The cat-fishes are of world-wide distribution, but only one species, the WELS, occurs in European waters. It commonly attains a length of from 6 to 9 feet, and occasionally as much as 13 feet. The majority of cat-fishes inhabit fresh-water, but some are marine.

CHAPTER XI.

THE CARP FAMILY.

BY JOHN BICKERDYKE, M.A.

1HE Carp Family, like the Perch r group, is one of the largest among fishes. It includes the Rudd, Roach, Tench, Bream, Minnow, etc., and i& divided into many groups, which again include numerous species found chiefly in the temperate and tropical parts of the world. Included among these are the Barbels, of which Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons. CARP. there are about 200 The members of the Carp Tribe are vegetable-feeders. They have teeth in the throat,' but none in species, varying from the jaws. little fishes of 2 inches

The Carp Family 651

to monsters of 6 feet or more in length. Some of the largest are found in the Tigris; but the Mahseer of India must be regarded as the king of all the species. In some of the rivers flowing from the Himalaya Mountains are curious Barbel which have their vent and anal fin in a sheath covered with large scales. Eoach are important members of the Carp Family, and the Roach group is a very large one, including the various fishes coming under the term of "white fish" in Germany. The Roach proper is common all over Europe north of the Alps. In this group is the Ide of the central and northern parts of Europe, which when domesticated becomes golden in hue, and is then called the Golden Orf, a pretty fish kept in all over Europe and Asia Minor. Of Tench,many English aquariums. Rudd are found only one species is known, the Golden Tench being merely a variety differing in the matter of colour. The Bream group consists of the Common Bream, Bream-flat, and the American Bream, or Shiner. Lastly, we may mention the Bleak group, of which there are fifteen known species in Europe, East Africa, and the temperate parts of Asia. This list by no means exhausts the numerous members of the Carp Family.

The COMMON CARP is one of the most remarkable fishes which swim. In early times in England it was extensively cultivated as a food-fish, and in Germany at the present day is as much domesticated as the sheep, pig, or ox. The fish-culturists have indeed done extraordinary things with it, having, for instance, produced a variety with a single row of scales down each side and sometimes on the back only, called the MIRROR-CARP, or KING-CARP. There is also the LEATHER-CARP, with no scales at all, which is much esteemed in Germany. There is reason to believe that the common carp was originally a native of the East, and it certainly has been domesticated in China for many hundreds of years. Thence it is supposed to have been imported to Germany and Sweden, reaching England some time in the early years of the fifteenth century. In Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.~\ [Milford-on-Sea. GOLD-FISH. that curious work the "Boke of St. Albans," A native of China and the warmer parts of Japan. published in 1496, it is said that the carp is I wryte the lesse of hym."a " dayntous fysshe, but there ben fewe in Englonde, and therefore

China is the home of the GOLD-FISH, a pretty little carp common in that country and the warmer parts of Japan. The Chinese have distorted Nature with regard to this fish even more than the Germans have the common carp. Their most extraordinary monstrosity is, perhaps, the TELESCOPE-FISH, which has a huge tail and projecting eyes. It is believed that gold-fish were not known in England before the year 1691.

The carp has many interesting peculiarities. It is an extraordinarily fertile fish, and itone of the most rapid growers in fresh-water. Under the most favourable conditions attains a weight of from 3 to 3J Ibs. in three years. In a pond which is overstocked, carp hardly increase in weight at all; while, on the other hand, their growth in hot countries is fish of from 4 to 5 Ibs. may contain, on an average,very much greater than above stated. A from 400,000 to 500,000 eggs; these are spawned in May or June, and hatched in from twelve to sixteen days, according to the temperature.

The life of this curious fish may be one of extraordinary duration, carp having been known are apt to go blind andto attain an age of a hundred years or more. When very old, they develop white marks, due to the growth of funguses.

Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.~\ GOLD-FISH.

In the winter carp either bury themselves in the mud, or lie among the water-weeds or roots of trees at the bottom. They are vegetarians for the most part, with no teeth in their mouths, but strong, powerful grinding-teeth in their throats; they are believed to regurgitate their food and chew it, somewhat as a cow chews the cud.

With regard to the weight which this fish attains, one of 19 Ibs. was taken at Sheffield Park in 1882. This was exceptionally large; but one still larger, weighing 21 Ibs. 10 ozs., was caught at Bayham Abbey, near Lamberhurst, in 1870; while one of 22 Ibs. was exhibited many years ago to the Zoological Society. In the German lakes these fish reach a weight of 40 Ibs., or even more. Carp will, however, occasionally eat small fish, and have even been caught with a salmon -fly.

CHAPTER XII.

PIKES, ARAPAIMAS, BEAKED SALMON, AND SCOPELIDS.

