2832 THE BONY FISHES AND GANOIDS 



Represented by some two hundred species from the tropical and 

 temperate regions of the Old World, the barbels are best known by 

 the common European species (Barbus vulgaris}, shown in the lower figure of the 

 illustration on p. 2830, and the gigantic mahasir (B. tor} of India and Ceylon. 

 Agreeing with the carp in the structure of the anal fin, and the position 

 of the lateral line and the dorsal fin, they belong to a subgroup of genera 

 in which there are generally not more than nine rays in the dorsal fin; the 

 pharyngeal teeth being arranged in three rows, the greater part of the cheek 

 not covered with bone, the anal scales not enlarged, and the eye unprovided with a 

 fatty lid; while they are specially characterized by the arched mouth which is 

 devoid of internal folds and by the presence of false gills. The anal fin is 

 frequently tall, the lips are devoid of any horny covering, and the barbels, if present, 

 may be either two or four in number. The scales may be either small or very large, 

 and the body is frequently of a much more elongated form than in the true carp. 

 While some species are not more than two inches in length, the mahasir, and some 

 other kinds, may grow to at least six feet. Of the Indian forms, Day writes that 

 those with four barbels (among which is the mahasir), "provided they are soberly 

 colored, attain a large size; the brilliantly-colored forms are mostly residents in clear 

 or rapid mountain streams, or rivers contiguous to hills, and generally small. A 

 strong dorsal spine is usually (if not invariably) a sign that the species lives in the 

 vicinity of high mountains, the streams of which it ascends to breed. An exception 

 has, however, to be made of those forms with serrated dorsal spines, which are 

 usually resident in the waters of the plains." The common barbel, which has four 

 of the appendages from which it derives its name, not uncommonly grows to a 

 length of two feet, with a weight of from eight to ten pounds, but may attain much 

 larger dimensions. 



Confining our attention mainly to the European representatives of 



the family, we have next to mention the gudgeons (Gobio) which may 



be distinguished from the foregoing by the pharyngeal teeth being arranged in a 



double or single series, the body being entirely covered with scales, and the muzzle 



having two small barbels, with the mouth inferior in position, and the premaxillary 



'bones protractile. The scales are of moderate size, the short dorsal fin has no 



spine, and the intestine is remarkable for its shortness. These small fishes are 



represented only by two species, of which G. fluviatilis is British; and, like the 



barbels, they are purely animal feeding. The British species is shown in the lower 



figure of the illustration on p. 2836. 



From the whole of the members of the family noticed above 

 the so-called ' ' whitefish ' ' belong to a group of genera in which the 

 anal fin is short or of medium length, with from eight to eleven branched rays, and 

 not extending forward beneath the line of the dorsal; the lateral line, when com- 

 plete, running nearly or quite in the middle of the tail. From certain allied forms 

 they are distinguished by the short dorsal fin having no bony ray; and the pharyn- 

 geal teeth form a single or double series, the margin of the lower jaw is not cutting, 

 and there are no barbels. As distinctive peculiarities of the whitefish may be men- 

 tioned the protractile premaxillary bones, the imbricating scales, and the smooth 



