2S9 



CYPRESS. 



CYPRINID.E. 



290 



flattened, it accords with those Cypnea; but the outer lip ia not 

 inflected, nor is the back of the shell covered with a china-like coat, 

 but with epidermis, and the canal in front of the aperture is recurved. 

 The Ovuld, on the opposite side of the family, have certainly great 

 affinity to the Bullidece (Bullidce), as is pointed out by Linnaeus, who 

 places them all in that genus, but Bulla differs most essentially from 

 them : in the animals, by the position of their branchiae and their 

 being half hermaphrodite, and in the shell, by the aperture being 

 rounded and quite entire at each end, and the edges not being 

 thickened, nor the back covered with a ehelly coat, for the shell is 

 here covered with the soldered reflected lobes of the mantle; the 

 connection is most apparent by means of Ovula palula and Bulla 

 Naucum, in the latter of which there are some slight appearances of a 

 curved canal at each end of the aperture, as in the character of the 

 Cpyrceidece (Cyprceida), but it has not the enamelled back. 



" This family has some analogy, in their polished coats, first to the 

 MargintUcf, which induced Montagu to call a species of that genus 

 Cyprata valuta ; and indeed, such is the affinity between the young 

 of this species, which has been called Bulla diaphana, that DUlwyn 

 has considered it as the young of Cyprcea Europcea ; in which Montagu 

 appears also to have coincided, until he observed a totally different 

 construction in the animal : but I believe that M. persicula is the 

 most analogical species of this genus ; and secondly, to the Olivce, 

 which differ essentially in having an operculum, and all the characters 

 of the Buccinoideie (Buccinida)." 



Messrs. Forbes and Hanley in their 'History of the British Mollusca,' 

 place them after the Conida, and last of the families of the Gasteropoda 

 Prosobran chiata. 



Fossil Cyprceidee. 



Fossil shells of this family do not appear to have been found below 

 the Supracretaceous Group. Mr. G. B. Sowerby, speaking of the genus 

 Cyprcea, eays, " Of these," the fossils, " we have several species in 

 Britain, in the London Clay and Crag ; many others are found on the 

 Continent, as in the Calcaire Grossier in the environs of Paris ; at 

 Laugnan, near Bordeaux, and in Normandy ; also in Italy and Pied- 

 mont; we have seen specimens of a very fine fossil species, nearly 

 resembling Cyprcea mus, from the Netherlands : they seem to be 

 confined to the newer formations." Lamarck enumerates 18 fossil 

 species of Cypcea, and two of Ovulum. Deshayes, in his ' Tables,' 

 makes the number of living (hula 18, and the number of fosuil (tertiary) 

 species 6. Three species, (T. Spelta, 0. birostre, and a new species, he 

 makes both fossil (tertiary) and living hi the Mediterranean, the 

 Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean respectively. The number of 

 living species of Cypraa he makes 138, and the number of fossil 

 (tertiary) 19. 



Dr. Gray notes the following as fossil : 



Cyprcea Phytis, Brocchi (C. Pyrula, Lam.), Plaisantin or Placentin; 

 C. teporina, Lam. ; C. gibbosa. Gray ; C. tumidula, Konig, Bordeaux : 

 and he observes, that G. annularia, Brogn., appears to be an allied 

 species ; C. fragilit, Gray ; C. Detkayesii, Gray ; Ovula tuberculoaa, 

 Duclos ; C. infata, Lam., Grignon, allied to Ovulum ; C. subrostrata, 

 Gray, Nehove ; C. fabayina, Lam. ; C. diluviana, Gray ; C. rugoia, 

 Brod., Turin. 



Liiponia elegant, Gray (C. elegant, Defr.); L. dactylosa, Gray; 

 C. dactylosa, Lam. ; C. Gervillii, Sow. ; C. Georgii, Defr. 



Trivia Barcinemis, Gray ( C. .Barcinentii, Konig, Barcelona); T. 

 tpkariculata, Cyp. Lam. (?), Italy ; T. acuticottata, Gray, Italy ; T. pedi- 

 culoida, Gray, Italy ; T. Porcellus, Gray, Crag (?) ; T. Bronnii, Gray, 

 Italy ; T. soltda, Gray ; T. avellana, Sow., M. C., Suffolk Crag, which, 

 Dr. Gray observes, appears to be an allied species; T. Xhiclosiana, 

 Gray. 



Erato ventricosa, Gray, Italy. 



Ovulum Lctherii (Leathesii '!), Sow., M. C. 



The following species are described in Mr. Searles Wood's account of 

 the Crag Sfollusca (Pal. Soc.) : Cyprtea avellana; C. affinis; C, 

 Anglice ; C. return; C. Europcea; Erato Iwvis ; E. Maugerioe. 



CYPRESS, [Cui'RESSCS.] 



CYPRICARDIA. [SCBMYTILACEA.] 



CYPRINA. [VENERIDJ!.] 



CYPRINE. [IDOCRASE.] 



CYPRl'NID^E, a family of Fishes of the section Malacopterygii 

 Abdominales, the species of which are distinguished by their having 

 the mouth small, formed by the intermaxillary bonec, and generally 

 devoid of teeth ; the pharyngeans furnished with strong teeth, the 

 branchiostegous rays few in number, and the scales generally of 

 large size. 



The principal genera belonging to this family are Cyprinui, Barlus, 

 Gobio, Tinea, Cirrhvnut, Abramit, Labeo, Catastomus, Leuciscus, Gono- 

 rhynchut, Cobitii, Anablepi, Ptxcilla, Ltbiat, Fundulus, Molinesia, and 

 Cyprinodon. 



