ON THE CAUDAL AND ANAL FINS OF GOLD-FISHES. 249 



country first produced them, is quite probable; but there is sufficient 

 reason to show that Japan was not their original home. History 

 bears direct testimony as to the date of their first introduction into 

 Japan, the exact locality where they were introduced, etc. 



It is known that they were introduced in all probability first 

 from China, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and sub- 

 sequently at frequent intervals from China, Loo-choo and Corea. 



It is to be gathered from such imperfect descriptions as exist, 

 that the first introduced breed was what we call at present the 

 " Japanese breed." The name has, it is to be assumed, nothing to 

 do with the nativity of the breed. Perhaps it was the priority in the 

 date of introduction which caused it to be so designated, in order to 

 distinguish it from the breeds brought in later from Loo-choo or 

 Corea. 



Gold-fish breeders of the present day can freely produce the 

 " Biuhin " or " Mariiho " from the " WaMn." Hence there can be no 

 doubt that the last named breed represents the primitive form, a fact 

 that is also sufficiently apparent from the configuration of the body. 

 There certainly exist various intermediate forms between the above 

 mentioned breeds. 



In all gold-fishes, irrespective of what breed they belong to, the 

 tail-fin is above all other parts subject to the greatest variation. It 

 is to be found in one of the following three states : 1. it has three- 

 lobes, one median and two lateral (Fig. 5, PI. XVIII & Fig. 7, 

 PI. XtX); 2. it consists of two separate halves (paired) giving rise to 

 a four-lobed tail (Fig 1); and 3. it is vertical and normal. In the 

 first two cases, the lobes are more or less horizontally spread. 



Next to the caudal fin, the anal fin undergoes a remarkable 

 variation. It is either median and normal or distinctly paired. In 

 the former case, especially when the caudal fin is also normal, the 



