The Minnow Family 237 



be said to inhabit every state in the Union, 

 having escaped from the ponds in which it was 

 placed at first, into almost every stream, espe- 

 cially in the Mississippi Valley. 



The dorsal fin is single, extending from the 

 middle of the back nearly to the tail, highest in 

 front. In the typical scale-carp the scales are 

 large, there being about thirty-eight along the 

 lateral line, with five rows above it and five rows 

 below. But domestication has greatly altered the 

 squamation ; thus in the leather-carp the body 

 is naked, with the exception of a few very large 

 ones on the back ; in the mirror-carp there are a 

 few rows of very large scales. The coloration is 

 as variable as its scales. It is usually of some 

 shade of olive or brown, with golden lustre, dark- 

 est on the back, with the belly whitish or yellowish. 



In Europe the carp hibernates, or remains 

 dormant during the winter, burying itself in the 

 mud of the bottom with its tail only exposed. 

 In America it seems to have abandoned this 

 habit almost entirely, especially in the more 

 southern waters. It is not strictly, if at all, a 

 herbivorous fish as has been alleged, but stirs up 

 the bottom of ponds in search of minute animal 

 organisms, rendering the water foul and muddy. 



