130 THE FKE8H-WATEE FISHES OF ETTROl'E. 



dorsal and caudal fins are usually spotted in Austrian specimens; the dorsal and 

 anal fins are spotted in French. The spots are blackish-brown, on a reddish or 

 yellowish ground. The iris is golden. 



There is a variety of the fish, grey at the back, with four dark 

 transverse bands on the silvery- white belly ; while another variety, commonly 

 darker in colour, has the body spotted, often with a yellowish band at the 

 side of the tail. 



The scales are deeper than long. The free edge of each is the segment 

 of a circle, finely notched by the termination of the fifteen to eighteen 



radiating grooves which ornament the sur- 

 face. The canal in the lateral line is 

 cylindrical. 



The largest specimens found in France 

 are five and a half inches long. 



The Gudgeon is common in brooks, 

 rivers, lakes, and is met with in marshes. 



Fig. 58. PHARYNGEAL TEETH OF GOBIO Tl .,, , . I c 1 



J-t will live underground, and is round in 



the Adelsberger Cave, and in the warm 



springs of Teplitz, in Croatia. It prefers clear running water, with a sandy 

 or pebbly bottom. 



These fish live in large shoals, and feed on worms, fish-spawn, plants 

 and decaying flesh. Those which inhabit lakes ascend the streams in 

 spring. They begin to spawn in May or June, and lay their eggs, which 

 are small and of a pale blue colour, under stones. The spawning is 

 prolonged for about a month, and in the autumn the fishes return to the 

 lakes. The period of incubation is about four weeks. The Gudgeon grows 

 rapidly, and is tenacious of life, but has many enemies, among which Blanchard 

 mentions the intestinal parasite, Filaria ovata. 



It is caught both with the rod and net, chiefly in September and October ; 

 and in Paris it is estimated that about one million are captured in the year 

 between the bridges of the Seine. Its flesh is well-flavoured, and is reputed 

 to be easy of digestion. It is especially esteemed as a breakfast delicacy in 

 Paris. In England it is rarely eaten, though its reputation was formerly 

 as good in that country as it has always been on the Continent. 



The Gudgeon is probably universally distributed throughout Europe ; but, 

 although the ancient Greek writers appear to have written warmly in its 

 praise, it has not been recorded from Greece, and is at present unknown in 

 Spain. 



