110 THE MAMMALS, REPTILES, AND FISHES OF ESSEX.
Leuciscus vulgaris, Fleming. Dace.
A fish found in the Chelmer, the Stour, and, according to
Lieut. Croft (Trans. Herts. Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. ii., p. 13), in
the Lea. Various catches are reported from Sewardstone
(Land and Water, Sept. 24th, Nov. 5th, 1887, pp. 236 and
387). No doubt it occurs also in other streams. At times
it gives good sport, as it takes the fly freely.
Leuciscus erythrophthalmus, Fleming. Rudd.
Considerable numbers of this fish occur in the Suffolk
Stour. It is rare in the Colne, and common in the Lea
(Trans. Herts. Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. ii., p. 13.)
Mr. Pennell found (Day's Fishes of Great Britain, vol. ii.,
p. 184) a lemon or yellow-coloured variety of the Rudd in
some ponds near Romford.
Leuciscus coeruleus, Swainson. Blue Roach or Azurine.
This fish is said to frequent an Essex stream, in support
of which statement, I give the following quotation from Mr.
Dorling's Historical Guide to Walton-on-the-Naze and Neigh-
bourhood :
Inland fishing can be obtained for Roach, etc., some three miles
to the west of Walton, in a little and apparently-insignificant river.
But here as many as forty pounds of roach have been caught to a
single rod in a day, many of the fish competing for size, colour, and
flavour with those of the Thames or Lea. But, to the naturalist, as
well as the angler, this stream will not fail of inducing a visit, as it
contains that remarkably scarce fish in the British Islands, the
Azurine or Blue Roach {Leuciscus coeruleus). Its habits are said to
be much like those of the Chub, and especially is it highly retentive
of life. It in shape resembles the Rudd ; but, as regards colour, it is
distinguished by having the upper part of the head, the back, and
sides a slate blue, passing into silvery below, and both shining into
a metallic lustre ; whereas, in the Rudd, the lower part of the body
is of a golden yellow. Also the fins of the Azurine are white, not,
as in the Rudd, of a fine vermilion colour. (Land and Water,
September 2nd, 1876, p. 153 ; cf. also Field, July 14th, 1877, p. 49.)