Dr. A. Giinther on the British Charrs. 229 



a. Freshwater Herring of Lough Melvin. 



Two fresh specimens, mature males ; by the kindness of J. Walker, 

 Esq. 



One specimen (dried skin) in the British Museum. 



b. Welsh Charr, or Torgoch. 



Nearly twenty specimens from Llanberris, all mature males ; re- 

 ceived by the kindness of S. P. W. Ellis, Esq., Chief Constable of 

 Carnarvonshire, and G. Ellis, Esq. 



Four young specimens from the lake Coss-y-gedawl, transferred 

 with Mr. Yarrell's collection to the British Museum {Salmo salve- 

 linusj Jenyns). 



c. Charr of the Lake of Windermere. 



Two mature males, procured by the kindness of Sir J. Richardson. 



For further comparison I had the " Roth el" of the Lake of Con- 

 stance, the "Ombre chevaher" of the Lake of Geneva, four speci- 

 mens of a Charr from Iceland, and twelve without known locality. 



Before we enter into a historical account of our knowledge of the 

 British Charrs, we must consider the question, what fishes have been 

 originally intended by the Linnaean denominations of Salmo umblay 

 Salmo salvelinus, and Salmo alpinus — names by which the British 

 Charrs have been designated by various authors. 



The original descriptions themselves are too short and too general 

 to give anything like specific distinctions ; but fortunately we see 

 that question settled, once and for ever, by the very names of the 

 fishes and by the localities from which the typical specimens had 

 been procured. J. Heckel has made inquiries into this subject with 

 regard to the Salmo salvelinus of South Germany*, and the follow- 

 ing is the result : — 



a. Salmo salvelinus, L. Linnaeus has founded this species on the 

 tenth species of Salmo in Artedi's * Genera,' or on the eleventh in his 

 * Synonymy' ; and Artedi had derived the whole of his knowledge of 

 this fish from Willughby, who (p. 195) gives a description of the 

 •* Salvelin " from a specimen captured near the Austrian town of 

 Linz. Therefore there cannot be the slightest doubt that the Lin- 

 nsean denomination is intended for the South-German fish, which, up 

 to the present day, is called S'dlbling at various localities. 



The best account of the Salbling has been given by Heckel, who 

 says that they are found in several lakes of South Germany, Tyrol, 

 and Switzerland. First (J. c.) he distinguished three species accord- 

 ing to the diiferent arrangement of the small teeth on the vomer ; 

 afterwardst, having convinced himself that this character is subject 

 to some variation, he reunited those three forms, stating at the same 

 time that those fishes from diiferent localities of Central Europe 

 considerably differ in their forms. And it is not at all improbable 

 that there are really several species confounded by him, but differing 



* Reisebericht, p. 89, in Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, 1851, July, 

 t Siisswasserf. Oestr. p. 280. 



