2.28 THE FRESH-WATER FISHKS OF EUROPE. 



largest number of eggs found by Fatio was 1,915; the eggs are relatively 

 large. They are hatched in about eight days. 



The species frequents clear water. Its length varies from four inches in 

 the Danube to six inches in the Neckar. Its scales are sometimes collected for 

 the manufacture of artificial pearls. 



The skeleton includes thirty-eight to forty vertebrae, of which eighteen 

 are in the thorax and twenty-two in the tail. 



The intestine is about as long as. the fish, and forms two folds. The food 

 is partly vegetable, but consists mainly of insects, worms, and small molluscs. 

 The pharyngeal teeth are two in the outer row, and five in the inner; the 

 formula, according to Dr. Giinther, is 5'2 2'4[5]. The teeth are smooth, 

 and have their extremities hooked. 



This species is not known in Britain, though Blanchard speaks of it as 

 a common English fish ; but is found in France, Belgium, Holland, North and 

 South Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, and extends into the south-west 

 of Russia, being found by Kessler in the Dnieper and its tributaries. 



The flesh is not delicate, though the flavour is not bad. It is eaten fried. 



In Paris it is commonly known as the Smelt of the Seine, though belong- 

 ing to a different family. In every country it has many local names. In 

 some parts of France it is termed the Sperlin ; and Fatio has referred it to 

 a new sub-genus, which he terms Sperlinus, regarding it as a connecting 

 link between Abramis and Alburnus. The number of pharyngeal teeth on the 

 right side, which is almost constant, separates it from Alburnus. 



The fish is liable to a disease in which blisters or gassy vesicles appear on 

 the opercular plates, at the base of the fins, at the back of the mouth, and over 

 the eyes. Another disease is due to a parasite allied to Diplostomum culicola, 

 which produces black spots over the body and in the mouth. It is also liable 

 to tape-worm and other parasites. 



Abramis fasciatus (NORDMANN). 



D. 10, A. 14. Scales : lat. line 40 45, transverse 9/4. 



This fish is found in the mountain brooks of the Crimea, and in the 

 countries east of the Black Sea, especially the Caucasus and Turkestan. It is 

 about four and a half inches long. 



The body becomes more compressed with age ; it is moderately elevated, 

 its height being one-fourth of the total length, or less than one-third, exclu- 

 sive of the caudal fin. The head is relatively small, and is one-sixth of the 

 total length. The snout is obtuse, rounded, and a little shorter than the 



