. The animal creation: a popular introduction to zoology. Zoology. ABDOMINAL SOFT-FINNED FISHES. 331 shorter. The common Barbel {Cyprmus harhus) abounds in clear running waters. The Gudgeons (Gobis) have no bony spine in the anterior part of the dorsal and anal fins ; the mouth is siu-rounded with cirrlu or beards. Tliough small, they are much esteemed. The Tenches Tinea}, in addition to the characters of the Gudgeons, have verv small scales and verv short cirrlii. The common Tench. Fig. 261.—ten'ch. (Ci/prirms tinea) inhabits stagnant waters; it is generally of a yellowish-brown colour, and a
. The animal creation: a popular introduction to zoology. Zoology. ABDOMINAL SOFT-FINNED FISHES. 331 shorter. The common Barbel {Cyprmus harhus) abounds in clear running waters. The Gudgeons (Gobis) have no bony spine in the anterior part of the dorsal and anal fins ; the mouth is siu-rounded with cirrlu or beards. Tliough small, they are much esteemed. The Tenches Tinea}, in addition to the characters of the Gudgeons, have verv small scales and verv short cirrlii. The common Tench. Fig. 261.—ten'ch. (Ci/prirms tinea) inhabits stagnant waters; it is generally of a yellowish-brown colour, and attains a foot in length; it is less esteemed than the Carp. The Breams {Ahramus) have neither spinous fin-rays nor cirrhi; tlieir dorsal fins are short, but tlie anal is long. The Minnow (Cyprinus Fhoxinmf is a very small fish, met with in every brook. L-wJ: The Roaches {Leuciscus) form several species. The common Koach {Leuciscus vulgaris), attains seven or eight inches in length, and is remarkable for its brilliant scales, which are easily detached. The iridescent substance, which gives them this metallic appearance, is employed abroad for tlie manufacture of false pearls. The Pikes (Esox) are recognised by their oblong, obtuse, broad, depressed muzzle; they have but one dorsal fin, which is placed opposite to the anal, and nearly the whole interior of the mouth is full of teeth as well as the jaws. The Common Pike {Esox luciiis) is met with in the fresh waters of Europe and North America, and is everywhere caught for its fiesh, which is wholesome and easy of digestion. It is the most voracious and destructive of all fresh-water fishes; it devours, witli avidity, frogs, young ducks, and all the fishes that come in its way. It often seizes animals larger than itself, and its presence in a pond is some- times enough to depopulate it in a very short time. Pikes four or five feet long are not rare in the great lakes of Northern Europe, and one of still larger size has been seen
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectzoology
