DR. GUNTER ON CHARR. 



329 



ought to be composed of a dozen species, distinct, but 

 based on characters which are fugitive and little 

 marked; or there is but one species, which is endow^ed 

 with great variability. This is not without precedent 

 among the inhabitants of the water." 



Sufficient attention has not yet been given by the 

 l^roprietors and fishermen living in the Lake district to 

 the diagnosis of the various species of charr. 



I would recommend those who wish to study this 

 subject to study a series of papers written by Dr. Gunter, 

 of the British Museum, published in the proceedings of 

 the Zoological Society of London for the years 1862, 

 1863, and 1865. 



Dr. Gunter sums up the result of his investigations 

 with respect to the British charr as follows. He shows 

 that 



(1) Three very distinct species of charr are found in 

 Great Britain, namely : S. Willughbii, in the Lake of 

 Windermere and m Loch Bruiach ; S. Perisii, in Wales ; 

 and S. Alpiuus, in certain parts of Scotland. 



(2) That those three species differ by most constant 

 characters from the S. Umbla and S. Salvelinus of the 

 Continent ; but that S. Alpinus in Scotland is closely 

 related to S. Alpinus of Lapland, differing merely by 

 its smaller size when first attaining to maturity, and 

 by the number of vertebrae, there being sixty-two in 

 the Scandinavian variety and fifty-nine in the Scottish. 



(3) That Iceland is inhabited by a distinct species — 

 S. Nivalis. 



(4) That the charr of Ireland form a separate group 

 by themselves, distinguished by the feeble development 

 of their dentition ; and that the charr of Lough Melvin 

 (S. Grayi) is a distinct species from that of Lough Eoke 

 and Lough Dan (S. Colii). 



