NATURAL HISTORY. 



the tube filled with yellow ova. After spawning, this appendage is gradually absorbed, till its former 



position is only indicated by 

 a papilla. 



The tenth group is named 1 

 from the typical genus Danio, 

 Danionina. It has the lateral 

 line on the lower half of tht 

 tail. The genera are distin- 

 guished by the form of the 

 month, teeth, sub-orbital bones, 

 and pi-esence or absence of 

 barbels. The species are mostly 

 small, and are from the Indian 

 region, though several occur in 

 China and Japan, and one or 

 two are from Western Africa. 

 The eleventh group re- 

 joices in the name Hypoph- 

 thalmichthyina. It included 

 only two species of Chinese 

 fishes of the genus Hypoph- 

 tlialmichthys, which has the 

 anal fin long. 

 The twelfth group, termed Abramidina, also has the anal fin long, but the abdomen, or at least 



part of it, is compressed into a sharp edge. 



This is a somewhat large group of fishes comprising many genera. One of the best known is 



KIIODEUS AMAKT-S. 



THE BREAM.* 



This is a species confined to the North of Europe, though also met with in the Pyrenees. It is dis- 

 tinguished by the compressed elevated form of its body, with a short blunt snout, and the dorsal fin is so 

 placed that its last ray is above the beginning of the anal fin. The lateral line is low down on the side, 

 and includes from forty-eight to fifty-two scales. There are twelve rows of scales above it and six below. 

 The scales are pearly and the colour is whitish, but the slight yellow tinge deepens into brown with 

 age. The pectoral and ventral fins have a reddish tinge, and the other tins are somewhat brown. The 

 three vertebrae next to the head have no ribs, and may therefore be termed neck vertebrae ; then 

 follow fifteen abdominal vertebrae, carrying ribs, and there are twenty-one in the tail. The species 

 abounds in England and Ireland in rivers, lakes, and canals, swimming in immense shoals. The 

 spawn is deposited in May, when the eggs of a single fish number a hundred and thirty thousand. As 

 many as four males follow one female when she is depositing the spawn. The fish is more valued for 

 food on the Continent than in England. The usual size runs from two to four pounds, but large 

 specimens reach a weight of fourteen pounds or more. The species is tenacious of life, and can endure 

 great cold. It is reputed to be shy, and in Sweden in many parishes the church bells are not rung 

 during the fishing season, for fear of driving the Bream away from the adjacent waters. 



There ai-e several other species found on the Continent which range southward to the Danube. 

 The White Bream (Abramis bliccci) is a well-known British species which ranges from the Danube to 

 Lapland. It is a smaller fish than the common Bream, and rarely exceeds a foot in length. Like 

 most of the allied fishes, it feeds voraciously on worms, insects, and water-plants, and is itself largely 

 preyed upon by the Pike. When it seizes the bait of the angler, it rises towards the surface, so that 

 the float, instead of descending, lies flat on the water. It has fewer scales than the common Bream, 

 there being nine rows above the lateral line and five below it. The colour is silvery-white, sometimes 

 with a bluish tinge. 



* Abramw Irama. 



