Barbus. fishes. MALACOPTERYGtOUS. 1&5 



below, but apt to vary in number. D. 11, F. 1 1, v. 6, A. 11, c. 22.— This fish 

 is gregarious ; and, in the autumn, runs up the estuaries, and frequently 

 does not, like other fishes, retire from the shallows with the ebbing of the 

 tide, but is found with the long snout stuck in the mud. It sometimes leaps 

 out of the water, and passes over a space of 30 or 40 feet. 



A single example of the Exocetus volitans, or Flying Fish, was caught at 

 a small distance below Caermarthen, in the river Towy, in June 17<'5, the ac- 

 count of which was communicated to Pennant by John Strange, Esq., Brit. 

 Zool. iii. 333. Another in July 1823, ten miles from Bridgewater, in the 

 Bristol Channel, a notice of which was communicated to the Linnean Society, 

 by the Reverend S. L. Jacob. — Annals of Phil. vol. xxii. 152. It is not, 

 however, recorded in the " Extracts" of the Society, in vol. xiv. p. 682. 



Before proceeding to the indigenous species of the family of Cyprinedae, 

 three naturalized species merit some notice, belonging to the restricted ge- 

 nus 



CYPRINUS. Carp.— Dorsal fin long. The second ray of the 

 dorsal and anal fin a serrated spine. 



1. C. Carp'w. Common Carp. — Mouth with four beards; 

 lateral line bent ; tail forked. 



The carp appears to be a native of the southern lakes and ponds of Europe. 

 It is usually stated to have been first introduced into England, by Leonard 

 Maschal, about the year 1514, though, according to the testimony of Wynkyn 

 de Worde, a few were in England about twenty years previous. It is tena- 

 cious of life, prolific, and prized as food. 



2. C. auratus. Golden Carp. — Mouth without a beard. Tail 



forked, often 3 or 4 parted. 



This truW beautiful fish, so rich in colour, the body being often golden, the 

 fins scarlet, is a native of China, where it is kept in porcelain vessels in the 

 houses of the rich, for ornament, and for the amusement of the ladies. It was 

 introduced into England about the year 1691, where it breeds freely. 



3. C. Gihelio. Gibel. — Without a beard, Tail crescent- 

 shaped. Dorsal fin with 19 rays. 



This seems to be the Crusian of the British Zoology, as stated on the au- 

 thority of the late Mr Dryander, in the last edition. Indeed the figure ori- 



finally given bears so close a resemblance to the Cyprinus Gibelio of Bloch, 

 ch. tab. xii. while it differs from the C. carasius, as to leave no room to 

 doubt that Mr Pennant was originally misled in his inference. He says that 

 this fish is found in many of the ponds in the neighbourhood of London. He 

 considers it as a naturalized species, but that the period of its introduction is 

 uncertain. 



Gen. XXIX. BARBUS. Barbel.— Dorsal fin short. The 

 second or third ray spinous. 



58. B. vulgaris. Common Barbel. Mouth with four beards. 

 Form produced. 



