COMMON TROUT. 107 



The fin-rays in number are 



D. 14 : P. 14 : V. 9 : A. 11 : C. 19. Vertebra 56. 



The form of the head blunt ; the eye large, placed one 

 diameter and a half from the end of the nose ; the iridcs 

 silvery, with a tinge of pink : the lower jaw in the Salmo- 

 nid(E appears to be the longest when the mouth is opened, 

 but it shuts within the upper jaw when the mouth is closed ; 

 the teeth numerous, strong, and curving inwards, extending 

 along the whole length of the vomer ; the disposition of the 

 teeth and the form of the gill-cover shown in outline at 

 page 3 ; but throughout the Salmonida the teeth of the 

 males are larger than those of the females : the convexity 

 of the dorsal and ventral outline nearly similar ; the colour 

 of the back and upper part of the sides made up of numer- 

 ous dark reddish brown spots on a yellow brown ground ; 

 eleven or twelve bright red spots along the lateral line, with a 

 few other red spots above and below the line ; the lower part 

 of the sides golden yellow ; belly and under surface silvery 

 white ; the spots on the sides liable to great variation in 

 number, size, and colour ; dorsal fin and tail light brown, 

 with numerous darker brown spots ; the adipose fin brown, 

 frequently with one or two darker brown spots, and edged 

 with red ; the pectoral, ventral, and anal fins uniform pale 

 orange brown. The number of scales in a row above and 

 underneath the lateral line about twenty-five 



Deformed Trout are not uncommon. " In 1829," says 

 the writer of the article on Angling in the seventh edition of 

 the Encyclopaedia Britannica, " we received some very sin- 

 gular Trouts from a small loch called Lochdow, near Pitmain, 

 in Inverness-shire. Their heads were short and round, and 

 their upper jaws were truncated, like that of a bull-dog. 

 They do not occur in any of the neighbouring lochs, and 

 have not been observed beyond the weight of half a pound." 



