THIS genus is divided into several species. The Red Gurnard has fins and body of a bright red colour; and the head is large, and covered with strong bony plates. The eyes are large, round, and vertical; the mouth is large; and the palate and jaws are armed with sharp teeth. The gill-membrane has seven rays. The back has a longitudinal spinous groove on each side. There are slender articulate appendages at the base of each pectoral fin. This fish is not unfrequently met with on the southern shores of England; and is often seen exposed in the fish-markets of the maritime towns of Dorset and Devonshire, as well as in Cornwall. It is a pleasant-tasting fish, when properly stuffed and baked, the flavour being similar to that of the haddock. Whilst in the water, the colours of the Red Gurnard are almost inconceivably brilliant and beautiful, particularly in the broad glare of sunshine, as they then vary, in the most pleasing manner, with every motion of the fish. The Grey Gurnard (_Trigla gurnardus_) usually measures from one to two feet in length. The extremity of the head, in front, is armed on each side with three short spines. The forehead and the covers of the gills are silvery; the latter being finely radiated. The body is covered with small scales; the upper parts are of a deep grey, spotted with white and yellow, and sometimes with black; and the lower parts silvery. About the months of May and June, the Grey Gurnards approach the shores in considerable shoals, for the purpose of depositing their spawn in the shallows; at other times they reside in the depths of the ocean, where they have a plentiful supply of food in crabs, lobsters, and other shell-fish, on which it is supposed they for the most part feed. They are occasionally found on the shores of Great Britain and Ireland, in the spawning season. The _Lucerna_ is caught in the Mediterranean Sea, and is of a very curious shape; its fins about the gills being so large, and spreading so much like a fan on each side, that they appear somewhat like wings. The tail is bifid, and the scales very small. The flesh is esteemed among the Italians, and the Lucerna is often seen in the fish-markets of Naples, Venice, and other towns on the sea-shore. This fish much resembles the Father Lasher and the Gurnard; and it is called Lucerna because it shines in the dark. The Flying Gurnard (_Dactyloptera Mediterranea_), which is the commonest flying-fish of the Mediterranean Sea, is about a foot long; it is brown above, reddish below, and has blackish fins spotted with blue. The pectoral fins with which it supports itself in the air are of immense extent. On each operculum there is a long and pointed spine, with which the fish can inflict severe wounds. [Illustration: THE JOHN DORY. (_Zeus faber._)]