404 SILURID.E. 



Bloch says, a single fin on the back, and six barbules at 

 the mouth, of which those on the upper lip are the longest, 

 form the distinctive characters of this fish. 



The head is shaped like a shovel, flattened, and of a dark 

 green ; the mouth very large and wide ; the jaws circular, 

 the lower one the longest, both furnished with numerous 

 small incurved teeth ; the pharyngeal bones are also fur- 

 nished with similar teeth. On each side of the upper lip 

 a long barbule ; the nostrils are round ; placed between these 

 long barbules, and behind them, are the eyes, small, the 

 pupils black, the irides white. 



The back is round, of a dark green : the sides, above the 

 lateral line, of the same colour ; paler green below it ; and 

 the whole body covered with dark spots not very determinate 

 in shape. The body is thick and long ; the belly short, 

 expanded, and of a pale yellow colour ; the whole of the 

 body covered with slime : the pectoral fins are dark blue at 

 the base and the extremities, the middle portions yellow ; 

 the first ray strong, bony, and serrated on the inner surface : 

 the dorsal and ventral fins are yellow at the base, bluish 

 towards the ends, and both placed much nearer the head 

 than the tail ; the anal fin is long, the tail rather rounded, 

 both greyish yellow, with violet-coloured edges. The fin- 

 rays in number are — 



D. 5 : P. 18 : V. 13 : A. 24 : C. 17. 



This fish is found not only in almost all the fresh waters 

 of Europe, but even in those of Africa and Asia. Pliny 

 states that it exists in the Nile. Bloch mentions that exam- 

 ples weighing from seventy to eighty pounds' weight have 

 been taken in canals near Berlin. It has been found of very 

 large size in the Wolga and the Danube, and is included by 

 Nillson and others among the fishes of Norway and Sweden. 



