Page:VCH Warwickshire 1.djvu/222

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FISHES Warwickshire lying in the watershed of the Severn, Trent and Thames sends feeders to each of these rivers, and as might be supposed the tributaries contain the same, or nearly the same, fish as their respective main streams; but, as will be seen from the localities given in the following list, the fish of the tributaries of the Trent differ in many respects from those of the Avon, and also from those found in the Warwickshire feeders of the Thames. The migratory fish are undoubt- edly much interfered with by the locks and weirs, but on the other hand the connection formed by canals between the upper reaches of several of the tributaries of the different river basins has been the means of mixing the species to a certain degree. TELEOSTEANS ACANTHOPTERYGII 1. Perch. Perca fluvia ti/is, Linn. Common and generally distributed in all the considerable streams in the county, and also found in many ponds and canals and other artificial water. According to Mr. J. Steele Elliott it is common in all the pools in Button Park, where it must have been introduced. 2. Ruffe or Pope. Acerina vu/garis, Linn. Abundant in rivers and ponds. It is said by Mr. J. Steele Elliott to occur in one pool only in Sutton Park, into which it has doubt- less been introduced; which may indeed be said of all other pools. 3. Miller's Thumb or Bullhead. Cottus gobio, Linn. Common in almost all streams, including small brooks in all parts of the county. ANACANTHINI 4. Burbot. Lota vulgaris, Linn. Yarrell in his work on British Fishes says, f The Tame is said to contain the burbot.' Mr. G. Sheriff Tye, writing in 1886, gives the following record of it : ' Is found in the river Anker at Tamworth, the largest fish recorded being 5 lb.' HEMIBRANCHII Three-spined Stickleback. acu/eatus, Linn. Common in all parts of the Gasterosteus 184 in all parts ot the county, in pools as well as in streams, including small brooks and even ditches. Var. /eiurus, Cuv. et Val. It occurs in many streams in Warwickshire, but appears to thrive most in the smaller ones, that is in the brooks and ditches. Mr. G. Sherriff Tye, in his list of the fishes found in the neighbourhood of Birmingham, published in 1886, mentions it as being very abundant in the ditches feeding the Anker. Var. brachycentrus, Cuv. et Val. Very common in the north of the county, where it is found in ditches feeding the Anker, as we learn from Mr. G. S. Tye. Var. spinulosus, Jen. & Yarr. Mentioned by Mr. G. S. Tye as occurring in the same localities as the last, but less frequently. 6. Ten-spined Stickleback. Gasterosteus pungi- tius t Linn. Occurs, though not abundantly, in many places in the county. Common in the