1862.'] DR. A. GiiNTHER ON THE BRITISH CHARRS. 39 



fins much longer than in the fishes described by Heckel, and conse- 

 quently that none of them can be identical with the South-German 

 Siilbling or with the Snhno salvelinus of Linnaeus. 



b. Salmo mnbla, L. Linnaeus has founded this species on the 

 ninth species of Salmo in Artedi's ' Genera,' or on the seventh in his 

 ' Synonymy,' the latter ichthyologist following Rondelet, who de- 

 scribed the "Salmo Lemani lacus, seu Umbla*," or the "Ombre 

 (chevalier)" of the Lakes of Geneva and Neuchatel. Jurine-j* and 

 Agassiz J have given figures of this fish. Far superior to them is that 

 published by Rapp§, who has identified the " Rdthel" of the Lake 

 of Constance with the Salmo umbla, L. 



This species never assumes the red colours of the S. salvelinus, ox 

 of the Charrs of AVindermere and of Wales. It could be compared 

 in this respect only with the "Freshwater Herring" of Lough Melvin, 

 from which it is readily distinguished by its much larger teeth, by 

 its wide mouth, the maxillary extending to behind the orbit, by its 

 much more elongate body, and by the proportions of its fins. Salmo 

 umbla of Linne differs from the British Charrs (as far as we treat 

 of them in this paper) in nearly every one of the external characters, 

 and agrees with the Irish species only in its plainer coloration and 

 in the size of its scales. 



c. Salmo alpinus, L. Linnseus, on his tour through Lapland, 

 discovered in the mountain-lakes of that country a species of Charr, 

 which he described in the 'Fauna Suecica,' p. 117, no. 310, and 

 which he named S. alpinus in the ' Systema Naturae.' He adopts 

 the opinion of Artedi in referring the British Charr (which he knew 

 from Willoughby's description) as a synonym to this S. alpinus. 

 Even the few details which are given in his and Nilsson's descriptions 

 do not admit of an identification of those species. Linne says that 

 the length of the head of the typical specimen was 1|- inch, and the 

 distance from (the front margin of) the dorsal to the adipous fin 

 3 inches : in the British Charrs the head is much longer. He found 

 the length of the head equal to that of the base of the dorsal fin : in 

 British Charrs the base of that fin is much shorter. Nilsson de- 

 scribes the S. alpinus, L., as a distinct variety of S. salvelifius, di- 

 stinguished by short fins ; but S. salvelinus, Nilss., has shorter fins 

 than any of the British Charrs. 



We are, therefore, not justified in admitting one of those Linnean 

 denominations for the British species which will be described in this 

 paper. This view being in contradiction with that of all former 

 writers, I think it necessary to give a historical review of what has 

 been done on the subject. Not a love of starting novel views, much 

 less an ill feeling towards any of the previous inquirers, but the plain 

 necessity of supporting the truth of my opinion forces me to show 

 where observations have been imperfect, or where they do not agree 

 with nature. Conscious of the imperfectness of my own labour, I 



* Rondel, ii. p. 160. 



t Poiss. du lac Leman, pi. 5. 



X Poiss. d'eau douce, pis. 10 & 11 (but not pi. 9). 



§ Bodensee-Fische, p. 32. taf. 5. 



