THE SPINED LOACH 161 
Linnzus states that Frederick I. introduced the loach into 
Sweden, because of its excellence on the table. 
The distribution of the British loach suggests some interesting 
reflections, pointing to the high antiquity of the species. The 
Carp Family are of such a plastic and variable constitution that 
one would expect to find considerable local variation from the 
original type of this species. Yet the loach is the same all over 
its vast range, although its presence in westward-running 
streams in Scotland and Ireland proves that the separation 
between individuals must have been complete for almost 
incalculable ages. It is so little tenacious of life as to die within 
a very few moments of removal from the water ; wherefore 
its occurrence in streams now far remote and disconnected from 
each other can hardly be explained by the accidental transport 
of young fish or spawn by means of birds. Altogether this 
tiny fish offers one of the most interesting, and at the same 
time perplexing, studies in British ichthyology. 
This species and the next are the only British fresh-water 
fish that have the air-bladder enclosed in a bony capsule. 
The Spined Loach (Cobitms tenia) 
Fins. TEETH. 
Dorsal: to rays. Pharyngeal, in a single series. 
Anal: 7 rays. 
Ventral: 6 or 7 rays. 
Pectoral : 6 to g rays. 
Caudal: 13 rays. 
The genus Coditis is distinguished from Nemachilus, which 
it nearly resembles, by the presence of a small spine, bifid and 
erectile at will, below each eye. The object of this armature is 
obviously defensive, but it must be far from effective. The 
genus consists of but few species, chiefly inhabiting the waters 
of India, Japan, and Europe. Only one species has found a 
home in England, where it seems to be confined to some of the 
II 
