THE CHARS. 257 



have been obtained about twenty specimens of mature males of 

 the Welsh Char or Torgoch from Llanberris, with four young 

 specimens from the lake Coes-y-gedaul, and formerly in the 

 possession of Mr. Yarrell; from which Mr. Jenyns derived his 

 description of the fish he has represented as his Salmo salcelinus. 

 To these are to be added two examples, one of which is of 

 very large size, from the former Welsh lake, and furnished to 

 myself by Mr. Embleton. 



For further comparison with the British species, Dr. Gunther 

 was able to obtain from the Lake of Constance the "Rothel," 

 the "Ombre Chevalier" of the Lake of Geneva, four specimens 

 of a Char from Iceland, and twelve examples from an uncertain 

 situation; to which abundant materials I will add a couple of 

 the Alpine Char of Loch Grannock, in Scotland, supplied to 

 myself by Mr. Embleton. 



But before entering into the question of the British species 

 of this family, it seemed desirable to ascertain what were the 

 fishes to be understood by the Linnsean names of Salmo umbla, 

 S. sahelmus, and S. alpinus, and which are the designations that 

 have been assigned to the really British species. For this 

 purpose the original descriptions are found too general and 

 unsatisfactory; but the question is settled by an examination of 

 the names themselves, and by the situations from which the 

 typical specimens were procured. As concerns the Salmo 

 salcelinus of South Germany, Heckel remarks that Linnaeus has 

 founded the species on the tenth of Salmo in Artedi's genera, or 

 the eleventh of his Synonymy; and Artedi derived his knowledge 

 of the fish from Willoughby, who gives a description of the 

 "Salvelin," from a specimen captured near the Austrian town 

 of Linz; a circumstance which proves that the Linnasan name 

 was intended for this German fish, which is still in many 

 places called Siilbling. The best account of this fish is given 

 by Heckel, but on a close comparison with those British 

 examples which were within Dr. Gunther's reach, the conclusion 

 is that none of them answer to the Salmo salcelinus of 

 Linnaeus. The 'S'. umhla of Linnaeus is founded on the ninth 

 species of Salmo in Artedi's genera, or the seventh of his 

 Synonymy, from Rondeletius, who described the S. Lemanilaciis 

 or umhla, or Ombre chevalier of Geneva and Neuchatel; but it 

 never assumes the red colour of S. salvelinus, or of the Chars 

 VOL. IV. 2 L 



