340 THE ANGLER-NATURALIST. 



their best feeding-ground by exposing the beds of fresh- 

 water shells *. 



The Lochleven Trout spawn in January, February, and 

 March. 



" These fish," says Dr. Parnell, " do not appear to be 

 peculiar to Lochleven, as I have seen specimens that were 

 taken in some of the lakes in the county of Sutherland, 

 with several other Trout which were too hastily considered 

 as mere varieties of Salmo fario. It is more than pro- 

 bable that the Scottish lakes produce several species of 

 Trout known at present by the name of Salmo fario, and 

 which remain to be further investigated." 



I have had opportunities of examining many speci- 

 mens of the Lochleven Trout, and their characters agreed 

 closely with those given by Dr. Parnell from a specimen 

 one foot in length. Of these the principal were : 



Head a little more than one-fifth of the whole length, tail-fin in- 

 cluded. Depth of body at the deepest part about equal to length of 

 head. Gill-cover produced behind ; lower margin of operculum ob- 

 lique ; praeoperculum rounded j end of the superior maxillary bone 

 extending as far back as the hinder margin of the orbit. Commence- 

 ment of back-fin halfway between point of upper jaw and a point a 

 little beyond the fleshy portion of the tail. End of back-fin even, 

 sometimes concave. Pectoral fins pointed when expanded j in Com- 

 mon Trout rounded. Tail-fin long, rather narrow, and concave at the 

 end. Tail-fin rays much longer than in the Common Trout, and pointed 

 at the upper and lower extremities, whilst in the latter they are 

 rounded. Teeth stout, sharp, and curved slightly inwards, situated as 

 in the Common Trout. In the specimen described by Dr. Parnell there 



* Paper by Dr. Parnell in vol. vii. of the Memoirs of the Wernerian 

 Natural History Society of Edinburgh. 



