Fam. 4. Rhamphocottidae.—Head incompletely cuirassed, with spines; basis cranii simple; two nostrils on each side. Gill-opening narrow, above the base of the pectoral; gills 3½. Vertebrae 24. Post-temporal short and flat, ankylosed to the skull; scapula and coracoid well developed, separated by cartilage; pectoral rays inserted on the scapula and on 4 plate-like pterygials, 2 of which are in contact with the coracoid. Ventral fins close together, behind the pectorals, with a rudimentary spine and 3 soft rays. Spinous dorsal shorter than the soft; no anal spines. Body densely covered with small prickly scales.
Rhamphocottus richardsonii, a small fish 3 inches in length, from the north-west coast of North America, is the only representative of this family.
Fam. 5. Cottidae.—Head not or but incompletely cuirassed, usually with spines; basis cranii simple; parietal bones often meeting on the median line; two nostrils on each side. Gill-membranes free or attached to isthmus; gills 3½ or 4; pseudobranchiae usually present. Vertebrae 24 to 50, the anterior praecaudals with sessile ribs, the posterior with transverse processes, often directed downwards, or forming haemal arches, bearing ribs and epipleurals. Post-temporal more or less distinctly forked; scapula and coracoid separated from each other by the intervention of the plate-like pterygials, of which one, two, or three are in contact with the clavicle; the coracoid more or less reduced. Ventral fins close together, with 1 spine and 2 to 5 soft rays (absent in Ereunias). Spinous dorsal usually shorter than the soft, sometimes quite indistinct; anal without spines. Body naked, partially scaly, or with prickles or bony plates.
Mostly small carnivorous fishes, the largest (Scorpaenichthys) growing to about 3 feet. Some species inhabit fresh waters, but the majority are marine, a few descending to great depths. Nearly all are from the northern regions, but a genus allied to Cottus (Sclerocottus) is from South Georgia, in the Antarctic region. Fossil Cottidae are known from the Upper Eocene and Miocene (Eocottus, Lepidocottus), and are distinguished from the modern forms in the smaller number of vertebrae (24 or 26 instead of 30 to 50). At least 220 species are known. Principal genera: Jordania, Scorpaenichthys, Icelus, Triglops, Cottus, Cottunculus, Blepsias, Pseudoblennius, Hemitripterus, Synchirus, Ascelichthys, Psychrolutes, Ereunias. The little freshwater "Miller's Thumb" (Cottus gobio) and the larger marine "Bull-heads" (C. bubalis and C. scorpius) are the most familiar British representatives of this family. The eggs are deposited on stones, weeds, or other submerged objects, or in a sort of nest, and are guarded by the male, which in most species is distinguished by a large genital papilla; this, in some forms, acts as an intromittent organ.
Fam. 6. Cyclopteridae.—Very closely related to the preceding, with which they are connected through Psychrolutes, and it is even doubtful whether they deserve to be separated from them. The only important distinctive characters reside in the structure of the ventrals, which, if present (absent in Paraliparis, a close ally of Liparis), are united to form a sucking disk, and the small size of the gill-cleft. The body is short, tumid, tadpole-like, naked or tubercular; the spinous dorsal, if present, is short. Vertebrae 28 to 60, the skeleton feebly ossified.[[739]]
Sluggish fishes, feeding on small animals and plants, from the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Arctic and Antarctic seas, many descending to great depths (1800 fathoms). About fifty species are distinguished. Principal genera: Cyclopterus, Cyclopterichthys, Liparops, Liparis, Careproctus, Paraliparis.
The common Lump-Sucker of our coasts (Cyclopterus lumpus) is the largest member of the group, growing to a length of 2 feet or more. The male makes pits in the sand between stones, in which the female deposits the eggs; he watches over the eggs and also over the young, which cling to his body with their suckers. The "Sea-Snails" (Liparis), are represented by two species on the British coasts.
Fig. 425.—Cyclopterus lumpus. × ⅓.
Fam. 7. Platycephalidae.—Head not cuirassed, much depressed, with spines; basis cranii simple; two nostrils on each side. Gill-membranes free; gills 4; pseudobranchiae present. Vertebrae 27; ribs all sessile, bearing the epipleurals. Post-temporal forked; scapula and coracoid well developed, in contact with each other; pectoral rays inserted on the scapula and on 4 short and broad pterygials, 2 of which are in contact with the coracoid. Ventral fins widely separated, behind the pectorals, with 1 spine and 5 soft rays. Spinous dorsal shorter than the soft; anal without spines. Body covered with small scales.