320 THE FRESH. WATER FISHES OF EUROPE. 



getting paler behind, and passing at last into yellowish-white. Blackish 

 points, spots, and stripes, are seen on the branchiostegal rays, and the sides are 

 ornamented with rounder and smaller spots, \vhich present a variety of colours, 

 from deep red to white ; the majority of these spots are near the lateral line, or 

 below it. The dorsal fin is greenish-yellow or brownish, with cloudy spots. 

 The pectorals and ventrals are vermilion-red. The first ray of the ventral and 

 of the anal fin is pure white, while the anal is pale red, except in the middle, 

 where it is dark grey or black, like the pectoral. The caudal fin is greenish- 

 brown, becoming faintly red in the lower lobe. The iris is reddish-yellow, but 

 more or less pale. Out of spawning-time the colours are less intense, especially 

 on the abdomen, and differ with the locality and water. They are paler, too, in 

 the lower-lying lakes, even though they are deep; but in the lakes among the 

 high mountains the colours are more intense, as in the Altau See, Grundel 

 See, and Aim See. The colours are most beautiful and brilliant in the Gosau 

 See and the Tappenkar See, near St. Johann, in Pongau. Among them are 

 found some individuals which are quite pale, such as Fitzinger's White 

 Salbling, var. earned, with pale-violet back, rose-red sides, yellowish-white 

 belly, and pale-red fins. 



The size of the Salbling varies. In some lakes, such as the Mond See and 

 Langbath See, the fishes are rarely heavier than half a pound, or longer 

 than eight or nine inches ; and the size is no larger in the variety carnea from 

 the Traun See, and in the fish known as Schwarzreuterl, from the Langbath 

 See, Upper Konig See, or Bartholomaus See. The usual size in most lakes is 

 a foot long, with a weight of half a pound to a pound. Fishes two feet long, 

 weighing five to six pounds, are much rarer, but the species is occasionally 

 taken weighing eighteen to twenty pounds in the Fuschler See and the 

 Hinter See, near Berchtesgaden. The size is diminishing from over-fishing. 



The variations with sex are remarkable. The head is considerably longer 

 in the male than in the female, not only in the adult, but in the young. In 

 the male the total length of the fish is four and two-thirds as much as the 

 length of the head, but in the female it is five and a half times as long as the 

 head. The male has a wider mouth, longer maxillary bone, and longer rays to 

 all the fins. The colour is siniilar in both sexes, but the shallower the water 

 the paler the colour. The varieties in the different lakes are constant. 



The Salbling never leaves the clear mountain waters, and usually frequents 

 considerable depths. In the Austrian Alps it is found as high as six thousand 

 feet above the sea, as in the Griin See. 



These fishes feed on univalve fresh-water shells, and on various small 

 fishes. The usual time for spawning is December, though some spawn as early 

 as November, and others not till January. They increase rapidly, but their 



