BULLHEAD, RPTER BULLHEAD, or MILLEn's Goth's gobio, a small fish, abundant in clear rivers and streams, in Some parts of the British islands, throughout the greater part of Europe, and in the n. of Asia. It seldom exceeds 4 or 5 in. in length; is of a dark brown color on the upper parts, and white beneath; has rather large fins, with rays slightly produced into spines and prettily spotted; and in general appearance is not unlike the guruards (q.v.). It is, however, generally regarded as a disa,greeable object to the sight, on acconnt,of the great size and depressed form of its bead, from which it derives its English names; the name, miller's thumb, alluding to the broad rounded form which the last joint of the thumb of a miller used to acquire in times when machinery was ruder than now, by its continual employment in testing the quality of the flour produced, and in turning it over on the fingers for inspection, that it might be known if the mill was doing its work well. The appearance of the B. is rendered still more unattractive by the entire absence of scales, a characteristic of the genus to which it belongs, the whole body and bead being covered with a soft skin.
Yet it is said to be of a very delicate'flavor, and in some countries is much sought after as an article of food. Its flesh, when boiled, is reddish, like that of the salmon. Izaak Walton speaks of angling for the B., and in his pleasant quaint style describes the habits of the fish: "He does usually dwell and hide himself in holes, or amongst stones in clear water, and in very hot days will lie a long time very still, and sun himself, and will be easy to be seen upon any flat stone, or any gravel, at which time he will suffer an angler to put a book baited with a small worm very near into his mouth, and he never refuses to bite, nor indeed to be caught, with the worst of anglers."—The other British species of the genus coitus (q.v.) are marine. The name B. is not usually given to any of them. A sea-fish of a nearly allied genus (aspitlophorus) is sometimes called the ARMED BULLHEAD; it is also known as the Pogge (q.v.).—The river B. differs from the marine species of the same genus, in having only one short spine on each side of the head, on the preoperculum.