CARAS.S11T8 VULGARIS. 



]o:) 



down the body, and is commonly ratliei- less than twice as lon<r as hio-h^ but its 

 heig-ht never exceeds the length of the head, and its base measures about one- 

 third of the total leng-th of the fish. The ontline is more or less truncated, and 

 the last ray is half the leng-th of the longest. The anal tin commences opposite 

 to the termination of the dorsal fin, and the extremities of its rays extend back 

 to the beginning- of the tail. It is deeper than long. The first jointed ray, 

 which is the longest, is equal to the measurement from the point of the 0})er- 

 culum to the pupil of the eye, but the base of the tin is scarcely longer than 



Fig. 40. — cAUAssiv.s vuLGAHis (nilsson). 



half the length of the head. The ventral fins are well shaped, somewhat 

 pointed, and reach back to the vent, and the relatively small pectoral fins 

 extend back to the base of the veutrals. 



The caudal fin is commonly weak, evenly-lobed, and its margin is often 

 concave. Its terminal rays are about as long as the head. 



The scales have an irregular radiate pattern, and are more than half over- 

 lapped, so that their free edges appear higher than wide, though the height 

 and breadth are equal. They are arranged in fourteen or fifteen longitudinal 

 rows, usually with thirty or thirty-five scales in each row. The scales are 

 marked with simple lines, which are furnished with regular elevated points. 

 This, according to Blanchard, is one of the most distinctive characters of 

 the fish. The attached part of the scale is notched and marked with canals, 

 which converge to a sub-central point. 



The lateral line is nearly straight, and nearly in the middle of the side, 



