5. CYPRINUS. 25 



Second Group. CYPRININA. 



Anal fin very short, with not more than five or six, exception- 

 ally seven, branched rays. Dorsal fin opposite ventrals. Abdomen 

 not compressed. Lateral line running along the median line of 

 the tail. Mouth frequently with barbels, never more than four 

 in number. Pharyngeal teeth generally in a triple sefries in the 

 Old World genera, in a double or single series in the North 

 American forms, which are smaU and feebly developed. Air- 

 bladder present, without osseous covering. 



5. CYPRINUS*. 



Cyprinus, sp., Artedi, Ctiv. Meyne Anim. 

 Cypi'inus, Kilsson. 



Scales large. Dorsal fin long, with a more or less strong, ser- 

 rated osseous ray ; anal short. Snout rounded, obtuse ; mouth an- 

 terior, rather narrow. Pharyngeal teeth 3.1. 1 — 1 .1.3, molar- 

 like. Barbels four. 



Temperate parts of Europe and Asia. The comuion species is 

 domesticated, and has degenerated into many varieties. 



1. Cyprinus carpio. 



The Carp. Karpfen. T^a cai-pe. 



Kvnpivos, Aristot. Hist. An. iv. c. 8 ; ii. c. 13 ; vi. c. 14 ; viii. c. 20. 



Cyprinus, Honclel. De Pise. Lacustr. p. 150; Salvian. Fish. 92; Bcllcni. 



De Aquat. p. 273 ; Gcsner, De Aquat. p. 309 ; Aldroraud. De Pise. 



p. 637 ; Marsil. Damib. Pan.-Mys. p. 57, tab. 19 ; Granov. Zoophyl. 



no. 330; Klein, Miss. v. p. 59. no. 1. 

 Carp, Wilhigh. Hist. Pise. p. 245, tat Q 1. f. 2 ; Penn. Brit. Zool. 



iii. p. 309, pi. 70, and edit. 1812, iii. p. 467, pi. 81 ; Couch, Fish. 



Brit. Isl. iv. p. 4. 



* Dr. Bleeker, Atl. Ichthyol. iii. p. 73, says, " I'espece typique du genre 

 Cyprinus, Art., etant un Lcucisais, on ne pent appliquer le nom de Cyprinus a 

 un genre tout different." As if Artedi had ever had the intention of expressing 

 the idea of a generic type by placing it first in the series of species ! The least 

 acquaintance with his works shows the contrary : thus he places C. rutilus as 

 first species in the ' Genera,' C. idus in the ' Species ' and, finally, C. carpio in the 

 ' Synonymy.' Further, he was too well acquainted with the preceding literature 

 not to know that the name Cyprinus belonged originally to the Carp alone ; and 

 thence he transferred it to other .species which he nssociated with the Carp. To 

 him, all his species of Cyprinus were equivalents; and tho.se fanciful and some- 

 times convenient modern ideas of tvpical species are entirely absent from his 

 sy.stem. How can it be supposed, for instance, that he regarded the Sawfish 

 as the type of his genu? Squalus ? 



Doub/ful species: — 

 1. Cyprinus nancar, Bucii. Ham. F sh. Ganges, p. 299. — Found in the sjnall 

 rivers of the Goraklipur district. 



