60 
RRATNING. 
the fishes of this family and of fresh-water generally are prone 
to change their colour when dead, and kept out of their element 
sufficiently long to be conveyed to a considerable distance; and 
that those I have seen were of a decidedly blue colour along 
the back. The Azurine also, as they came to my hands, were 
one of them drab coloured, and another a fine blue. 
Mr. Yarrell’s description is, that although similar to the Dace 
in shape, it is distinguished from it by being still more slender 
in form. The Graining has the top of the head, the back, and 
upper part of the sides of a pale drab colour, with bluish red, 
which is separated from the lighter coloured and inferior parts 
by a well-defined boundary line; the irides yellowish white; 
infraorbital portion of the head, operculum, and sides shinino- 
silvery white, tinged with yellow; all the fins pale yellowish 
white; the lateral line descending from the upper angle of the 
operculum by a gentle curve to the middle of the body, thence 
to the centre of the tail in a straight line; the scales of 
moderate size, marked with numerous concentric strise and 
prominent radiating elevated ridges; whereas in the Dace the 
radiating lines on each scale are produced by grooved depressions. 
The central portion of each scale in the Graining is brighter 
than its sides, thus producing the appearance of shining longi- 
tudinal lines through the whole length of the body. The head 
is small, depressed, cheeks flat, line of the back but little 
elevated. The dorsal fin begins exactly half-way between the 
nose and the end of the fleshy portion of the tail; the first ray 
short, second longest, last double, nine in all. The mouth 
small, without teeth; eye large, nostrils nearer the eye than 
the nose, gill rays three; ventral fins on a vertical line but 
little in advance of the anterior portion of the dorsal fin, with 
ten rays; the anal fin commences, on a vertical line, immediately 
under the termination of the dorsal fin rays when that fin is 
depressed, and has eleven rays; the first of these rays short 
the second longest, the last double. The fleshy portion of the 
tail long and slender, the rays deeply forked, nineteen in 
number. This fish does not often exceed the weight of half 
a pound. 
