Page:VCH Cornwall 1.djvu/348

 A HISTORY OF CORNWALL 26. Father-lasher, Short spined Bull-head. Cottus scorpius, Linn. This species is the northern form, and is comparatively rare on the Cornish coast. 27. Long-spined Bull-head. Cottus bubalis, Euphr. Very common in rock pools and near the shore, and also in deeper water. The ordinary specimens are black or dark brown, with yellow patches, but specimens are some- times obtained from deep water in which these colours are replaced by red and white. Day mentions such a specimen obtained at Mevagissey. 28. Grey Gurnard. Trig/a gurnardus, Linn. Abundant on the trawling grounds. 29. Piper. Trig/a lyra, Linn. Fairly common. 30. Tub or Sapphirine Gurnard. Trig/a hirundo. Linn. Common and valuable, but less abundant than the grey gurnard. 31. Streaked Gurnard. Trig/a tinea ta, Gmel. A somewhat rare species first obtained by Mr. Jago in Cornwall. Mr. Cornish stated that he obtained twenty-nine at Penzance from 1858 to 1866 (Zool. 1866). Mr. Holt (Journ. M.B.A. . 109) says this is called the Polperro bull-dog at Plymouth, and is one of the commonest gurnards of the district in deep water, and that it was taken on one occasion in Cawsand Bay. 32. Red Gurnard or Elleck. Trig/a cuculus, Linn. Common on the trawling grounds. 33. Lanthorn Gurnard. Trig/a obscura, Linn. Mr. Cocks obtained specimens at Falmouth and Helford river. It only occurs occasionally. It is common in the Mediterranean. 34. Pogge or Armed Bull-head. Agonm catapkractus, Linn. Rare, but occurs occasionally. 35. Armed Gurnard. Peristethus cataphractus. /-* i Gmel. Was taken in 1849 in Mount's Bay. J. Couch records two taken off Gorran, and another from Penzance. 36. Lumpsucker. Cyclopterus lumpus, Linn. This is distinctly a northern species, common in Greenland and absent from the Mediterranean. It can scarcely be said to be 296 a resident of Cornwall, and I know of no record of its spawning there. Wanderers however are occasionally taken. Mr. Cor- nish records in the Zoologist a male full of milt, of the size and colour of a female, taken in a mackerel drift net off Penzance in March 1873, and two females captured in the same way in 1876. J. Couch also mentions that they are occasionally taken in drift nets at the surface. This is not in accordance with their structure and usual habits, but indicates that they sometimes swim in open water. Mr. J. B. Cornish records both a male and a female at Penzance in 1894 (Zool. 1894). 37. Sea Snail. Liparis vulgaris, Flem. Also a species of northern latitudes. Rare in Cornwall ; has been taken at Falmouth. 38. Montagu's Sucker. Liparis montagui, Cuv. Occurs, but is not abundant. 39. Two-spotted Goby. Gobius ruthensparri, Euphr. According to Day it is rather rare in Corn- wall, but is probably fairly common in Zostera and Laminarla beds. Holt states that it is fond of laying its eggs inside the bulbous roots of L. bulbosa. This naturalist has recently published an excellent revision of the British and Irish Gobiidae (Rep. Fisheries of Ireland for 1901, pt. II. Scientific Investigations ; Dep. AgricuL and Tech. Educ. Ireland, 1903). 40. Willughby's Goby. Gobius paganellus, Gmel. Abundant among rock-pools and under stones between tide marks, and on rough ground in shallow water. 41. Rock Goby. Gobius niger, Linn. Common in estuaries. According to Holt the name rock goby is not very appropriate, as it occurs on comparatively clean muddy or sandy ground from tide marks to a depth of a few fathoms. 4 1 A. Giant Goby. Gobius capita, Cuv. & Val. This species is distinguished from Gobius paganellus, which it most resembles, by the following peculiarities : (i) The anterior membrane of the united ventral fins forms a pointed lobe on each side ; (2) the eyes are smaller and the width between them greater. The species is well known in the Mediter- ranean and is common at Marseilles. In 1899 '* was discovered for the first time by Mr. Boulenger on the west coast of France in the Gulf of St. Malo. Couch stated that his