144 BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 



The Tench {T^inca vulgaris) 



Fins. 

 Dorsal : lo to 12 rays. 

 Anal : 9 or 10 rays. 

 Ventral : 10 or 11 rays. 

 Pectoral : 15 to 17 rays. 



Teeth. 



Pharyngeal, wedge-shaped, slightly 

 hooked at the ends, in a single 

 series, five on the left side of the 

 throat, four or five on the other. 



In the sub-family or group Leuciscina, whereof so many 

 genera and species bear such a close external resemblance 

 to each other, the tench stands out distinct, to be confused 

 with no other fish. It is a genus of but a single species, 

 'T'inca vulgaris, whereof the most obvious characteristic are 

 the exceedingly small scales, numbering more than one 

 hundred along the lateral line, deeply embedded in the dark 

 olive epithelium of the skin, through which they glisten 

 like myriads of golden dots. The secretion of mucus is 

 exceedingly abundant, rendering the fish as slippery as any 

 eel. The tench is also distinguished from the rest of this 

 group by a short barbule at each angle of the mouth. A 

 variety known as the golden tench, said to have originated 

 in Germany, and to have been introduced into Britain 

 during the last century, is described as an exceedingly 

 handsome fish. The skin is of a rich orange colour, 

 irregularly blotched with the normal colour of the species. 

 This change of colour must be attributed to incipient 

 albinism, such as gives distinction to the gold-fish {Cyprinus 

 auratus). In 1878 Mr. Higford Burr had a great number 

 of them, the offspring of a single pair, which had bred freely 

 in one of his ponds at Aldermaston Park, near Reading. 

 The ordinary colouring of the tench is a rich olive green 

 or brown, shaded into light grey on the belly. The back 

 seems almost black, and the fins vary from brown to violet- 

 grey. The iris is red, ringed or blended with yellow. The 

 caudal fin is very broad and powerful, rounded at the angles 

 and not divided into lobes. The other fins are all very 



