LOACH 



65 



Order IV. 

 PHYSOSTOMI. 



Family 

 Cl'PRINIDuE. 



OACH 



{NcTuackilits barhatulus. ) 



Cobitis fluviatilis barba/ula. 



The Lochc; Germanis, Griiiidel, 



Cobitis tola glabra maculosa, corpore sublereti, 



Cobitis barhatiila, 



The Loach, Lochc or Beardie, 

 Nemachilus barhatulus. 



Gesner, De Aquatil, p. 40-1.. 



WiLLUGHBY, Hist. Pisc. p. 265. 



Artedi, Spec. Pisc. p. 2 No. i. 



Lin., S_vs. Nat. i. p. 499; Yarrell, i. p. -1.27; Donovan, Brit. 



Fish. i. pi. 22; SiEJiOLD, Siisservvasserf. ]>. 337. 

 Yarrell, i. p. 427: Couch'.s Fish. Brit. Isl. iv. pi. 199. 

 GiJNTHER's Cat. vii. p. 354. 



Characters of the Genus Neiiachilus. — "No erectile suborbital spine. Si.x barbels, none at the mandible. Dorsal 

 fin opposite to the ventrals. Air-bladder enclosed in a bony capsule." — Gijnther. 



rriHE Loach, Loche, Stone-Loach, Beardie, or Groundling is a well-known little fish, common 

 -'- in most of our brooks and streams ; but on account of its habit of hiding with its 

 body more or less concealed from view under stones or under submerged bodies it is not 

 often seen. It is found in various streams throughout Europe, with the exception of Denmark 

 and Scandinavia. 



The Loach delights in clear running rivulets, which it prefers to broad rivers ; during 

 the day-time it keeps chiefly to the bottom, and thus affords great pleasure to country lads, 

 who have to exercise a little ingenuity and skill in catching the slimy creatures, which 

 dart rapidly away when disturbed from their places of concealment. From the possession of 

 the six barbules which fringe the upper lip, four in front and one at each angle, it may 

 be inferred that the Loach principally obtains its food from the bottom of the water; these 

 barbules are most beautifully and abundantly supplied with nerves, and no doubt serve as 

 instruments of touch, whereby the little fish is enabled to discover the nature of its food. 

 The small size of the Loach renders it an excellent subject for dissection under a binocular 

 microscope, and an examination of the nerves with which these cirri or barbules are supplied 

 will repay anyone who cares to study the matter. 



The Loach spawns in March and April ; the number of eggs, which are very small, must 

 be very great, for at this period the females have their abdomens ver)' much distended with 

 the ova. The fecundity of this fish seems to be alluded to by Shakespeare: — "Your chamber 

 lie breeds fleas like a Loach;" that is, I suppose, is as prolific of fleas as a Loach is of 

 spawn. 



This fish has been, and still is by some persons, accounted an excellent food. "In some 

 parts of Europe," says Yarrell, "these little fishes are in such high estimation for their 

 exquisite delicacy and flavour, that they are often transported with considerable trouble from 

 the rivers they naturally inhabit to waters contiguous to the estates of the wealthy." Siebold 

 also tells us that owing to the .savoury flesh of this fish, it is in universal estimation, and 

 frequently brought to market. 



The Loach feeds on the larvae of aquatic insects, and such small worms as it can meet 

 with ; it will not unfrequently bite at a baited hook. Their small size, however, is no 



