THE CARP TRIBE 



2839 



spawning season, which is in May and June, bleak collect in large shoals, which are 

 preyed upon not only by perch, but likewise by gulls and terns. 



Nearly allied to the bleak is a small fish {Leucaspius delineatus} from the 

 rivers of Eastern and Southern Europe, distinguished by the extreme shortness of 

 the lateral line, which scarcely extends beyond the extremities of the pectoral fins. 

 The scales also are of a regular ovate form, without the distinct fan-like rays so 

 characteristic of the bleak. 



Sichel 



SICHEL, RAPFEN, AND BEAKED CARP. 



The last number of this great subfamily that we shall mention is 

 the curious-looking fish (Pelecus cultratus) shown in the upper figure 

 of the accompanying illustration, known in Germany as the sichel, and forming the 

 sole representative of its genus. It is at once characterized by the whole of the 

 abdominal surface of the oblong and compressed body forming a sharp cutting 

 edge; the scales being small, and the lateral line making a sudden descent behind 



