chapter xiv. 

 cyprinidjE, or carps. 



Cyprinus Carpio (Carp). 

 Sulbulus, ante aKos iromani corpore piseis.* — Jovius. 



ALL the preceding tribes have ranged under the ich- 

 thyologic section of Acanthopterygii, or fishes pos- 

 sessing spinous fins ; those now to appear in type have 

 all soft fins, and are hence called Malacopterygiij in the 

 same scientific patois. The first and largest section of 

 this order are said to be abdominal (abdominales), which 

 may be paraphrased to mean ' those individuals whose 

 ventrals are suspended to the under part of their abdo- 

 men, behind the pectorals, without being attached to the 

 humeral bones/f Under this heading will be found al- 

 most all our fresh-water acquaintance. It is distributed 

 into five families : the first of these embraces the Cy- 

 prinij or Cyprians, a race sufficiently characterized by 

 toothless jaws, which compels them generally to abstain 

 from flesh, and to restrict themselves almost entirely to 

 a vegetable diet. The common carp (cyprinus carpio) 

 stands at the top of the list ; and being now a well known 

 and widely distributed fish, suggests a primary iaquiry, 

 whether it was also known to the ancients. 



We incline to the opinion that it was, though we do 



* Carp are fond of creeping into the mud to escape cold, thus 

 literally f ulfillin g a well-known Greek adage — ifrvKos (fieiyovr^s 



els ^OpISopOV TTlTTTOVO-t. 



t Cuvier. 



