and insigniflcant appearance, 
rarely exceeding a few inches in length. To 
this statement, however, there is one exception, 
the Wolf-Ash, or Sea-cat {AnarrJiiclias lupus^ 
Linn.), of the northern seas, which is of no in- 
frequent occurrence on the Scottish coasts. This 
* Monocardians, ii. 72. 
