Mermaid’s Purse
Scyliorhinus canicula
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 6cm (excluding tendrils). Well known to beachcombers, these capsules are the empty egg cases of the Lesser-spotted Dogfish, or Smooth Hound. They are laid offshore, attached to algae or other substrate by long twisted tendrils. The embryonic fish has usually hatched by the time the case is washed up. Each capsule is brownish in colour, fading later. Egg capsule of Greater Spotted Dogfish (S. stellaris) is about twice as large. Egg capsules of skates and rays have points or horns rather than tendrils, although they are otherwise similar. All are widespread and may be found almost anywhere on the shore.
Rock Goby
Gobius paganellus
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 12cm. Head is large and the body is thickset. Eyes are on top of the head, the mouth is thick-lipped and the cheeks are large. Front dorsal (back) fin has an orange band. General colour is dull brownish or dark grey. One of many similar gobies, including the spotted Leopard Goby (Thorogobius ephippiatus).
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Widespread and common in rock pools and among algae on the lower shore.
DISTRIBUTION
Occurs throughout the Atlantic, English Channel and Mediterranean.
Worm Pipefish
Nerophis lumbriciformis
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 17cm. Very elongated and slender pipe-like fish. Head is small with a short snout that turns upwards. Single small dorsal fin. Body dark brown to olive, sometimes with pale spots or stripes. Pipefish are closely related to seahorses.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Occurs among algae in rocky areas on the shore down to 30m. Female lays eggs in a groove on male’s belly. Male guards the eggs and young until they grow to about 1cm long. Diet comprises small crustaceans.
DISTRIBUTION
Found from southern Norway to Morocco. Common on most British and Irish coasts; rare on east coast of Britain.
Shanny
Lipophrys pholis
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 16cm. Relatively large and blunt face, and thickset tapering body with a dorsal fin along the length of the back. Eyes are located on top of the head, and mouth is large with thick lips.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Occurs on rocky coastlines and sandy shores, in intertidal and subtidal zones down to about 30m. Eggs are laid under stones and guarded by male. Feeds on small fish, algae, barnacles and mussels.
DISTRIBUTION
Found from southern Norway to Morocco, but not in Mediterranean. Very common around coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Tompot Blenny
Parablennius gattorugine
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 30cm. Stoutly built blenny with an elongated body and relatively large head with two distinctive branched head tentacles above the eyes. Long dorsal fin is separated into two by a shallow notch. Pectoral fins are large and rounded, and there is a single long anal fin. Colour is mottled brown with vertical darker bars running across the sides.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Occurs intertidally in rock pools or subtidally down to 20m, in holes, on rocky ledges and among boulders and algae. Female lays eggs in a hole or crevice, and male guards them until they are hatched. Feeds mainly on crustaceans.
DISTRIBUTION
Found from west coast of Britain and all around Ireland, to Mediterranean and Adriatic.
Pogge
Agonus cataphractus
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 15cm. Distinctive fish in which the body surface is encased in protective overlapping bony plates. There is a strong spine on each gill cover and a pair of hooked spines on the snout. Numerous short barbels on the underside of the head help the fish locate prey. Usually mottled dark greyish-brown; underside is creamy-white. Also called Armed Bullhead.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Lives in sandy and muddy sea beds, from shallow water down to 500m. May occur in estuaries. Feeds on small crustaceans and other bottom-living invertebrates.
DISTRIBUTION
Found in the Atlantic, English Channel, North Sea and western Baltic, although uncommon.
Sea Scorpion
Taurulus bubalis
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 17cm. Small fish with a stout body, large head with eyes positioned on top, distinctive barbel at the corners of the mouth and long spine in front of the gill cover. Pectoral fins are large in relation to its body. Colour is variable, matching surroundings, usually brownish mottled with cream, or orange or red with pale blotches in some areas.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Common in rock pools and under algae on the lower shore, and sublittorally in algae-covered rock to 30m. Feeds on crustaceans and small bottom-living fish.
