THE GRAYLING. 271 



THE GRAYLING. 



The GRAYLING or GREYLING (Salmo thymallus) is placed 

 by Gunther after the genus coregonus, and thymallus appears 

 to be more closely allied to the gwyniad and vendace than 

 to Salmo fario. 



The head and body of the grayling is long and elegant ; 

 the sides have longitudinal bands ; the large dorsal fin, 

 much longer than high, has numerous rays and a number 

 of spots of a beautiful purple ; mouth small, with the upper 

 lip slightly overhanging ; teeth very small on the jaws, 

 near the head of the vomer and on the palatines, none on 

 the tongue; the tail is forked. This fish, when in proper 

 season, is one of the handsomest as well as one of the 

 most graceful of the family. The small, dark olive head, 



THE GRAYLING. 



with the peculiar pear-shaped pupil of the eye, surrounded 

 by its parti-coloured iris of green and purple, enclosed in 

 a ring of golden yellow, the gill-covers iridescent with 

 numerous tints as you expose them to the angles of light, 

 the great purple dorsal fin, the golden-yellow pectoral and 

 ventral fins, the forked tail or caudal fin, with the two long 

 golden streaks extending on each side of the pectoral fins, 

 the dark olive, blackish- green of the back, the sides glisten- 

 ing with greyish-pink, silver lines, tipped with gold, the 

 white abdomen and throat, make up the very perfection of 

 a beautiful fish. The great dorsal fin is the peculiar feature 

 when looking at a grayling ; to see this properly it should 

 be stretched out and held up to the light. The lovely 



