A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE 



TELEOSTEANS 



ACANTHOPTERYGII 

 I. Perch. Perca fluv iati/is, Linn. 



Plentiful in the Trent. It is also found 

 commonly in the river Dove as high as 

 Rocester. A few are occasionally met with 

 for a mile or two above that point, but from 

 the upper waters of the Dove it is altogether 

 absent. 



In the Derwent perch are found as high as 

 the Chatsworth waters, but not further up 

 the river. They thrive when introduced 

 into mill dams and ponds, and are not un- 

 common in our canals. 



The maximum weight attained in our 

 waters appears to be 4^ Ib. Glover (Hist, of 

 the County of Derby, i. 1 68) says : 'They have 

 been caught in the Derwent 4^ Ib. weight ' ; 

 and in Mr. J. R. B. Masefield's < Sketch of our 

 Local Freshwater Fish ' it is stated, on the 

 authority of Mr. John Ward, that a perch 

 4^ Ib. in weight was taken in the Trent. 

 Individuals from a to 3 Ib. have been 

 several times recorded. 



2. Ruffe or Pope. Acer'ma cernua, Linn. 

 This little fish is found in suitable spots in 



the Trent, Dove, Derwent and smaller 

 streams. It is absent from the Dove above 

 Rocester and the upper reaches of the Der- 

 went. Mr. Edwin Brown (Fauna of Burton, 

 p. 114) describes it as abounding in the 

 canals and other waters in the Burton dis- 

 trict, especially in dark recesses near locks 

 and weirs. It seldom exceeds 3 or 4 oz. in 

 weight and 5 or 6 inches in length. 



3. Miller's Thumb or Bullhead. Coitus gobio, 



Linn. 



Common in almost all our rivers and 

 streams, where it may be found lurking un- 

 der stones or ensconced in a bed of water 

 weed. 



ANACANTHINI 



4. Burbot or Eel-pout. Lota vulgaris, Cuv. 

 This remarkable fish is rather scarce and 



local, but has long been known to inhabit 

 the Trent. Glover in 1829 writes : 'These 

 fish are to be caught in the Trent and Der- 

 went and in the back cuttings, Sinfen moor.' 

 Mr. E. Brown (Fauna of Burton) says it is 

 frequently taken in the Trent, sometimes 

 weighing as much as 4 Ib. Mr. G. M. 

 Bond informs me that he once saw a small 

 burbot (about ^ Ib.) taken in a fish trap on 

 the Dove at Hanging Bridge, but this is the 

 only instance which has come to my know- 

 ledge. 



5. Flounder. Pleuronectes fesus, Linn. 

 Flounders ascend the Trent for a con- 

 siderable distance, and have been taken in 

 large numbers at Clifton, but do not attain a 

 large size. 



HEMIBRANCHII 



6. Three-spined Stickleback. Gastrosteus acu- 



leatus, Linn. 

 Locally, Jacksharp. 



Found in our principal rivers in compara- 

 tively small numbers, but in the small tribu- 

 tary streams and wet ditches it is exceedingly 

 numerous. Mr. E. Brown says that the half 

 armed form (G. semiarmatus, Cuv.) is plentiful 

 in the Burton district (Fauna of Burton, 

 p. 114), and according to Mr. G. H. Storer 

 the typical form both at Burton and Marston- 

 on-Dove is the quarter-armed stickleback of 

 Parnell (G. gymnurus, Cuv.). 



7. Ten-spined Stickleback. Gastrosteus pungi- 



tius, Linn. 

 Locally, Tinker. 



This is not nearly so plentiful as the pre- 

 ceding species, and has up to the present only 

 been recorded from the south of the county. 

 The earliest record of its presence which I 

 can find is a reference in Sir O. Mosley's 

 address to the Burton Natural History Society 

 in 1 842, where he describes it as found in a 

 small brook near the railway station at Bur- 

 ton. Mr. Storer has taken specimens near 

 Burton, where it occurs in the ratio of about 

 one to fifty of the three-spined species. He 

 describes it as much more common at Mar- 

 ston-on-Dove, and also tolerably numerous in 

 the Soar and its tributaries. 



HAPLOMI 



8. Pike or Jack. Esox lucius, Linn. 



In the Trent pike are found in considerable 

 numbers and attain a large size. If Glover's 

 record can be trusted, ' they have been taken 

 in the Derwent and Trent 36 Ib.' previously 

 to 1829. Mr. Edwin Brown says that few 

 seasons pass in which several pike of 20 Ib. 

 weight and upwards are not taken in the 

 Trent near Burton, and that in 1845 a P'ke 

 was taken in the Trent near Twyford which 

 weighed 36 Ib. (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, p. 229). 

 At the present time 20 Ib. fish are occasion- 

 ally taken, but the majority do not exceed 

 10 Ib. or so. In the lower Dove pike attain 

 a good size. Sir O. Mosley tells the story 

 of a bull which was attacked by a pike while 

 drinking near Tutbury ! He also notes a 



112 



