C Y P R 
rivers in Siberia : three inches long; body olive fpotted 
with brown, beneath bright red ; fcales fmall, rounded, 
adhering firmly to the fkin : is very good when fried. 
2 5 . Cyprinus Niloticus, the carp of the Nile: anal fin 
with feven rays, dorfal eighteen, pectorals feventeen, 
ventrals nine, tail nineteen. Inhabits .the Nile ; body 
reddifit. 
29. Cyprinus gonorhyncus, the Cape carp : anal fin 
eight-rayed ; body cylindrical. The dorfal fin has twelve 
rays, the peftorals ten, the ventrals nine, and the tail 
eighteen. Found at the Cape of Good Hope. 
30. Cyprinus phoxinus, the minnow. This pretty little 
fifti is diftinguifhed by having eight rays to the ventral, 
anal,,and dorfal, fins; a dulky fpot near the bafe of the 
tail, body pellucid. There are fifteen rays in the pedto- 
ral fins, and nineteen in the tail. The head is wedge- 
fhaped, and dark green above ; the coverings of the gills 
are yellow; the jaws are of equal length, and red at the 
edges. The eyes are fmall, having a black pupil fur- 
rounded with a golden iris. The body is long, round, 
and covered with little glutinous fcales,. In fome the 
back is quite black ; in others of a clear blue. The va¬ 
rious colours of the firipes and fpots make a very pretty 
appearance; for, in fome, they are diverfified with blue, 
yellow', and black; in others, with a fine red, a clear blue, 
and a filvery white. The firipes are moftly blue which 
go from the back to the lateral line. The fins are grey 
er bluifli, clofe to the body, and marked with a red fpot. 
The lateral line and the back are ftrait. Though this 
little fifh is fo very minute, yet its flefii is white, tender, 
wholefome, and well tailed. It is found plentifully in 
mod of the fmall rivers and ftreams in England; likewife 
in Silefia, Wefiphalia, and France ; and in the brooks and 
rivers which run into the Volga, Zaria, Jelchenka, and 
Sarpa. They are taken at all times of the year with 
fmall nets; and it is mofily the diverfion of children to 
angle for them with a line, for they bite very fall at a 
fmall worm. They die foon after they are taken out of 
the water. Their molt dangerous enemy is the pike. At 
three or four years of age they begin to fpawn ; the time 
is about the end of June; they void, at the bottom of 
the water, a vail number of eggs, and they multiply con- 
fiderably. They delight in a pure running water, the 
bottom fiony or fandy ; and they keep together in fiioals 
where no other filh are found; they are therefore feldom 
taken in a net with others. Their food is the fame as 
the reft of the genus, and they grow but llowly. As 
they love heat, they generally keep near the furface of 
the water. 
31. Cyprinus aphya, the fmall carp. The nine rays 
to the dorfal and anal fins, diftinguilh this from the other 
fpecies of carps. There are twelve rays in the pedtoral 
fin, eight in the ventral, twenty in the tail. The aper¬ 
ture of the mouth is middle-fized ; and, when Unit, the 
.upper jaw protrudes. The body is long, thick, and 
round ; the fcales rub olf eafily. The pupil of the eye 
is black, iris red bordered with yellow. The back is 
brownilh ; belly red in fome, white in others; the fides 
are whitilh under the lateral line ; the lateral line goes 
ftrait through the middle of the body. All the fins are 
greenilh at bottom, grey elfewhere, and the tail is forked. 
This fifii is found in the Baltic, on the banks, fiiores, and 
the ftreams that run into it; as well as in molt of the 
fmall rivers of Sweden, Norway, and Siberia ; and, ac¬ 
cording to Falck, in the Kerma, and rivers communicat¬ 
ing with it. They commonly go in fhoals. In Sweden, 
according to Linnaeus, they are feldom more than an inch 
and a half or two inches long; that exhibited by Bloch 
in his late magnificent work, was four inches and a half; 
the fpecimen was fent to him from Norway, by that cele¬ 
brated naturalift Muller. Its flefti is white, wcll-tafted, 
wholefome, and eafy of digeftion. In Sweden, it is ufed 
as a bait to take perch. In Prufiia this fifti is called 
mutteriofchen, “having no mother;” which comes from 
Aphya, a name the ancients gave to a fmall filh which 
Vol, V. No. 293. 
