210 



THE FKKSII-NVATKl; FISIIKS (F KI'lK >1'K. 



This is one of the smallest of European fishes. The females are usually from 

 one and a half to two inches long, and the males do not exceed three inches. 



The Bitterling prefers clear flowing water with a stony bottom, and lives 

 in rivers and brooks. In the Seine it spawns from May to August, in Austria 

 it spawns in April. The vitality of the male is greater than that of the 

 female, but both survive conditions which destroy other fishes. It is less 

 useful as a food fish than any other fresh-water fish, on account of its small 

 size and bitter flavour. In Austria the Perch will eat it, and it is used in 

 the Danube by fishermen as bait for eels ; but it is rejected by most fishes, 

 showiDg that bitter flavours are not grateful to them. 



It is absent from Great Britain and Scandinavia, but is widely distributed 

 in Central Europe, especially through France, Holland, and Germany ; and is 

 found at Brusa, in Asia Minor. It lives in several warm springs, such as 

 those of Toplitz, in Croatia. 



GROUP: AB RAM I DIN A. 

 GENUS: Abramis (CUVIER). 



The Bream family comprises about sixteen genera of fishes, characterised by 

 having the anal fin elongated ; and the body, especially the abdomen, corn- 



Fig 116. - ABRAMIS BRAMA 



pressed into a ridge or edge. Several of the genera are limited to China, 

 India, Western Asia, and Eastern Africa, though the group Abramidina is 



