Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/433

BULLHEAD 427 the former is smooth or nearly so, that of the other is tuberculous or armed with spines ; the former is not found in salt water, nor the lat- ter in fresh, though it is sometimes found in the brackish water of the mouths of the rivers. (See the work above alluded to, and the " Pro- ceedings of the Boston Society of Natural His- tory," vol. iii., p. 183.) The most obvious char- acters are the following : In acanthocottm the opercular apparatus is armed with strong spines; the surface of the head, and often the circum- ference of the orbits, is similarly armed, or is serrated in various ways ; the nasal bones are in some species surmounted by a ridge or spine ; the head is high and broad, occasionally de- formed, with very large eyes and an immense mouth ; the body is without scales, the back often arched, and the first dorsal almost as high as the second ; the soft rays are three or four in the ventral fins ; the lateral line runs uninterrupted and distinct from the head to the base of the tail ; in the cottoids, the lateral line is remarkably developed, being in some a regular cartilaginous tube with a series of openings communicating by pores of the skin with the surrounding water, leaving no doubt that this line in fishes is intended to supply water to the system. The common bullhead or sculpin (A. Virginianus, Willoughby) is well known to every boy as a scarecrow among fishes. The body is of a light or greenish brown above, with irregular blotches arranged as four transverse dark brown bars ; the abdo- men is white, occasionally stained with fuligi- nous ; the dorsals are crossed by dark brown bands, the pectorals light yellow with concen- tric brown bands, and the ventrals, anal, and caudal yellowish white, also banded. The length is from 10 to 18 inches, of which the head is about one third. There are 10 naked spines on each side, on and about the head, the largest being at the posterior angle of the pre- operculum, and partially covered with a loose membranous sheath ; there are also strong pcapular and humeral spines, so that it is rather a difficult species to handle ; the gape of the mouth is large, and the jaws, pharynx, and palate are armed with numerous sharp, Bullhead (Acanthocottus Virginianus). card-like teeth ; the caudal fin is even at the end. This species is found from New Bruns- wick to Virginia. Another species of the New England coast is the Greenland bullhead, A. variabilis (Gd.), or A. Oroenlandicu* (Guv.) ; these may be different species, but they are described under one head by Dr. Storer in his " Fishes of Massachusetts," in " Memoirs of the American Academy," vol. v., p. 74. This is darker colored than the common sculpin, with large clay-colored blotches on the top of the head and gill covers, smaller ones on the back and sides, and circular yellow spots on the sides near the abdomen, which is yellow tinged Greenland Bullhead (Acanthocottus Groenlandicus). with red, and the throat dull white ; the fins are more or less banded and spotted with yel- low ; the sides are rough from granulated tu- bercles. The length is about a foot, of which the head is one fourth ; this is armed with spines. These ill-favored sculpins are the fa- vorite food of the Greenlanders, though rarely if ever eaten by us. They are very trouble- some in the fishing grounds of the British provinces, as they drive away all desirable fish. The bullheads are voracious, devouring small fish, crabs, echinoderms, mollusks, and almost everything, even decaying matter, that comes in the way. There are several other American species described by Mr. Girard. The genus cot- tiM (Artedi) has but one small spine at the angle of the preoperculum, and sometimes another smaller, hidden under the skin, and perceptible only to the touch, at the lower margin of the snboperculum ; the head is depressed, trun- cated in front, and broader than high ; mouth less deeply cleft than in acanthocottug, but, like that, having teeth on the intermaxillaries, low- er maxillaries, and front of the vomer; body smooth, gradually tapering to the tail ; second dorsal higher than the first; ventrals with three or four soft rays ; lateral line generally inter- rupted. The river bullhead ( G. gracilis, Heck- el) rarely exceeds 3 inches in length, and is of a light green color, with irregular dark brown blotches, largest posteriorly ; it is found in the New England states and New York. The C. viscosus (Hald.) is about 4 inches long, and in- habits eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland ; the color is yellowish, clouded with black, the first dorsal fin being edged with a narrow line of orange ; it receives its name from the sliminoss of the skin ; it delights in clear spring waters with pebbly bottoms, and lies concealed under stones and stumps, close to the bottom, and, when disturbed, hastens to afresh cover; the eggs are laid in April and May, in round pack-