241 



GUDGEON. 



Gyprinus Gobio. C. argenteo-olivaceus, labio superiore utrinquc 



barbato, pinna dorsali caudaque nigro-maculatis. 

 Silvery olive Carp, with the upper lip bearded, and the dorsal 



fin and tail spotted with black. 

 Cyprinus Gobio. C. pinna ani radiis undecim, cirris duolus. 



Lin. Syst. Nat. p. 526. 

 Cyprinus oblongus varius, cirris duobus ad angulum oris. Block. 



t. Q.f. 2. 



THE Gudgeon is an inhabitant of the smaller 

 kind of lakes and gentle rivers in most parts of 

 Europe, especially those with a gravelly bottom. 

 It is observed by Mr. Pennant that those which 

 are caught in the Kennet and the Cole are thrice 

 the weight of those taken elsewhere : the largest 

 commemorated by the above-mentioned author was 

 taken near Uxbridge, and weighed half a pound : 

 the general measure is from four to five or six 

 inches. The Gudgeon is of a lengthened shape, 

 with a thick or subcylindrical body : its usual 

 colour is pale olive-brown above, sometimes slightly 

 spotted with black; the sides silvery, and the abdo- 

 men white : the scales middle-sized, or rather large : 

 and the lateral line strait : the dorsal fin is placed 

 in the middle of the back, opposite the ventral fins, 

 and is of a pale brown, commonly marked with 

 numerous black spots disposed in a kind of trans- 

 verse rows : the tail is slightly forked, and of simi- 

 lar colour : the rest of the fins are generally of a 

 pale reddish or yellowish brown, the irides of the 



v. v. r. i. 16 



