8 4 THE FISHERIES OF THE ADRIATIC, 



in the Venetian lagoons, but are not reared in the valli, such as the Scald- 

 fish [Amoglossus laterna) and Arnoglossus Grohmanni : they evidently prefer 

 brackish waters, and belong, together with the small Soles, to the class of 

 minutaja. Citharus linguatuta is common, but inferior as food. Two species 

 of Rhomboidichtys are rare, and occur only on the coast of Dalmatia. 



Only two specimens of the Plaice {Pleuronectes platessd) have been found 

 by Professor Trois in the fish-market at Venice, said to have been caught in 

 the Ouarnero. The Soles, with the exception of the common Sole, are either 

 rare, or have little value as food. Generally speaking, it may be said that 

 the fiat-fish caught in these seas are inferior to their brethren in more 

 northern climes : the flesh is flaccid and less firm. 



Two specimens of the family of Scopelidce, which have been met with on 

 the southern coast of Dalmatia, have no interest but from an ichthyological 

 point of view. Cyprinodon calaritanus is half a fresh-water fish, for it ascends 

 the rivers for a considerable distance : it occurs in the brackish Venetian 

 lagoons, and in places where the sea is collected for evaporation (saline) 

 and where the degree of saltness is much greater than the ordinary sea-water. 

 Like most fish which lie imbedded in mud or frequent the muddy beds, it has 

 no value as food. 



The Gar-pike, caught in considerable quantities at Sansego and Lussin, 

 is one of the fish which is reared in the valli. The Saury-pike occurs, 

 quite exceptionally, on the Dalmatian coast only, and is a pelagic species, as 

 is also the closely-allied genus of Exocostus, or FJying-fishes. The latter 

 seldom come so far north, and that only in the height of summer. The 

 common Pike (Esox) has been observed in the brackish waters of the 

 Venetian laeoons. 



Of the Salmon family, five species of Trout belong to this fauna, two 

 of which are non-migratory species of Dalmatia : Salmo fario ausonii is the 

 one common on the northern shores (at Trieste and Fiume), and Salmo 

 carpio occurs in the Venetian watershed. The Grayling is found in the 

 northern and western watershed, but not on the eastern coast : the Argentine 

 has a southern extension, and being, moreover, a deep-sea fish, it is seldom 

 met with in the north. A specimen of Salmo trotta (L.) is mentioned by 



