584 
P E R C A. 
if kept long they lofe their flavour. The flefli in ge¬ 
neral is white, well-tafted, tender, and eafy of digeftion; 
and when frefh is good food for ailing people; in au¬ 
tumn, and in the fpring before fpawning, they are fatted. 
They are exported from Germany and Pruflia, frefh, falted, 
and fmoked, into different countries, and are reckoned 
good food. When fent away frefh, they pierce the tail, 
and, when it has bled fufflciently, the fifli is packed up in 
fnow or grafs; if falted or fmoked, it is put into tubs, 
being prepared various ways. 
4. Perea Volgenfis, the Volga perch: colour gold green 5 
23 rays in the fecond dorfal fin- The firft dorfal fin 13 
rays, 14 in the pefitorals, 6 in the ventrals, 15 in the tail. 
Cepede regards this as a variety of the preceding; Gme- 
1 in confiders it an intermediate fpecies between the pre¬ 
ceding and the river-perch, or perhaps as a hybrid race 
produced from both. It was firft: deferibed by the cele¬ 
brated Pallas. Inhabits chiefly the Volga and neighbour¬ 
ing rivers. Body with fix tranfverfe interrupted black 
bands, feales large and rough, iris filvery; two large 
teeth at the tip of the lower jaw, dorfal fins with five 
bands, the rays ftrong and rigid. 
5. Perea zingel, the zingel: the upper jaw protruded 
likeanofe; 19 rays in the fecond dorfal fin. The pec¬ 
toral fin has 14 rays, the ventral 6, the anal 13, the tail 
74, the firft dorfal 16. The head is large, flattened above 
and below ; and, as well as the body, is armed with hard 
jagged feales which adhere very firmly. The back is 
round ; the mouth is large, and opens downwards; the 
jaws and roof of the mouth are armed with fharp teeth ; 
the tongue is hard, and loofe; the upper jaw much lon¬ 
ger than the lower. The noftrils are double, placed in 
the upper jaw-, fome way before the eyes; the pupil of 
the eye is black, encircled with a yellow iris. The 
aperture of the gills is wide, and the cover is only a An¬ 
gle plate. The ground-colour of the fifli is yellow, varied 
with brown ftripes which go acrofs, and between them 
are lpots of the fame colour. The belly is white. The 
rays of all the fins are yellow, and branched at the extre¬ 
mities, except thofe of the firft dorfal, which are Ample, 
and pointed ; the tail-fin has a crefcent-fhaped furrow. 
This fpecies is natural to the fouthern parts of Ger¬ 
many; they are found in the different lakes and rivers 
of Bavaria and Auftria, and even in the Danube; alfo 
in Rufiia, in the Volga, the Irrifch, and the rivers which 
run into them. They are from fourteen to fixteen in¬ 
ches long, and weigh two or three pounds. The flefli is 
white, firm, and eafy of digeftion ; and is eaten by the 
gentry. They are fond of clear water, fpawning in ftony 
places in April and May. They are voracious, as may 
be feen by their teeth ; the pike only will venture to at¬ 
tack them, on account of the hardnefs of their feales and 
the prickles which defend their back : thus it is not fur- 
prifing that they increafe very fait, in fpite of their great 
enemy, man. 
6. Perea afper, the fmaller zingel : the upper jaw pro¬ 
truded ; 13 rays in the fecond dorfal fin ;. body yellow- 
ifn, with tranfverfe black ftripes. There are 7 rays in 
the branchioftege membrane, 13 in the peftoral fins, £ 
in the ventrals, 11 in the anal, 18 in the tail, 8 in the 
firft dorfal. The body is long; the head broad; the 
mouth, which opens downwards, is fmall, and crefcent- 
fhaped, with teeth fcarcely vifible: near the aperture of 
the mouth are the noftrils, which are double ; thofe in 
front are round, and covered with a fkin like the fucker 
of a pump ; but the'hinder ones are oblong, and without 
covers. The pupil of the eye is black, the iris white 
with a reddifli border. One "fmall piece forms the cover¬ 
ing of the gills, as in the preceding; this is contrary to 
the generic character, and therefore the fpecies is remo¬ 
ved by Cepede. The ground-colour of this fifli is yel- 
l.owifli, with three or four black ftripes running acrofs. 
