FISHES No complete list of the fishes of Hertfordshire has ever been pub- lished. The present compilation is mainly prepared from notes supplied by Mr. John Hopkinson, who has kindly furnished references to all the publications known to him, and also a list of the species occurring in the Tring reservoirs. The earliest list, a very incomplete one, appeared just two centuries ago in Sir Henry Chauncy's Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire (1700). Nearly half a century earlier than this Izaak Walton, in one of our most cherished English classics, the Compleat Angler (1653), had alluded to nearly all the species now known from his favourite river the Lea, with- out however in every case specifying that all these occur in it ; but he mentions some other fishes as inhabiting other rivers which he names, so that it is not unreasonable to assume his observations on the fishes to which he assigns no locality to have been made on those of the Lea. Of recent publications the following are the most important : J. E. Littleboy, ' The Bulbourne and Gade, with Notes on the Fish of the Two Rivers,' 'Trans. Watford Nat. Hist. Soc., ii. (1879) pp. 113128; R. B. Croft, ' Izaak Walton and the River Lea,' Trans. Herts Nat. Hist. Soc., ii. (1882) pp. 9-16 ; M. Davies, ' Random Notes by an Old Angler on the Lea and its Fishes,' Essex Naturalist, xi. (1899) pp. 133-135. TELEOSTEANS ACANTHOPTERYGII 1. Perch. Perca fluvia tilis, Linn. Occurs in all the rivers and in Tring reser- voir. 2. Ruffe or Pope. Acerina cernua, Linn. Not uncommon in the Lea and on record from the Bulbourne ; also found in Tring reservoir. 3. Miller's Thumb. Cottus gobio, Linn. Prefers gravelly streams. HEMIBRANCHII 4. Three-spined Stickleback. Gastrosteus acu/eatus, Linn. Abundant almost everywhere. 5- Ten-spined Stickleback. Gastrosteus pun- gitius, Linn. On record from the Lea. HAPLOMI 6. Pike. Eiox lucius, Linn. OSTARIOPHYSI 7. Carp. Cyprtnus carpia, Linn. In still waters. Sometimes taken in the Lea. 8. Barbel. Barbus vulgaris, Flem. Occurs in the Lea, but not in the Bul- bourne or Gade. Both this and the preceding species do not appear on the list of Tring fishes. 9. Gudgeon. Gobio fluviatilis, Flem. In all the rivers and in Tring reservoir. 10. Chub. Leuciscus cephalus, Linn. On record from all the rivers, but not from Tring reservoir. 189
