Evolution of the l^arieties 



In a group of fishes of the carp family related to the goldfish there is a tendency to albinism : 

 and doubtless the parent stock from which all the cultivated varieties have sprung was albino or 

 partial albino. A deficiency of dark pigment in the skin of the wild goldfish would leave a whitish, 

 yellow, or golden color; while irregular distribution and concentration of the dark pigment would 

 result in a variegated coloration, with blackish or dark greenish spots or blotches separated by 

 yellow, golden, or whitish areas. By the selection of such abnormally colored fish for breeding 

 purposes, light and variegated races were in time established. Abnormalities in form may have arisen 

 in and been similarly reproduced from wild fish, but most probably these arose in the course of the 

 cultivation of already established or incipient color varieties. From these primitive departures from 

 the normal, all of the extraordinary variations in form and color that we now possess have been 

 produced, after hundreds of generations, by selected breeding. 



One of the ablest American biologists and embryologist, the late Prof. John A. Ryder, called 

 attention to the fact that the varieties of goldfish "are the most profoundly modified of any known 

 race of domesticated animal organisms.'' In the course of a paper published in 1893 he discussed the 

 origin and significance of some of the modifications, and advanced the interesting theory that the 



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