BY W. P. PYCUAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.

size. They are met with in most of the fresh-waters of Europe, Asia, and America;THElargePIKES are strictly fresh-water fishes, which are extremely voracious, and grow to a yet they must be regarded rather as a Western than an Eastern type, since all the known species occur in America, whilst only one the COMMON PIKE is known outside that country. These fishes capture their prey by stealth practised, however, not so much by concealment as by lying suspended in the water, perfectly motionless save for the movement of the gills, which is barely perceptible. When the victim comes within reach, it is seized is admirably adapted to this manner of feeding,by a sudden rush. The form of the body resembling rather a submerged log than a fish. It is, furthermore, on account of this shape soldiers ofthat the name Pike has been bestowed, since it recalls the "pike" borne by the bygone days. When on the feed, nothing comes amiss to pike, and the havoc they commit in trout-streams is enormous. Not only other fishes are devoured, but both the young and adults of water-birds are frequently seized, and instances are on record where boys have been attacked while bathing. The mouth of a pike bristles with teeth, even the roof being thickly covered. These are all attached by hinges, moving readily backwards towards the throat, so as to assist the swallowing operation, but preventing any possibility of the victim's escape.

In Great Britain the pike is held in high esteem by anglers, though as an article of food it does not find much favour. The females are larger than the males. The largest specimens attain a length of about 4 feet, sometimes a little more, and a weight of from 36 to 37 Ibs. About six species of pike are known, five of which are confined to American waters. Of these, the one known as the MUSKET-LUNGE, or Mus- I'hoto by Dr. li. W. Shufeldt] [ Washington. KINONGE, attains the same PIKE. large size as the common The most voracious of British fresh-water fishes.

YE Photo by N. Lazarnick) [New York. PIKEREL, This is an American species, aed

| | | |

Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.8.) “ [Milford-on-Sea.

“SERGEANT BAKER.

An edible Australian representative of the group of fishés which, for want of an English name, are here called Scopelids. 653

of the World654 The Living Animals

Jr. Saville-Xent, F.Z.&.} [Milford-on-Sia.

BEAKED SALMON.

Known in New Zealand as the Sand-eel.

pike; the other species are known as PIKEREL. The immature pike is commonly called a JACK. The ARAPAIMAS are large fresh-water fishes, confined to the tropics, their distribution being practically the same as that of the Lung-fishes; they are represented in America, Australia, and Africa, but one species occurs in the East Indian Archipelago. The largest species of is found in the rivers of Brazil andall which is also the largest fresh-water bony fish known the Guianas, attaining a length of 15 feet and a weight of 400 Ibs. It is highly esteemed as an article of food, being salted and exported from the inland fisheries to the sea-ports. The natives take it either with a rod and line, or with a bow and arrow, a line being fastened to the arrow, thus converting it into a harpoon. of barbels on the chin; Four species of arapaimas are distinguished by the presence " " of these, two are Australian, one American, and one occurs in Sumatra and Borneo. Yet another species is found in the Nile and the rivers of West Africa. The Australian species, like the large Brazilian form, are highly esteemed as food; one of these, known as the DAWSON RIVER SALMON, is confined to the rivers of Queensland, the other to the rivers emptying into the Gulf of Carpentaria. The BEAKED SALMON occurs in the open seas of the Cape, Japan, and Australia; but in New Zealand, where it is known as the SAND-EEL, it is found in bays with a sandy bottom. is one of particular interest, on account of the The group of fishes known as SCOPELIDS number of remarkable forms which it contains. For the most part they are inhabitants of the open sea, many being found only at great depths. Of the latter, some apparently come to the surface to feed at night, whilst others are entirely confined to the abysses of the ocean. As with the members of other groups which have adopted a deep-sea habitat, certain modifications of the body have become necessary in these fishes. Many of them have a direct relation to the absence of light, which has rendered normal eyes of little use; consequently the eyes of these fishes have become either greatly reduced or enormously enlarged, or sometimes lost altogether. As a rule the large-eyed forms are those which come to the surface at night or do not live beyond the reach of daylight; whilst those in which the eyes are small or reduced live in the very lowest depths, far beyond the limit of daylight. In all these forms compensation for the loss of light has taken place, generally by the development of phosphorescent organs. These may take the form of a number of luminous areas distributed down each side of the body, as in the PHOSPHORESCENT SARDINE; or of a pair of lens-like light-producing organs, occupying the place of the eyes of other fishes. Another eyeless member of the group, instead of developing light-producing organs, has increased the length of the rays of the paired fins to an enormous extent, so that they serve as delicate feelers either for the discovery of food or the detection of enemies. Many of the fishes of this group have extremely large mouths, armed with a formidable array of tusk-like teeth, between which are numerous smaller ones.

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