168 
ACANTHOPTERYGII. — GOBIAD^. 
her own dimensions. Mr. Yarrell obtained a 
specimen seven inches long, full of young ready 
for birth, which were one inch and a half long. 
Mr. Neill, on the other hand, observed in the 
market at Edinburgh, a female fifteen inches in 
length, from which several dozens of living young 
escaped ; and these were from four to five inches 
long. Mr. Low, in his Fauna of the Orkney 
Islands, observes, that when the fact of the vivi- 
parous habit of this fish first fell under his notice, 
he put a number of the small fry into a tumbler 
of sea-water, in which he kept them alive for 
many days, changing the water at every tide. 
They grew considerably larger, and continued 
very lively, until one hot day, when, unfortu- 
nately forgetting to provide them with a fresh 
supply of water, they died to the very last fish. 
SMOOTH BLENNY. 
The most common of our Blennies is the 
Shanny [Blennius pholis^ Linn,), sometimes called 
the Smooth Shan, an epithet probably alluding 
to the absence of those fringed appendages to 
the head with which all our other true Blennies 
are furnished. Its form will be perceived from 
