198 



ICHTHYOLOGY. 



Malacop. and they are fed with vegetables and bread steeped in 

 iery^ii niilk, — a mode of treatment by wliich they are not only 



Abdomi- j.gpj alive, but actually thrive and fatten. 



CvprinidEE. T'^^ fecundity of these fishes is very great, and their 



C— >^^ numbers consequently would soon become excessive, but 

 for the many enemies by which their spawn is destroyed. 

 No fewer than 700,000 eggs have been found in the ova- 

 ria of a single carp, and that too by no means an indivi- 

 dual of the largest size. Their growth is very rapid, more 

 so perhaps than that of any other fresh-water fish, and 

 the size which they sometimes attain is very considerable. 

 In certain lakes in Germany and Prussia, individuals are 

 occasionally taken weighing tliirty or forty pounds ; and 

 Pallas relates that they occur in the Volga five feet in 

 length, and even of greater weight than the examples just 

 alluded to. The largest of which we have any account 

 is that mentioned by Bloch, taken near Frankfort-on-the- 

 Oder, which weighed seventy pounds, and measured near- 

 ly nine feet in length. 



CyprhiHS anratus (gold fish). This beautiful species, 

 the most brilliantly adorned of all our fresh-water fishes, 

 and scarcely surpassed even by the more richly ornament- 

 ed inhabitants of the ocean, is well known to be a native 

 of China, although it is now domesticated, so to speak, in 

 almost every country, both of the old and new world. 

 Like the carp, it has the dorsal and anal spines denticu- 

 lated. When young it is of a blackish colour, and it gra- 

 dually acquires the fine golden red by which it is charac- 

 terised ; but some examples are of a silvery hue, and 

 others are variegated with three different shades of co- 

 lour. Like most other animals that have been long estran- 

 ged from their natural habits, and subjected to artificial in- 

 fluences, this species presents a great many varieties, ex- 

 tending even to some important parts of structure. In- 

 dividuals occur without a dorsal, others with a very large 

 one, others with the caudal greatly enlarged, and divided 

 into three or four lobes ; and in some instances the eyes 

 are enormously dilated.' The golden carp is said to have 

 been originally confined to a lake near the mountain 

 Tsimking, in the province of The-kiang, in China, about 

 the 30th degree of N. lat. It was first brought to Eng- 

 land in 1691, but was very scarce till 1728, when a con- 

 siderable number were imported, and they soon became 

 generally known. They do not flourish in rivers and open 

 ponds, not, however, because such places are uncongenial 

 to them, but because they are exposed to many enemies, 

 against which they have no means of defence. When kept 

 in confinement they ought to be nourished with fine 

 crumbs of bread, small worms, flies, and yolks of eggs dried 

 and powdered, and the water ought to be frequently chan- 

 ged. The ordinary length of this species is from four to six 

 inches ; but they have been sometimes known to reach a 

 foot. Although natives of a warm climate, they can sus- 

 tain a great degree of cold uninjured. An individual, 

 which was accidentally exposed during the night, was 

 completely frozen up in the centre of its glass jar ; but as 

 the ice thawed it recovered its vigour, and seemed to suf- 

 fer no further inconvenience. 



To this group belongs the smallest of the European 

 Cyprini, viz. C. amariis, which is about an inch long, 

 greenish above, and of a fine red beneath. During the 

 time of spawning, which takes place in April, it has a 

 steel-blue line on each side of the tail ; the second dorsal 

 ray forms a rather stiff spine. 



Genus Barbus of Cuvier, contains such species as 

 have the dorsal and anal short, with a strong spine for 

 the second or third ray of the dorsal, and four barbels. 



two of which are at the extremity, and two at the angles Malacop- 

 of the upper jaw. As an example, we may refer to the '•^'"vgii 

 Cyprimis barbus, or barbel, which may be known by its ^"^""n- 

 oblong head. It is very common in clear and running Cyj^jj^]^ 

 waters, where it sometimes attains to a length exceeding v^-y-.^, 

 ten feet. Several allied species are found in Italy, having 

 the spine weaker, but which, nevertheless, differ from the 

 following genus by possessing four barbels. Such are 

 Barbus caninus., Bonnelli ; JB. plebeius, Val. ; B. eqites. 

 Id. Various species of Barbi occur in the Caspian Sea, in 

 the Nile, and in India ; and not a few have been ascertain- 

 ed to inhabit America. 



Genus Gobio, Cuv. Has the dorsal and anal short, both 

 of them without spines, and the mouth furnished with bar- 

 bels. Of this genus the gudgeon ( Ci/prinus gobio) may be 

 cited as an example. It is a small fish, seldom exceeding 

 seven or eight inches, and is found in most parts of Europe 

 in small lakes and gently flowing rivers. It is of a pale 

 olive-brown colour, slightly spotted with black, especially 

 on the fins, tlie sides and abdomen being silvery white. 

 It spawns in the spring, and as it deposits its ova at dis- 

 tant intervals, the operation generally continues for a con- 

 siderable time. It is a very prolific fish ; and as its flesh 

 is of a very delicate flavour, it is much sought after for 

 the table. 



Genus Tinca, Cuv. Unites to the characters of the 

 gudgeons that of having very m.inute scales ; their bar- 

 bels also are very small. This genus includes the com- 

 mon tench (Ci/prinus tinca, L.), which is of a deep yel- 

 lowish brown, sometimes, however, assuming a fine gol- 

 den colour. Its usual length is from twelve to fourteen 

 inches ; but instances are on record of its having reached 

 three feet. It inhabits stagnant waters with a muddy 

 bottom ; and in the winter conceals itself among the mud, 

 and seems to undergo a kind of torpidity. In May and 

 June it deposits its ova among aquatic plants; these are 

 very minute, of a green colour, and so numerous that 

 297,000 have been reckoned in one female. The tench 

 is very extensively distributed, appearing to occur through- 

 out the whole globe. Its flesh is not much esteemed, as 

 it is soft, insipid, and difficult of digestion. 



Genus Adramis, Cuv. Distinguished by wanting spines 

 and barbels ; the dorsal is short, placed behind the ven- 

 trals, and the anal long. Two species are known, the 

 common bream {Cyp. bramd), and the little bream {Cyp. 

 hlicca, C. latus, Gm. Bl. 10). The former is the largest 

 fish in this subdivision ; there are twenty-nine rays in the 

 anal, and all the fins are obscure. It is common in slow 

 flowing rivers and lakes in most European countries. It 

 sometimes acquires two feet and a half in length, but its 

 ordinary dimensions may be stated to be about a foot. 

 Worms, conferva-, and aquatic plants are its usual food ; 

 but, like many allied species, it often swallows mud, which 

 renders its flesh unsavoury. " There exists in the river 

 Trent, in the neighbourhood of Newark, two species or 

 varieties of bream. The common bream, Cyprimis bra- 

 ma, is known there by the name of Carp Bream, from its 

 yellow colour, and has been taken of nearly eight pounds 

 weight. The other species or variety, which 1 believe to 

 be a non-descript, never exceeds a pound in weight. It is 

 of a silvery hue, and goes by the name of White Bream."" 



Omitting the genera Labeo and Catastomus, of 

 which the species are all foreign, and imperfectly known, 

 we now come to the generic group named Leuciscus 

 (Klein), comprehending several kinds indigenous to Eu- 

 rope. They have the dorsal and anal short, and are des- 

 titute of spines and barbels, and there is nothing particu- 



' The varieties of this species have afforded materials for a kind of monograph by Sauvigny, and a painter of the name of Slartiiiet. 

 ' Liii?i. Trant. xiv. p. 5U7- 



