64 MINNOW. 



"tapering to a point," which may have reference to the hinder part of the body of a Minnow, 

 which is somewhat elongated and slender. Aristotle speaks of the phoxinus as having ova 

 inside it as soon as it is born, and as depositing its ova in a stream, and adds that the 

 males devour great numbers of them, while other ova perish in the water. 



The Minnow, as its name declares, from minivius, "very little," is the smallest of the 

 British Cyprinidcc, seldom exceeding three inches and a half; it is found in many rivers and 

 streams of this countiy. It is believed not to have been originally a native of the Irish rivers, 

 and to be still a very local fish in that countr}\ In Scotland it is said to be common. 



The Minnow is a very prolific breeder; the abdomen of the females in June being greatly 

 distended with ova ; the spawning season lasts only a short time, generally not more than two 

 or three days, and the eggs soon become young fish. Yarrell says he has taken them three- 

 quarters of an inch long by the first week in August. The young fellows are quite trans- 

 parent with the exception of the large black eyes ; it is said that in this state the larvae of 

 the May-fly {EpJiancra vulgata) are among their greatest enemies ; the diminutive fry seem 

 t-o be aware that they owe their safety to concealment, for when exposed they immediately 

 bury themselves in the gravel. In an aquarium, or in a small clear pond they become tame. 

 It is quite amusing to observe a whole host of hungry Minnows chasing a bit of bread about. 

 These little fish are free biters and are readily caught with a small hook and a piece of a 

 worm ; as spinning-bait for Trout, Perch, and small Pike, the Minnow cannot be surpassed ; 

 he is moreover a very handsome little fish. "Lay one when in full season," Mr. Manley 

 enthusiastically says, "on the palm of your hand, examine and admire him. Mark his shape 

 — a miniature Salmon in symmetrical configuration. Mark his beautiful colouring — every 

 shade of olive, white, pale brown, silver, pink, and rosy harmoniously blended, and producing 

 that beautiful mottled appearance which reminds one of the Mackerel and of the Salmo fonti- 

 nalis, the lovely American Brook-trout, which I hope before long will be naturalized in many 

 of our waters." According to Mr. Manley, small Minnows are an excellent substitute for 

 real Whitebait. 



The Minnow is said occasionally to eat its own dead, a feature which can hardly recommend 

 itself to our admiration. A writer in the fifth volume of Mr. Loudon's Magazine of N'atiiral 

 History relates that, crossing a brook, he saw from the foot-bridge something at the bottom 

 of the water which had the appearance of a flower. "Observing it attentively," he adds, 

 "I found that it consisted of a circular assemblage of Minnows; their heads all met in a 

 centre, and their tails diverging at equal distances, and being elevated above their heads, 

 gave them the appearance of a flower half-blown. One was longer than the rest, and as 

 often as a straggler came in sight he quitted his place to pursue him ; and having driven 

 him away, he returned to it again, no other Minnow offering to take it in his absence. This 

 I saw him do several times. The object that had attracted them all was a dead Minnow, 

 which they seemed to be devouring." This ring or flower-like arrangement of their bodies 

 round some attractive morsel as a nucleus I have repeatedly witnessed myself. 



The characters of this species are thus given by Dr. Giinther: — ^" Dorsal fin opposite to 

 the space between ventrals and anal. Mouth anterior; upper jaw slightly overlapping the 

 lower ; body cylindrical. A blackish spot at the base of the caudal (which is forked) ; a 

 more or less distinct series of blackish spots along the side of the body, the spots sometimes 

 confluent into a band. Pharyngeal teeth uncinate, 5 or 4.2, 2.4 or 5. Gill-rakers very 

 short and few in number; pseudobranchise. Europe." 



The fin rays are 



Dorsal 9. 

 Pectoral 16. 

 Ventral 8 — 9. 

 Anal 9 — 10. 



