§13 



Tlic Hream is one of tliu lavjirust Swedish Cypri- 

 noicls. The ordinary leiiirth, intdudin^ the whole cau- 

 dal fin, is ■2:] — ,'!.") cm.: Imt it is not vei\y unusual to 

 meet with Ureani o ilni. \i>u;ji, and according to the 

 reports sent in to tlie Swedish Fisheries ('ommission 

 of ISSl — 80 the species attains in many parts of Swe- 

 den a length of about ")9 cm. and in ScaniiX even of 

 74 cm. The weight, on the same authorit\', is some- 

 times 18' 2 Sw. lbs. (nearly 8 kilo). 



The Ijod}' is compressed, thin, and deep, tlie 

 greatest dcptii, whicii occurs at tlie beginning of tiie 

 dorsal tin, Ixdng al)out .'!4 — ;iS % of the length, and 

 the greatest thickness about 27 — .'>(! "» of the gi-eatest 

 depth. The least depth, just in front of the caudal 

 fin, is about SV , (in young sijeciniens sometimes !)' 3) 

 — 1"' ;, % of the length of tlie body. The dorsal pro- 

 tile, which rises more or less shar])ly from the occiput, 

 most abrujitly if tiie fish be fat, from this point forms 

 a regular curve to tlie first ra\- of tiie dorsal tin, where 

 it makes an obtuse angle, afterwards descending almost 

 in a straight line to tiie base of tlie caudal tin. The 

 back is compressed and thin, but not carinated, all the 

 way to the dorsal tin; from tliis tin to tlie caudal it 

 is somewhat plumper and convex. The belh', as usual, 

 is flat to the ventral fins and carinated from this point 

 to the anal aperture. From the isthmus to the ventral 

 fins the ventral line is almost straight, but slopes a 

 little towards the anal aperture, wdiere it forms an angle 

 more obtuse than the dorsal; from the vent it rises al- 

 most in a straight line to the end of the anal fin, be- 

 tween whicli point and the caudal tin it curves inwards. 

 Tlie head is as a rule e(jual in size to that of the 

 White Dream, measuring 2[\'.j — 20 % of the length of 

 the body; but in young specimens, even those about 2 

 dm. long, its length may be 23 or 24 :^ of that of the 

 body. It is so much compressed tliat tlie greatest thick- 

 ness, across the opercula, is about equal to the post- 

 orliital length, which in young Bream is somewhat less, 

 in old rather more, than half of its entire length. The 

 forehead from the occiput to the nostrils is straight, 

 broad, and convex, the breadth of the interorbital space 

 lieing about 8 — 9 % of the length of the body or Stj — 41 

 % of the length of the head. Both on the forehead and 

 the sides of the head the [)ores belonging to the system 

 ot the lateral line are quite distinct. From the occiput 

 two parallel rows of pores (the frontorostral branches 

 of the sj-stem, cf. fig. 104, p. 3(38) run along the fore- 

 head to a point almost vertically above the eyes: these 



pores are N or !l in numbei', and the first two or three 

 lie somewhat within the line, as if they composed an 

 independent row. Another row of similar pores (the 

 suborbital branch of the system), the number of which 

 is still greater, also begins at the occiput, a little be- 

 low the former. This row bends up towards the fore- 

 head above th(! cheek, then desc(Mids below^ the eye, 

 and ends half-way between the tip of the snout and 

 the nostrils. Similar pores also occur at the posterior 

 and inferior mai'gins of the preopercula and on the 

 under surface of the lower jaw (the mandibular branch 

 of the system). Aliove the nostrils lies the depression 

 usually present in tlie Cyprinoids, terminating the mo- 

 bile portion of the snout (see above), which is obtuse 

 and projects only slightly beyond the mouth. The 

 mouth is small and turned slightly upwards, but when 

 it is opened, may be protruded to a considerable di- 

 stance in a tubular form. When the mouth is closed, 

 the upper jaw projects some waj- beyond the lower. 

 The cornel- of the mouth lies in the perpendicular from 

 the anterior margin of the nostrils. In this species too 

 the length of the snout, wdiich varies between about (5 

 and 7'/, or nearly 8 % of the length t)f the body, or 

 between 28 and 38 % of that of the head, is as a rule 

 in young specimens aliout e(|ual to, in old somewdiat 

 greater than, the length of the upper jaw from the 

 middle of the tip of the snout. The length of the lower 

 jaw varies between about S and nearly 10 % of that 

 of the body, or between about 35 and 45 % of that of 

 the head, and is greater than that of the suture be- 

 tween the suljoj)ercnluni and the operculum, and also 

 more than 75 % of the least depth of the tail (7G — 

 95 % in our specimens, which are between 17 and 47 

 cm. long). The eyes are as a rule comparatively smaller 

 than in tlie White Bream, their longitudinal diameter 

 varying in our specimens between about 2.S and 19 % 

 of the length of the head. But this great reduction 

 depends to a considerable extent on the fact that our 

 largest Bream are more than t\\ice the size of our 

 largest White Bream. The ]iosition of the eyes, on the 

 other liand, is essentially the same as in the White 

 P)ream. The nostrils, which in form are exactly like 

 those of the White Bream, occup}' in young Bream the 

 same position as in the ^\ hite Bream, but in old spe- 

 cimens are removed bv the prolongation of the snout 

 comparatively nearer to the eyes. The gills, the oper- 

 cula, the branchiostegal membrane and rays, resemble 

 those of the White Bream. The gill-rakers are more 