I N U S. 537 
they faid fprang from the froth of the fea, without pro¬ 
creation. Bioch is the only naturalift who has given a 
figure of this filh. 
32. Cyprinus leucifcus, the dace. Ten rays in the an. 1 
fin, and nine in tire dorfal, appear to be the diftinguifhing 
characters of the dace. There are eleven rays in the pec¬ 
toral fin, nine in the ventral, eighteen in the tail. '1 his 
fpccies has a lengthened body,- (mall head, middling- 
fized fcales, grey fins, forked tail, and the lateral line is 
arched. It is of a filver colour, except the back, which 
is brownifh, and round. The pupil of the eye is black, 
iris yellow ifir ; and near the eyes are the organs of bear¬ 
ing and refpiration. The aperture of the mouth is mid¬ 
dle-fized ; the coverings of the gills arc two thin laminae. 
All the fins are white. This filh is found in the Couth 
of Germany, as well as in France, Italy, and England. 
It grows from eight to twelve inches in length, but in 
Germany feldom more than fix or eight; they are often 
in France a foot long, and in England fometimes as large. 
This filh loves a pure running ftream ; and teeds on gnats 
and worms. They fpawn in June; and multiply faft, 
though they have formidable enemies in the pike and 
perch, from whom how'ever they often efcape by their 
rapidity in fwimming. They are taken in fpawning time 
in round nets covered with weeds, on which they go to 
depofit their fpawn. Thq flefti is light, and eafy of di¬ 
geftion, but unpleafant on account of the multitude of 
fmall bones. The ovary is double, containing a great 
quantity of very fmall eggs of a whitilh colour. 
A variety of this, according to Turton, is the graining; 
body llenderer ; back ftraiter. It is found in the Merfey, 
near Warrington : has a great refemblance to the dace ; 
back filvery, with a bluifti caft; eyes, ventral and anal 
fins red, but paler than thofe of the dace; pedtoral 
redder ; feven inches and a half long. 
33. Cyprinus dobula, the narrow carp. This is long 
and narrow, with ten rays in the anal and dorfal fins. 
The peftoral fins have fifteen, the ventral nine, the tail 
eighteen. The head is rounded off at the end ; it is 
large, and at top of a deep grey colour. The upper 
jaw comes out beyond the under one ; and the nolcrils 
are above the eyes. The pupil of the eye is black, the 
iris yellow, with a yellow fpot above. The back is round, 
and of a green colour. The fcales are of a middling fize, 
(hining, and guarded on the edges w itli prickles of a black 
colour. Seen through ^ microfcope, they ofter an agree, 
able fpeCtacle. Below the lateral line the filh is greenifh, 
and the belly is filver-coloured : this line is ft:milked 
with yellow prickles, and bends a little towards the belly. 
The peCforal fin is yellow, the ventral and anal red, ti e 
tail 'bluifli, and the dorfal greenifh. In the younger fillies 
they are all white. This filh does not grow large.- thofe 
caught in the Havel weigh but half a pound, but thofe 
of the Sprey weigh fometimes a pound and a half. 
This fpecies delight's in clear water, with a marly or 
fandy bottom. It lives in the bottoms of large lakes, 
but comes up to the rivers in fpring; and its fpAwning¬ 
time is from the middle of March till the middle of May, 
laying their eggs on ftones : the larger ones fpawn before 
the fmaller ; at this time alfo black fpots appear on the 
fins of the young males. This fifti is taken principally in 
fpawning-time : they live on worms and weeds, and con- 
fequently will bite at a baited hook: they are particu¬ 
larly fond of thofe little black leaches and young white 
(nails which flick to the weeds. They die foon after being 
taken out of the water. In lakes which have not a fuf- 
ficient depth, they rife to the top when the weather is 
very hot, where they die if the heat continues. The flefti 
is whitilh, but full of bones, and confequently little 
efteemed ; yet it may be reckoned wholefome. As it lives 
in the fame waters w ith the trout, it might ferve to feed 
that voracious fpecies. This fifti increafes (lowly. It is 
found in the Oder, the Elbe, the Wefef, the Rhine, the 
Don, and in the rivers which run into them. It weighs 
there three ounces and a half. The two ovarie’s weigh 
0 X about 
