Distributed irregularly over the British Isles. It is very tenacious of life, and easily transported alive in damp moss. It prefers weedy and muddy ponds and meres, where it grubs at night in the mud for shellfish, worms and vegetable matter. The colour varies from olive to blackish; there is also a golden ornamental variety. The eye is small and red, the fins rounded, and there are two little barbels on the side of the mouth. Largest specimen angled*: 8½ lbs.
*up to 1958. |