Stichæus.—Body elongate, covered with very small scales; lateral line more or less distinct, sometimes several lateral lines. Snout short; very small teeth in the jaws, and generally on the palate. Dorsal fin long, formed by spines only. Ventrals with two or three rays. Caudal fin distinct. Gill-openings rather wide.
Small fishes, peculiar to the coasts near the arctic circle, ranging southwards to the coasts of Japan and Scandinavia. Ten species.
Blenniops.—Body moderately elongate, covered with very small scales; lateral line none. Snout short; small teeth in the jaws, none on the palate. Dorsal fin long, formed by spines only. Ventrals with one spine and three rays. Caudal distinct. Gill-openings of moderate width, the gill-membranes coalescent across the isthmus.
A fine but not common kind of Blenny (B. ascanii), from the British and Scandinavian coasts.
Centronotus.—Body elongate, covered with very small scales; lateral line none. Snout short; very small teeth in the jaws. Dorsal fin long, formed by spines only. Ventrals none or rudimentary; caudal separate. Gill-openings of moderate width, gill-membranes coalescent.
Ten species are known from the northern coasts; southwards the genus extends to the coasts of France, New York, California, and Japan. C. gunellus, or the “Gunnel-fish” or “Butter-fish,” is common on the British coasts. Apodichthys is allied to Centronotus, but the vertical fins are confluent; and a very large, excavated, pen-like spine lies hidden in a pouch in front of the anal fin. This spine is evidently connected in some way with the generative organs, as a furrow leads from the orifice of the oviduct to the groove of the spine. One species from the Pacific coast of North America. Xiphidion is another closely allied genus from the same locality.
Cryptacanthodes.—Body very elongate, naked, with a single lateral line. Head with the muciferous system well developed. Eye rather small. Conical teeth in the jaws, on the vomer and palatine bones. One dorsal formed by spines only; caudal connected with dorsal and anal. Ventrals none. Gill-opening of moderate width, with the gill-membranes joined to the isthmus.
One species (C. maculatus) from the Atlantic coasts of North America.
Patæcus.—Body oblong, elevated anteriorly; snout short, with subvertical anterior profile; minute teeth in the jaws and on the vomer. Dorsal fin with the anterior spines strong and long, continuous with the caudal; ventrals none. Gill-openings wide.
