LEUCISCUS POLYLEPIS. ' 185 



And he mentions also some very round specimens, with short noses, protruding 

 eyes, thick leathery skin, with roug-h scales, slender intestine, and sexual 

 organs feebly developed, which he regards as sterile variations comparable to 

 those of the Carp. 



Lenciscus polylepis (Steindachner). 



D. 10, A. 11, Y. 9, P. 15. Scales : lat. line, 68—71, transverse ' ^•'"~ f 



5 — 6. 



This little fish, four and a half inches long, is known only from Croatia. 

 The body is long and compressed. The fish is rather less or rather more than 

 five times as long as the head. The greatest height is equal to the length of 

 the head. The eye is one-quarter of the length of the head, or a little less, and 

 is sejmrated from the snout by its own diameter. The arching of the snout 

 increases with age. It pi'ojects a little beyond the rounded mouth opening. 

 The cleft of the mouth does not reach back to below the anterior border of the 

 orbit. The inter-orbital space is rather convex, and its width slightly exceeds 

 the diameter of the eye. 



The origin of the dorsal fin is in advance of the middle of the fish. The 

 fin is considerably higher than long. Its base is less than half the length of 

 the head. The height of the anal fin exceeds the length of its base by one-fifth. 

 The ventral fins are shorter than the pectoral, are placed in front of the dorsal, 

 and do not reach the vent. The caudal fin is deeply forked; its longest 

 rays are shorter than the head. 



The scales are small, remarkably delicate, and thin ; they are rather higher 

 than long. The largest are near the lateral line, in advance of the ventral 

 fin; the smallest are on the neck. The free margin shows a fan of eight to 

 fourteen rays on each scale. The scales in the anterior ventral region do not 

 overlap, but lie next each other ; above the lateral line they overlap one-half. 

 The lateral line runs parallel to the contour of the abdomen, except for a 

 few scales in front, where it descends rapidly. There are five to six rows of 

 scales between the lateral line and ventral fin. 



The colour of the back is dark grey, shading into steel-blue. There is a 

 dark band, three to five scales wide, along the side of the head and body, 

 above the lateral line, formed of black spots. The abdomen is silvery. The 

 fins are orange-coloured at the base, and yellow at the extremities, but the 

 rays of the caudal and dorsal fins show black points. The pharyngeal teeth 

 are in two rows, 5. 2 — 2. 4. 



Spawning takes place in June and July. 



