FISHES 



13. Chub. Leuciscus cephalus, Linn. 



Very common in the Trent ; specimens 

 weighing from 5 to 6 Ib. are not infrequently 

 caught. 



14. Dace. Leuciscus vulgaris, Flem. 

 Very common in the Trent. 



15. Rudd. Leuciscus erythrophthalmus, Flem. 

 Occurs in the Trent, but is not common. 



1 6. Minnow. Leuciscus phoxinus, Flem. 

 Common in the Trent and tributary 



streams. 



17. Tench. Tinea vulgaris, Cuv. 



Is occasionally taken in the Trent, and is 

 fairly common in ponds and still waters. 



1 8. Bream. Abramis brama, Linn. 



Very common in the Trent ; a specimen 

 in the Nottingham Museum weighed 6f Ib. 

 in the flesh. 



19. White or Silver Bream. Abramis blicca, 



Bloch. 



Common in the Trent and in the Grantham 

 Canal. 



20. Bleak. Alburnus lucidus, Hackel. 



This species is known locally as the whit- 

 ling, and is a common Trent fish. A speci- 

 men taken from the river at Radcliffe-on- 

 Trent a few years ago weighed 5^ oz. 



21. Loach. Nemachilus barbatula, Linn. 

 A common Trent fish. 



22. Spined Loach. Cobitis t&nia, Linn. 

 'River Trent' (Berkenhout, Synopsis, p. 79). 



' Has been recorded from the Trent near 

 Nottingham ' (Day, British Fishes, ii. 202). 

 Mr. W. Rose has taken it commonly in a 

 pool by the Trent near Trent Bridge, Not- 

 tingham. 



MALACOPTERYGII 



23. Salmon. Salmo salar, Linn. 



Occurs every year in many parts of the 



Trent, both above and below Nottingham, 

 but not very commonly. 



24. Trout. Salmo trutta, Linn, (including 



S. fario, Linn.). 



Scarce in the Trent, but occurs about the 

 spots where the small trout streams in which 

 it is common enter the river. Some of our 

 artificial lakes and some trout streams are 

 stocked with the variety known as the Loch 

 Leven trout. 



25. Grayling. Thymallus vexH/ifer, Linn. 

 This elegant fish was within twenty years 



ago fairly common in one or two places in 

 the Trent near Nottingham, but is now very 

 scarce. The only local specimen in the 

 Nottingham Museum was taken from the 

 Trent in Beeston meadows about 1895 ; it 

 is just over 10 inches in length. Two other 

 specimens, of 4 or 5 oz. weight each, were 

 caught in 1896. 



[The Smelt, Osmerus eperlanus, Linn., is 

 mentioned by Drayton as one of his ' thirty 

 fishes of Trent,' but although it is not un- 

 likely that it may ascend the Trent into 

 Nottinghamshire, I have no record of its 

 actual occurrence.] 



26. Shad. Clupea a/osa, Linn. 



An example was taken in the Trent at 

 South Clifton some years ago, and a second 

 captured at South Muskham near Newark in 

 1896 is preserved in an inn at Newark. 



APODES 



27. Eel. Anguilla vu/garis, Turt. 



Very common in rivers and canals, attain- 

 ing a very large size. It descends to the sea 

 to breed, spawning in deep water, where the 

 eggs give rise to the remarkable little fish 

 known as Leptocephalus brmirastris, Pennant, 

 a larval form, whose connection with the eel 

 was until lately unsuspected. The Lepto- 

 cephali undergo a metamorphosis, the result 

 being the little ' elvers ' which make their 

 way in multitudes up the rivers in which the 

 adult condition is attained. 



GANOIDEI 



28. Sturgeon. Aciptnser sturio, Linn. 



Very rare in the Trent, and has not, I 

 believe, been seen near Nottingham for many 

 years. The last one that I can hear of was 

 taken at Clifton, some few miles above the 

 city. This is a curious coincidence, as there 

 is an old popular belief that the presence of 

 one of these fish in the Trent above Notting- 

 ham presages the death of some member of 



the ancient Clifton family, whose mansion 

 stands on the right bank of the river (Lowe, 

 in Black's Guide to Nottinghamshire). On 

 IO June, 1884, a fine sturgeon was captured 

 at Muskham near Newark in the salmon nets ; 

 it was 8 feet long and weighed 16 stone (Field, 

 14 June, 1884). Another specimen was 

 captured in the Trent at Muskham Bridge 

 near Newark in June, 1902. 



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