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 A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE my friend Mr. Andrew Scott. C. maculatus is smaller than C. lyra, and differs principally in the pigmentation of the anterior dorsal fin. 26. The Lumpsucker or Hen Fish. Cyclopterus /umpus, Linn. Quite common on the Lancashire coast. The female lays her eggs in rock pools in a large mass the size of a man's head, and the male stands by and aerates them by movements of his tail. Fishermen often mistake these eggs for those of the salmon, which they resemble only in colour, being, however, much less in diameter. 27. Sea-snail or Sucker. Liparis montagui (Don.) Commonly taken in the shrimp nets in the estiiaries. It has been found in the Mersey as far south as Garston (A. Scott). 28. Sucker. Liparis vulgaris, Flem. Not so common as L. montagui, but with much the same distribution. 29. Double-spotted sucker. Lepadogaster bima- culatus, Don. Frequent in shallow water. 30. Cat-fish or wolf-fish. Anarrhichas lupus, Linn. Very uncommon. A specimen in the Liver- pool Public Museum and another in the Zoology Museum at the University of Liverpool are pro- bably local. 31. Butterfly Blenny. Blennius ocellarius, Linn. A single specimen was dredged by Capt. A. Wignall near Morecambe Bay light vessel, and was identified by A. Scott. 32. Shanny. Blennius pholis, Linn. Very common in shore pools between tide marks on the Lancashire coast. 33. Butterfish. Pholis gunnellus (Linn.) Day, Centronotus gunnellus. Very common in shore pools and beneath stones. This pretty little fish lives well in small marine aquaria. The female may often be found in the spring coiled round a mass of her own eggs. 34. Ballan Wrasse. Labrus maculatus, Bl. This species has been found in the Barrow Channel. The Fisheries steamer has trawled it from the ofishore grounds between Lancashire and Isle of Man. 35. Gold Sinny. Ctenolabrus rupestris, Linn. Herdman and Dawson record this fish from Liverpool Bay. ANACANTHINI 36. Cod. Gadus callarias, Linn. [Gadus morrhua of most authors.) The cod is of course very common in Lan- cashire waters, though in the inshore waters it is mostly small ' codling ' that are caught. The cod spawns in deep water, and the eggs may be found about March. In June young cod about an inch long may be seen on the shore waters. In Lancashire waters these little fishes often have a peculiar chess-board arrangement of pig- ment on their sides. They occur mostly among seaweeds or on rocky ground. Towards the autumn they disappear. Codling are common all along Lancashire inshore waters, and are caught both by line and trawl, but chiefly by the latter. 37. Haddock. Gadus aglefinus, Linn. The haddock is abundant in Lancashire waters, but it is rather a capricious fish and occasionally seems to shun our inshore waters. Some years ago it was very abundant. It is caught both by line and trawl. 38. Whiting. Gadus merlangus, Linn. Whiting are perhaps more abundant in Lan- cashire waters than either cod or haddock. This is particularly the case with small fish (5 to 7 in. long) in the winter, several thousands being sometimes taken in one haul of a shrimp trawl. The brain of whiting caught in Lancashire waters is very often infested with the Trematode, Gasterostomum gracilescens, and the cranial cartilage with the Myxosporidian, Sphaerospora platessa. 39. Coal-fish or BluflSn. Gadus virens, Linn. Not so common as the above species of Gadidje. It is sometimes very abundant in the Barrow Channel off Roa Island. 40. Bib. Gadus luscus (Will.) Not at all abundant. I have seen it in Barrow Channel. 41. Poor-cod or 'Power' Cod. Gadus minutus, Linn. More common than the bib. It is very often taken in the trawl in Lancashire inshore waters, but never in quantity. 42. Pollack. Gadus pollachius, Linn. This fish is less abundant than any of the above gadoids. It has been taken in the trawl off Blackpool. 43. Hake. Merluccius vulgaris, Cuv. Scarce in Lancashire waters. 44. Fork-beard. Phycis blennoides (Brun.) Mr. Andrew Scott records a specimen which came ashore on Roa Island in the Barrow Channel and was killed by some boys It is very uncommon in the Irish Sea. 45. Ling. Molva vulgaris, Flem. Rare in Lancashire, but occasionally taken in the trawl. i»2