The back is round, and black ; the belly white, fliort, 
and fmooth. The fins are of a pale yellow. The body 
is covered with large, hard, rough, feales ; the fifli goes 
tapering off towards the tail, where it is not much bigger 
than a quill. The lateral line is not far from the back, 
with which it keeps a parallel line. The anus is nearer 
to the head than to the tail-fin, which laft is bifurcated. 
The rays of the fins are branched, except thofe of the firft 
dorfal, which are Angle, and (harp-pointed. 
This fpecies is found not only in France in the Rhone, 
and in the lakes and rivers of Bavaria, but alfo in the 
Volga and the Jaik'. It grows to the length of eight in¬ 
ches, and lives in clear water. The ova are fmall and 
whitifh. The fpawning-time is in March, when they are 
caught in great quantities; after this they retire to the 
depths; they are alfo taken in winter from under the ice. 
They live on worms and infefts: in feeking for thefe in 
the clay, they often fwallow pieces of the clay, which in 
fome of the rivers they inhabit is mingled with particles 
of gold, which being found in their ftomachs has caufed 
it to be faid that in certain countries they fed upon gold. 
Their fldh is wholefome and well-tafted : and they are 
brought to the tables of the great. As they are hardy, 
they may be eafily tranfported into other waters ; fpring 
and autumn are the moft proper time. 
Gefner, Aldrovandus, and Jonfton, confider this as 
only a variety of the preceding fpecies ; and, as it agrees 
with that in many refpefts, we have given it the name 
of the fmaller zingel. But it differs in the following par¬ 
ticulars: 1. The zingel weighs two or three pounds; 
this fpecies feldom more than an ounce or an ounce and 
a half. 2. The head of the zingel is fnarper, the mouth 
larger. 3. The tail’of the zingel is thicker, fhorter, and 
lefs round, than in this fpecies. 4. The zingel has fif¬ 
teen rays in the firft dorfal fin and nineteen in the fecond : 
this fpecies has only eight in the firft and thirteen in the 
fecond. 5. The zingel has the end of the tail-fin blunt 
or rounded at the extremity : this fpecies has it fharp. 
6. The zingel is of a lighter colour. 7. The zingel has 
48 vertebrae, and 22 ribs on each fide; this fpecies 42 
vertebrae, and 16 ribs on each fide. 
7. Perea labrax, (P. punftata, Gmel.) the bade: feales 
fmall; fourteen rays in the fecond dorfal fin ; back dufky 
tinged with blue, belly white. The membrane of the 
gills contains 5 rays, the peftoral fin iS, the ventral 6, 
the anal -fe, the tail 20, the firft dorfal 9. The body is 
long; the head tapers off almoft to a point: having a 
wide mouth and broad lip-bones, this fpecies fomewhat 
refembles the falmon, and the Germans have given it 
that name. The jaws are of equal length, and the teeth 
fliort and fharp; the palate and throat are rough like a 
file. The noftrils are double, fCparated by a membrane. 
The eyes are high in the head; they have a black pupil, 
a red iris, and a niftating membrane. The back is of a 
brownifh colour, fides and belly white; the anal and 
dorfal fins are reddifh, the tail blackifh. It is found in 
the fea of Greece, fince the Grecian naturalifts deferibe 
it; alfo in England, and in feveral parts of France, Italy, 
Sardinia, and Malta. It grows to a large fize: Ronde- 
letius fays three ells in iength, Willughby fays about 
fifteen pounds weight; Duhamel fays, that at Noirmou- 
tier in France there are caught fome of thirty pounds. 
This fifli is diftinguifhed by an uncommon degree of vo¬ 
racity, and hence was termed lupus, a wolf, by Ovid, a 
name generally adopted by fucceeding writers. In the 
falt-water pools of Italy, it fometimes weighs fifteen 
pounds ; and the flefli is extremely grateful to the tafte. 
In the lakes they are frequently found by the fifhermen 
frozen to death, as they fuppofe, but more probably fuf- 
focated by the exclufion of the air from the furface of the 
water; a circumftance from which Willughby takes oc- 
calion to caution thofe who keep them in ponds to break 
the ice frequently during the continuance of froft. This 
fpecies inhabits ir.difcriminately lakes, rivers, and the fea; 
to the former, however, they probably afeend from the 
fea, for they do not feern to breed in frefh water. They 
are ufually found near the furface of the water, efpecially 
at the mouth of a ltream emptying itfelf into the fea. 
They are delicate eating, and were highly prized by the 
Romans, efpecially if caught in the Tiber, and more par¬ 
ticularly 
