MALACOPTERYGII ABDOMINALES. 



31.3 



Cyprinus. — These form a genus, at once very natural and very numerous ; easily distinguished by 

 he small mouth, the jaws without a single tooth, and three flat gill-rays. Their tongue is smooth ; 

 their palate furnished with a thick, soft, and remarkably sentient substance, vulgarly called carp's 

 tongue. Their pharynx is a powerful instrument of mastication, having strong teeth on the inferior 

 pharyngeal bones, and they bruise their aliments between these and a stony disc, which is set in a large 

 cavity under a process of the sphenoid. They have but one dorsal ; their body is covered with 

 scales, usually large : they inhabit the fresh waters ; and are the least carnivorous of fishes, — feeding 

 chiefly on seeds, the roots of plants, and [as is said] on mud and sludge. The stomach is continuous, 

 with a short intestine without coeca ; and the air-bladder is divided in two by a close contraction. 

 The genus is divided into the following subgenera: — 



Cyprinus, the true Carps, have a long dorsal, of which, as well as the anal, the second ray has a spine more or 

 less stout. Some of them have fleshy tubercles at the angles of the upper jaw, such as C. carpio, the Common 

 Carp, a well-known fish : olive green above, and yellovvish below ; with strong toothed spines in the dorsal and 

 anal, and short tubercles. The teeth of the pharynx are flat and striated in their crowns, [something like those of 

 the Ruminant Mammalia]. Originally [as is understood] from the middle latitudes of Europe, it is now generally 

 distributed, and thrives well in fish-ponds and other still waters, where it sometimes grows to the length of four 

 feet : its flesh is esteemed as food. [Though an imported fish. Carp thrives well in England, though better in 

 ponds than even in the most slow running parts of rivers ; but in Scotland the waters are less adapted for them, 

 and they breed and grow slowly, even in ponds. Austria and Prussia are the great Carp countries. To their 

 vegetable food they add insects and worms, if such can be obtained : and when out of the water, they are very 

 tenacious of life, in consequence of which they are easily extended from pond to pond.] 



Of the true Carps there is one race, C. i-ex earporum, the King of the Carps, which have the scales large, but 

 often wanting in patches, and sometimes entirely. They are artificially varied, — that is, tliey occur only in ponds. 

 Some foreign species are reddish brown, and others golden green, but these are imperfectly known. 



Some species want the barbules. Among these are, — C. carassiiis, having the body high, the lateral line straight, 

 and the caudal fin squared off. This is a northern species. C. gibclio, the Crucian or Prussian Carp, has the body 

 less elevated, the lateral line curved downwards, and tail fin forked. [It occurs as a British fish, but, perhaps, 

 not so plentifully as the foniier]. C auratus, the Golden Carp, [called Gold Fishes or Silver Fishes, according to 

 their colour]. These are black when young, but by degrees acquire the golden red for which they are esteemed; 

 though some of them are silvery, with various clouds of all the three colours. Some have no dorsal ; others a very 

 small one ; others, again, a large caudal of three or four lobes ; and others, still, very large eyes ; all of which 

 varieties are merely accidental, and the results of that artificial treatment which they receive when kept in glass 

 vessels for ornamental purposes. 



Allied to these is the smallest of the European Carps, C. amants, only about an inch in length ; greenish above, 

 pale yellow beneath, with a steel-blue line on each side of the tail, in April, which is the spawning season. 

 Barbus, the Barbel, or Bearded Fish — from the cirri at its mouth — has the dorsal and anal short ; a strong spine 



for the second or third dorsal ray ; two cirri at 

 the point of the muzzle, and two at the angles of 

 the upper jaw. [iJ. commtmiSjl the Common 

 Barbel, known by its long head, is very com- 

 mon in streams and fish-ponds, and sometimes 

 grows to the length of ten feet. [In the sluggish 

 parts of the Thames, and some of its affluents. 

 Barbel are very plentiful. They are said to 

 plough up the mud with their noses, which, 

 setting very small animals adrift in the water, 

 attracts those small fishes on which the Barbel 

 feeds.] 



Gobio, the Gudgeons, have the dorsal and anal 

 short, an 1 are without spines or beards. In slow-running rivers, where there is a gravelly interruption, they are 

 found in vast shoals, readily caught, and, though small in size, esteemed for their flavour. 



Tinea, the Tenches, resembling the Gudgeons, but have the scales and cirri very small. The Common Tench 

 is short and thick, of a yellowish brown, and sometimes beautifully golden. It prefers stagnant waters, and is not 

 in much estimation as food. 

 Cin-hinus, have the dorsal l.Trgpi than the Gudgeons, and the cirri in the central part of the upper lip. 

 Abramis, Bream, have neither spines nor cirri; a short dorsal behind the ventrals, or long anal ; and the tail 

 forked. There are two species, the Carp Bream, and the White Bream ; the first is the largest and most highly 

 esteemed ; and the other is of little value, except to feed other fishes in ponds. 



Labeo. All foreigners ; have neither spines nor cirri along the dorsal, and remarkably thick lips, often furred. 



Catostomus, have the lips of the former, but a short dorsal above the ventrals. They are from North America. 



Leiiciscus : dorsal and anal short; no spines, cirri, or peculiarities of the lips: species numerous, but little 



esteemed. [One species, the Ide, L. idiis, has been seen as a British fish ; and besides this there are several 



oihers, as L. dobiilus, the Double Roach; L. K^/fe, the Roach ; L. vulgaris ; L. Lancastcriensis, the Graining; 



Fi^. U: 



