194- 



THE FRESH-WATER FISHES OF EUROPE. 



le Nez. It occurs in Belgium, and, according to Graells, in Spain. It is 

 found in rivers and lakes, in plains and mountain districts, and is present in 

 the principal lakes of Switzerland as well as those of Hungary, and is as 

 common in the elevated streams of Transylvania as in the low lands by 

 Danzig (Fig. 104). 



It prefers deep water, and feeds on all kinds of aquatic plants, but especially 

 on confervse, and vegetation growing on stones, which is neatly removed by 

 the scissor-like action of its transverse horny lip. But it readily takes animal 

 substances, preferring the spawn of other fishes, worms, and many kinds of 

 small animals, though the diet varies with the district. In some places it is 

 reputed to eat mud and decomposing substances, and it certainly burrows in 



Fig. 104. CHONDRO8TOMA NA8VS (LINNAEUS). 



mud in search of food. At Wiirzburg, in Bavaria, it is popularly known 

 as the Spitter, because at the moment of being caught it vomits the triturated 

 food which was between the pharyngeal teeth. 



The length of the head is one-sixth of the length of the entire fish. The 

 height of the head is two-thirds its length ; the depth of the body in front of 



the dorsal fin exceeds the length of the head. The 

 length of the head is four and a half to five times 

 the diameter of the eye. The eye is one and a half 

 times its diameter from the snout, and the width of 

 the frontal region between the eyes is twice the or- 

 bital diameter. The mouth is remarkably horizontal; 

 its cleft being nearly straight in the transverse 

 direction, while the lateral cleft reaches back to the 



anterior nares (Fig. 105). Both jaws have horny margins, and that of the upper 

 jaw forms a thin edge. The nose, which is arched, and conspicuous enough 

 to have been noticed by all peoples, extends markedly over the mouth. The 

 dorsal profile is much less convex than the ventral contour. The dorsal fin 



Fig. 105. HEAD OF CHONDROS- 



TOMA NASUS, SEEN FROM BE- 

 LOW. 