Cyprinui, as now restricted, contains the Common Carp and allied 

 species, which are distinguished from those of the other genera above 

 enumerated by their having one long dorsal fin, a small mouth devoid 

 of teeth, the scales of large size, and the second rays of the dorsal 

 and anal fins large, bony, and more or less serrated ; branchiostegous 

 rays three in number. 



C. Carpio, Linn., the Common Carp, was introduced Into this 

 country at an early period (probably between the 14th and 15th cen- 



KAT. IUST. I>1V. VOL. II. 



turies), but neither the date nor the country from which it was 

 imported is precisely known. In Jenyns's ' Manual of British 

 Vertebrate Animals' it is said to be originally from the middle of 

 Europe ; and since it thrives best in this part, such is probably the 

 case. It now inhabits most parts of Europe, and in some places its 

 growth is much attended to for the purposes of traffic. It frequents 

 lakes, ponds, and rivers ; in the last however it avoids those parts 

 where the current is strong, preferring still water. 



The food of the Carp consists chiefly of vegetable substances, which 

 are masticated by means of the flat teeth which are situated on the 

 pharyngeans ; the larvse of insects and worms however also afford it 

 nutriment. This fish is of an elongate form, and rather thick ; the 

 back is considerably elevated, and the greatest depth of the body, 

 which is beneath the commencement of the dorsal fin, measures rather 

 more than one-third of the entire length : the head is large, and the 

 mouth small in proportion ; the lips are furnished with two barbules 

 on each side, situated near the corners of the mouth : the dorsal fin 

 commences in a line with the end of the pectorals, and occupies a 

 space nearly equal to one-third of the entire length ; the first ray is 

 short and bony ; the second is also bony but long, and serrated on 

 the hinder part ; the third ray is the longest, and is flexible, as are 

 likewise the remainder of the rays : the anal fin terminates in a line 

 with the dorsal, and like that has the two foremost rays bony and the 

 second serrated ; the pectoral fin has its origin immediately behind 

 the free edge of the operculum ; the caudal fin is forked, and the 

 longest rays are double the length of those in the centre. The number 

 of fin-rays are dorsal, 22 ; pectoral, 17 ; ventral, 9 ; anal, 8 ; and 

 caudal, 19. The lateral line is straight. 



The general colour of the upper parts is a rich olive-brown, which 

 is darkest on the head ; the under parts are yellowish white, and the 

 fins are brown ; the ventral and anal fins are tinged with red. 



As regards the size and weight of the Carp, we extract a few lines 

 from Mr. Yarrell's valuable work. " Though not so rapid in their 

 growth as some fish," says this author, " carp have attained three 

 pounds' weight by their sixth year, and six pounds' weight before their 

 tenth year. The largest I can refer to are thus noticed in Daniel's 

 ' Rural Sports :' ' Mr. Ladbroke, from his park at Gatton, presented 

 Lord Egremont with a brace that weighed thirty-five pounds, as 

 specimens to ascertain whether the Surrey could not vie with the 

 Sussex carp." In 1793, at the fishing of the large piece of water at 

 Stourhead, where a thousand large brace of killing carp were taken, 

 the largest was thirty inches long, upwards of twenty-two broad, and 

 weighed eighteen pounds. 



" At Westou Hall, Staffordshire, the seat of the earl of Bradford, 

 the painting of a carp is preserved, which weighed nineteen and a half 

 pounds. This fish was caught in a lake of twenty-six acres, called 

 the White Sitch, the largest of three pieces of water which orna- 

 mented this fine estate." 



Carp are in season for the table from October to April. 



C. gibelio, Bloch, the Prussian Carp, is another species of this geuua 

 now naturalised ill this country, and which is said to have been intro- 

 duced from Germany. 



This species is considerably less than the Common Carp ; its usual 

 weight is about half a pound ; it has been known however to weigh 

 upwards of two pounds. 



The Prussian Carp may at once be distinguished from the Common 

 Carp by the absence of barbules on the lips. The greatest depth of 

 the body is equal to one-third of the whole length, the tail included ; 

 the lateral line descends in a gentle curve from the upper angle of the 

 operculum below the middle of the body, whence it is straight ; the 

 tail is forked ; the longest rays are about one-third longer than the 

 shortest rays ; the dorsal and anal fins have a strong bony ray, as in 

 the Common Carp, but these rays are not so deeply serrated. The 

 number of fin-rays are dorsal, 18 ; pectoral, 14 ; ventral, 9 ; anal, 8 ; 

 and caudal, 19. 



The colour of the upper parts is olive brown ; the belly is almost 

 white ; the cheeks and gill-covers are of a brilliant golden-yellow hue ; 

 the fins are for the most part of an orange-red colour. 



This fish is found in some of the ponds in the neighbourhood of 

 London, and in other parts of England, but is rather local. 



C. auraiui (Linn.), the Gold Carp. The gold and silver fish, as it 

 is termed, has been long known in this country : it is a native of 

 China, and, according to Pennant, was first introduced into England 

 hi 1691, but was not generally known till 1728. The Gold Carp is 

 now completely naturalised, both here and in other parts of Europe, 

 where it has been introduced, and breeds freely, especially in ponds 

 in warm and sheltered situations. In many of the streams of Por- 

 tugal it abounds, whence they are brought over to this country in the 

 trading vessels for sale. 



This fish is too well known to require description. It is subject to 

 much variation not only in colour but in the fins, which are sometimes 

 double, and not unfrequently have triple tails; in the latter case 

 however it appears that the tail is thus developed at the expense of 

 part or the whole of some other fin. When young, the Gold Carp is 

 of a very dark colour, approaching to black; this dark colour is 

 replaced by the golden-red hue more or less early according to the 

 constitution of the individual. 



Of all fish the Gold Carp is most easily domesticated, and it may be 



