THE CARP FAMILY.
BY JOHN BICKERDYKE, M.A.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
CARP.
The members of the Carp Tribe are vegetable-feeders. They have teeth in the throat, but none in the jaws.
The Carp Family, like the Perch group, is one of the largest among fishes. It includes the Rudd, Roach, Tench, Bream, Minnow, etc., and is 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 there are about 200 species, varying from little fishes of 2 inches 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. Roach 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 many English aquariums. Rudd are found all over Europe and Asia Minor. Of Tench, 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.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.] [Milford-on-Sea.
GOLD-FISH.