GURNARD, Trigla, a genus of acanthopterous marine fishes of the family sclerogotides, containing a considerable number of species, some of which are common on the British coasts. The head in the gurnards is angular, and wholly covered with bony plates; the body is elongated, nearly round, and tapering; there are two dorsal fins; the pectoral fins are large; the teeth are small and numerous. Many of the gurnards are distinguished by beauty of color. They are supposed to have received the name of gurnard from the sound which they sometimes emit, particularly when newly taken out of the water, and which has obtained for one or two species the local name of piper. A recent observer, M. Dttfosse, ascribes the sound to the vibration of muscles connected with the air-bladder, and has assigned to the notes produced by different species of gurnards their particular places in the musical scale. Most of the gurnards live generally near the bottom, and are caught either by the trawl-net or by hook and line, a shining piece of a sand-eel being a very captivating bait. Although not among the finest of fishes, they are good for the
table. One of the most common British species is the RED (T. cuculus or T. pia); seldom more than 15 or 16 in. long; of a rose-red color, the body marked on the upper part with fine transverse lateral ridges; another, larger and more valuable being sometimes 2 ft. long, is the SAPPRIRINE GURNARD (T. him ndo), remarkable for the large size of its pectorals and the blue of their inner surface; and perhaps the most common of all is the GRAY GURNARD (T. gurnardus), generally of a gray color, more or less clouded or spotted with brown, black, and yellowish-white. There are several other British species; those of the Mediterranean are more numerous. Gurnards are found also in the seas of the southern hemisphere.