2 72 BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 



the distinctions relied on would remain permanent under altered 

 conditions. Unluckily, such experiments must be regarded as 

 almost, if not quite, impracticable, owing to the depth of water 

 which is essential to adult char. 



The name char, or charr, is assigned by Professor Skeat 

 to an origin in the Gaelic word ceara^ signifying " red," a 

 very appropriate epithet for fish which not only often have 

 pink flesh, but display brilliant hues of red and orange in 

 the breeding: season. 



The distribution of the chars is very remarkable. Confined 

 to the northern hemisphere, various species exist in Europe, 

 Asia, and America. The largest and most remarkable of these 

 is only found in the Danube and its tributaries, Salmo hucho^. 

 rivalling the salmon in size. The so-called brook-trout of 

 North America also is a char, Salvelinus fontinalis^ and has 

 been reared successfully in great quantities for naturalisation 

 in Great Britain ; but something in our waters is displeasing 

 to it, and it invariably disappears, apparently descending rivers 

 and escaping to sea. 



The Char {Salmo alpinus) 



Fins. 

 First Dorsal : 12 or 13 soft rays. 

 Second Dorsal : Ray less, adipose.' 

 Pectoral: 13 or 14 soft rays. 

 Ventral: 9 or 10 soft rays. 

 Anal: 12 soft rays. 



Teeth. 

 As in the salmon, 

 except that the 

 vomer bears teeth 

 only on the head, 

 or forepart. 



If the distribution of the chars in general is remarkable 

 and puzzling, still more so is that of the British species, 

 which abounds in Lapland and Scandinavia, occurs in the 

 Hebrides and the Orkney Islands, and in isolated sheets of 

 water in Scotland, Ireland, and the north of England. A 

 very closely allied species or variety has been distinguished 

 in Iceland under the name of Salvelinus^ or Salmo^ nivalis. 



