7(; 



SCANDINAVIAN FISIIKS. 



a haiidsoiiK! bright red, but tliis tint is not constant, 

 seeming, on tiie contrary, to have some fixed relation 

 to age, proljably to tiie seasons, and al)nvc all to the 

 nature of the water inhabited })y the tish. In some of 

 the great lakes, and also in the island-licit, the iris is 

 usuallv ]iale orange, with a sj)ot of darker red above 

 the |)U])il. In young s])ecimens it is very ]jale with a 

 faint dash of red; but in old Koach that li\e in small 

 lakes with thick water, tiie iris is often of so bright a 

 red that it has given rise to the saying "rodogd som 

 I'H nn'irf" (red-eyed as a Roach). The dorsal and caudal 

 fins are of a plain, light olive brown. The other tins 

 are yellowish, more or less tinged with red, especially 

 the ventral and anal, whose rays are of a still brighter 

 red between the middle and the tip. The colour of the 

 fins is, however, highly varial)le, and seems to be sub- 

 ject to the same influences as that of the eyes. 



The geographical range of the Roach embraces the 

 whole of Europe north of the Alps and the Pyrenees, 

 except Ireland and the west and north of Norway. 

 The species is extremely common, according to Grimm, 

 in the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea. It is also spread 

 throughout Siberia, from the east of which region spe- 

 cimens ^\■ere secured by HuMBiiLor aiul Ehrenbekg. 

 LiLLJEHoRG found it at Archangel, where it was also 

 met with bv Lieutenant SANniCBEKO. Still it is want- 

 ing, according to Reuter, in the White Sea as well as 

 in the Arctic Ocean. The Roach is one of the com- 

 monest and most jtlentiful fislies not only in the lakes, 

 rivers, and streams of Sweden, from Tornea Lap])mark 

 to Scania, but also in the island-belt of the IJalfie, as 

 well as in the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland. In Swe- 

 den its range is roughly co-extensive with that of the 

 Perch, and it ascends high among the mountains. Ek- 

 STROM found the species in a small tarn on Akkalis- 

 pudive, a mountain in PiteA, Lappniark". 



In summer the Roach frequents weedy shallows 

 near shore. It passes the winter in deep >vater, but as 

 soon as the great lakes are o])en in spring, it ascends 

 in large shoals to the shores, ■where it spawns at the 

 beginning of May. In their upward course the shoals 

 are so distributed that tlie males lead the way, and 

 consequently are the first to arrive at the sj)awning- 



place, being hence called Ismort'' (Ice Roach). The 

 females, which are known as Lehnort (Spawning Koach) 

 or Ijifmort (Leaf Roach), arrive about a fortnight later. 

 Tliey now join the males and commence spawning 

 among twigs and weeds, often "in water so shallow," 

 says SuNDEVAEL, "that it seems hardly sufficient to 

 cover the spawning fish." The spawning lasts from ?> 

 to !) davs, according ro tiic weather. Ouring the ope- 

 ration the tish pack themselves in a dense mass, and 

 move towards the surface with such rapidity as to pro- 

 duce a quick hissing noise, interrupted and repeated at 

 brief intervals. In Lakes Sominen and Wetter the older 

 Roach often spawn, accoi'ding to \\'ii)egi!EN, on a stony 

 bottom some distance from land. The roe is tine, con- 

 taining numerous eggs: in a gravid female 18 cm. long 

 the eggs, Avheii almost ri]ie, were about 1'., mm. in 

 diameter; and in a female 275 grammes in weight, 

 with ovaries weighing 60 grammes, Lind'' counted 

 nearly 72,000 eggs. The ova are deposited on the 

 twigs and the weeds at the bottom, "often so near the 

 surface," says Sundevall, "tliat they are now and then 

 left drv, but are none the worse for this." They are 

 hatched in 10 — 14 days. "The fry generally lie still 

 at the bottom, resting on their side, or supported by 

 and as it were sus|)ended from plants, straws, and the 

 like, (xradually tiiey begin to move and to swim a 

 little better, and after the yolk has disappeared, which 

 apparently happens in 8 — 10 days, they keep swimming 

 about in dense shoals among the reeds. At the age of 

 two months they are 1.') — 20 mm. long and fully de- 

 veloped in external form." (Sundev.). When three 

 years old, they have attained a length of about 100 — 

 125" mm. 



The Roach leads a sociable life, and roves along 

 the shores all the summer in large and small troops. 

 It seems as though companionship insi)ires it with con- 

 fidence, for it is not very shy. It is indeed afraid ot 

 noise, but soon returns to the spot from which it ha.s 

 been frightened away. The composition of tlie water 

 in which it lives, exercises great influence not onlj' on 

 its appearance, as we have mentioned above, but also 

 on its flavour. \\'hen tlie lloach has its home in jiurc 

 water, the flesh is white and free from taint; in fish 



" In Switzerland, nccordiug to Fatio, the Roiicli in a nufnrul statu liardly ascends liiglier thai 

 level iif the sen; hut it lias been planted there in lakes 1,1(111 metres ahove the same level. 

 ' Also Bailfisk (Bather), see Lund, Vet.-Akad. Han.ll. 1761, p. 18(5. 

 ■■ L. e., p. 1114. 

 '' 1.35 ram., according to Reuteb. 



the lakes ahoiit 7(1(1 metres abov 



