BARBEL. 



321 



ABDOMINAL 

 MALACOPTERYGII. 



CYPRINID^. 



THE BARBEL. 



Barbus vulgaris, Flem. Brit. An. p. 185, sp. 58. 



,, ,, CuviER, Kegne An. t. ii. p. 272. 



Cy-prinus barbus, Linnxus. Block, pt. i. pi. 18. 



,, „ Barbel, Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 472, pi. 82. 



„ „ „ Don. Brit. Fish. pi. 29. 



Generic Characters. — Distinguished from Cyprinus in having the dorsal and 

 anal fins short ; a strong, serrated, bony ray at the dorsal fin ; mouth furnished 

 with four barbules, two near the point of the nose, and one at the angle of the 

 mouth, on each side. 



The Barbel is said to have been so called from the 

 barbs or wattles attached about its mouth. It is readily 

 distinguished by these appendages, in conjunction with the 

 great extension of the upper jaw beyond the lower. 



This fish was well known to the older ichthyologists. 

 The warm and temperate parts of Europe appear to be its 

 natural locality, and it is abundant in the Rhine, the Elbe, 

 and the Weser. 



Near London, the Thames, from Putney upwards, pro- 

 duces Barbel in great quantities, and of large size ; but they 



VOL. I. Y 



