170 FISHES. 



FAMILY I. 



CYPRINID.E. 



The first family, the Cyprinidae, is recognized by the slightly-cleft 

 mouth, the weak jaws, generally without teeth, and whose border is formed 

 by the intermaxillaries ; by the pharyngeals, which are supplied with 

 strong teeth, and which compensate for the trifling armature of the jaws, 

 and by the small number of the branchial rays. Their body is scaly, and 

 they have no adipose dorsal, such as we shall find in the Siluri and in the 

 Salmons. Their stomach has no cul-de-sac, neither are there any caecal 

 appendages to their pylorus. Of all fishes they are the least carnivorous. 



Cyprinus, Lin. 



These form a very numerous and natural genus, easily distinguished by 

 their small mouth, their jaws without any teeth, and the three flat rays of 

 the branchiae. Their tongue is smooth ; the palate provided with a thick, 

 soft, and singularly irritable substance, commonly termed a " carp's 

 tongue." The pharynx presents a powerful instrument of mastication, 

 consisting of stout teeth attached to the inferior pharyngeal bones, which 

 are so arranged as to be able to squeeze alimentary matters between them, 

 and of a stony disk set in a wide cavity under a process of the sphenoid. 

 These fishes have but one dorsal, and their body is covered with scales, 

 which most commonly are very large ; they live in fresh water, and are 

 perhaps the least carnivorous of the whole class, feeding chiefly on seeds, 

 grass, and even mud. The stomach is continuous with a short intestine, 

 which has no caecum, and their natatory bladder is divided into two by a 

 strangulation. 



We divide them into subgenera as follows : — 



Cyprinus, Cuv. 



Carps, properly so called, have a long dorsal, in which, as well as in 

 the anal, the second ray is formed by a spine more or less stout. 

 Some of them have cirri at the angles of the upper jaw. Such is 



Cyp. carpio, L., Bl. 16. (The Common Carp). Olive-green; 

 yellowish beneath ; dorsal and anal spines strong and dentated ; cirri 

 short; pharyngeal teeth flat, with a striated crown. Originally from 

 central Europe, it now inhabits the ponds of France, where it attains 

 a length of four feet. It is easily bred in fish-ponds, and is gene- 

 rally esteemed*. 



* The Cyprini Anne-Caroline, Lacep. V, xviii, 1, rouge-brun, Id., lb. XVI, I, 

 mordore, lb. 2, vert-violet, lb. 3, known merely from Chinese paintings, closely ap- 

 proach the Carp. The Chinese, who take much delight in breeding these fishes, 

 obtain many varieties, all very different, the figures of which are seen in their draw- 

 ings: it would not be safe, however, to consider them as species upon these docu- 

 ments only. 



