CARP TRIBE. 



467 



muddy tanks, where they bury themselves in the mud. All are carnivorous ; and, 

 in spite of their small size, the European species are esteemed as food. The giant 

 loach (Misgurnus fossilis), forming the central figure of our illustration, is the 

 largest European member of the group, and belongs to a genus of four species, 

 common to Europe and Asia north of the Himalaya. The genus is characterised 

 by the elongate and compressed form of the body, the absence of an erectile spine 

 near the eye, and the presence of from ten to twelve barbels, four of which belong 

 to the lower jaw; the dorsal fin being placed above the pelvic pair, and the caudal 

 rounded. The European species, which grows to a length of 10 inches, is found 

 in stagnant waters in Southern and Eastern Germany, and North- Western Asia ; 



GIANT LOACH, COMMON LOACH, AND SPINY LOACH (^ nat. size). 



being replaced by an allied form in China and Japan. The true loaches (Nema- 

 chilus), on the other hand, have six upper barbels, and none on the lower jaw. 

 They are represented by some fifty species from Europe and Temperate Asia ; the 

 common British loach (N. barbatulus), shown in the upper figure of the illustration, 

 being found in clear streams all over Europe with the exception of Denmark and 

 Scandinavia. The spiny loach (Cobitis tcvnia), shown in the lower corner of the 

 illustration, is the typical representative of a third genus, distinguished from the 

 last by the presence of a small, bifid, erectile spine below each eye. The figured 

 species is locally and sparingly distributed in Britain, but more common on the 

 Continent. Certain Indian loaches formerly included in this genus are now 

 regarded as distinct, the subfamily being represented by eight other genera 

 in the same country. 



