BARBEL. 



367 



ABDOMINAL 

 MALACOPTERYG1I. 



CYPRINIDA:. 



THE BARBEL. 



Barbus vulgaris, FLEM. Brit. An. p. 185, sp. 58. 



,, ,, CUVIER, Regne An. t. ii. p. 272. 



Cyprinus barbus, LINNJEUS. BLOCH, pt. i. pi. 18. 



,, ,, Barbel, PENN. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 472, pi. 82. 



,, DON. Brit. Fish. pi. 29. 



,, ,, JENYNS, Brit. Vert. p. 404. 



BARBUS. Generic Characters. Distinguished from Cyprinus in having the 

 dorsal and anal fins short ; a strong, serrated, bony ray at the dorsal fin ; mouth 

 furnished with four barbules, two near the point of the nose, and one at the 

 angle of the mouth, on each side. 



THE BARBEL is said to have been so called from the 

 barbs or wattles attached about its mouth. It is readily 

 distinguished by these appendages, in conjunction with the 

 great extension of the upper jaw beyond the lower. 



This fish was well known to the older ichthyologists. 

 The warm and temperate parts of Europe appear to be its 

 natural locality, and it is abundant in the Rhine, the Elbe, 

 and the Weser. 



Near London, the Thames, from Putney upwards, pro- 

 duces Barbel in great quantities, and of large size ; but they 



