356 LAKES AND STREAMS 



is compressed at the sides, but not very slender, and from 4 to 6 inches long ; the 

 back is brownish green or blue, the sides are pale green bordered with a black line, 

 and a broad black band extends from the eye to the tail ; the pectoral and anal 

 fins being yellow and the others grey. In contrast to this widely distributed fish, 

 its near relative A. mento is found almost exclusively in the rivers discharging into 

 the Black Sea. It has a long slender body, slightly compressed at the sides, a 

 bluish green back, silver- white sides, and the pectoral, ventral, and anal fins pale 

 red. Closely allied is Leucaspiua delineatus, which, like the preceding, is found 

 in the regions inhabited by the barbel. On the back it is olive-green, while on the 

 sides, along which extends a longitudinal stripe, it is silvery white, the lateral line 

 being limited to a few scales. Less common, though present in all the waters east 

 of the Oder, is the sichel (Pelecus cultratus), distinguished by its compressed body 

 and the sharp edge on the abdominal surface, unusually long pectoral and anal 

 fins, and the strongly curved lateral line. 



The small group of loaches, generally grouped with the carps, 



are distinguished by having a bony case to the air-bladder. They have 



eel-shaped, slimy bodies with small scales, and six or more barbels on the mouth. 



THE LOACH. 



The male of this group, which feeds on worms and mud, burrows in the bed of the 

 stream and forms a cavity to receive the eggs ; the contents of this receptacle being 

 watched by both sexes and defended from other fishes until the young are hatched. 

 The spiny loach (Cobitis taenia), which may be recognised by the forked spine 

 below each eye, is of a yellowish brown colour, with several rows of black spots. 

 This species is widely distributed on the Continent, but the common loach (Ne- 

 machilus barbatvlus) is generally met with only in mountain streams frequented 

 by trout. It is of dark green colour, with small brown dots and blotches. The 

 pond loach (Misgwrnus fossttis), also known as the weather-fish, from its habit of 

 stirring up the mud when the temperature changes, is sometimes kept in glass 

 vessels as a weather-guide. Inhabiting Asia and eastern and central Europe, it is 

 an unpalatable fish, brown merging to black, with yellowish longitudinal stripes 

 above, and orange-yellow below ; it has four barbels on the lower jaw and six or 

 eight round the upper lip. 



