4 TJic his/i A^afiiralist. Janunry, 



Char may be distinguished from trout by the coloration ; 

 the back is usually bluish grey or bluish black, although in 

 some forms it has been described as lilac, lead-colored, 

 greenish, or brownish; this color.r descends on to the sides and 

 shades below into a silver}* white, or into an orange or crimson 

 of greater or less intensit}^ according to the locality, sex, and 

 season ; pink, orange, or red spots are often present on the 

 sides and sometimes on the back also ; the dorsal and caudal 

 fins are greyish or blackish, and the lower fins partake of the 

 hue of the adjacent parts of the body. Char usually differ 

 from trout in having the scales smaller and more numerous, 

 but in the case of some examples of the Lough Melvin Char 

 this difference is not ver\' apparent. 



Probably the most generalised of the Irish char is Salve 

 Imns Coin, described by Dr. Giintlier in 1863. This is 

 known from Loughs Kask and Derg in Donegal, Conn in 

 Mayo, and Mask and Inagh in Galwa}'. It has the bodj' 

 moderately elongate (the greatest depth contained four to five 

 times in the length of the fish, without the caudal fin) : the 

 snout .sub-conical, decurved, with the jaws equal anteriorly; the 

 teeth feeble or moderatel}^ strong; the interorbital region a 

 little convex and broad (its width hr the length of the head 

 in the adult fish), the pectoral fins of moderate length, extend- 

 ing "5 to I of the distance from their base to the origin of the 

 pelvic fins, and the scales comparatively large, 138 to 168 in a 

 longitudinal series. In Donegal and Connemara Salvelhms 

 Co/n grows to a length of about eight inches, buc in the larger 

 lakes of Galway specimens a foot long are to be met with. 



The "fresh -water herring" of Lough Melvin, in Fermanagh, 

 Salv€/J7iys Grayi of G nther, has an average length of 10 or i r 

 inches, and differs from ►S. Colli in having the body usualh' 

 deeper (depth 3:^ to 4 in the length), the pectoral fin usually 

 longer (extending H to -j-'u of the distance fiom its base to the 

 pelvics), the scales often larger (128 to 162 in a longitudinal 

 series), and the vertebrae fewer (59 or 60 instead of 62 or 63). 



In many species of char the females are distinguished from 

 the males by the less brilliant coloration, the smaller head, 

 blunter siiout, shorter maxillary and weaker lower jaw, and 

 by the lesser development of the fins ; in some of the English 

 and Scotch char these sexual differences are very marked. In 