DISTRIBUTION
Occurs from northern Scandinavia to north-western Mediterranean, including southern Baltic. Common around coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Lumpsucker
Cyclopterus lumpus
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 50cm (female). Massive stout body with a bony head and four rows of bony plates and tubercles. Modified pelvic fins have evolved into adhesive discs (as in the sea snails, Liparis), which the fish use to adhere to the substrate. Female about twice the size of male. In breeding season male turns from drab greyish-green to bright red or orange.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Lives on sea bottom, hiding in crevices between rocks and under stones, and migrates from deeper waters to shallow waters to spawn in spring. Female lays about 200,000 yellowish eggs among rocks at low-tide level, where they are guarded by male. Diet includes small crustaceans and jellyfishes.
DISTRIBUTION
Common in the Atlantic south to Portugal.
Corkwing Wrasse
Crenilabrus melops
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 20cm. Laterally flattened body with a relatively small head, a large mouth with thick lips and a single long dorsal fin. Colouration variable, from green and greenish-brown, to green or reddish; often a dark spot in the tail-base centre. Male has blue-green wavy or curved lines on his head.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Subtidal over algae-covered rocks at 1–30m, and found in rock pools. Young wrasse often occur in eelgrass beds.
DISTRIBUTION
Common on coasts of the Atlantic, North Sea, southern Baltic and western Mediterranean, except far north.
Butterfish
Pholis gunnellus
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 25cm. Long and slender bronze-, reddish- to pinkish-brown fish with 12 or more light-ringed dark spots along the back. Head and mouth are very small, and there is a single dorsal fin from behind the head to the tail fin. Anal fin is present from about halfway along the body to the tail fin.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Common on rocky shores in rock pools, under rocks or among seaweed. Occurs subtidally down to 100m in rocky areas, and also in other habitats. Lays eggs in a clump among rocks, or in shells or burrows of other animals; eggs are guarded by both parents. Feeds on various small invertebrates such as crustaceans and molluscs.
DISTRIBUTION
Found from Iceland to the Bay of Biscay. Common around all coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Fifteen-spined Stickleback
Spinachia spinachia
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 22cm. Elongated slender fish with triangular-shaped dorsal and anal fins, and 14–17 short spines along the back. Greenish-brown to dark brown on upper side and sides, and paler on underside.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Intertidal in rock pools, and subtidal down to 10m. Lives in algae and seagrasses. Male builds a nest from algae held together by shiny secretional threads (tangspiggin) in spring to early summer. Eggs are laid in nest and guarded by male until they hatch. Diet comprises small invertebrates.
DISTRIBUTION
Found from northern Norway to Atlantic coasts of France, and inhabits all coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Two-spotted Clingfish
Diplecogaster bimaculata
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 4cm. Fish with a sucker under the front end of its body that allows it to cling to rocks. Head is wider than the rest of the body, which is laterally compressed. Usually reddish-brown, or red with patches along the back, and a paler ventral surface that is sometimes yellowish. Two blue spots on the back of the head.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Lives intertidally on the lower shore in rock pools and under rocks. Individuals may guard eggs under rocks.
DISTRIBUTION
Found from Norway to the Mediterranean. In Britain occurs around the south-west and west coasts, and all around Ireland.
Montagu’s Sea Snail
Liparis montagui
SIZE AND DESCRIPTION
Length to 10cm. Small fish with a tadpole-shaped body and a relatively large head. A sucker on the underside formed from the pelvic fins enables it to grip rocks. Skin is scaleless and smooth looking. Colour is variable, ranging from brown or yellow, to red or green.
HABITAT AND ECOLOGY
Found on rocky shores down to 30m, clinging to undersides of rocks or onto algae. Breeds early in the year, and lays eggs on algae. Feeds on small crustaceans.
DISTRIBUTION
Occurs from northern Norway and Iceland to the Bay of Biscay. Common around coasts of Britain and Ireland, though rare in south-east Britain.