Allied to these are the "hard tails" (_Gila elegans_ and _Gila robusta_) of the Colorado Basin, strange-looking fishes scarcely eatable, with lean bodies, flat heads, and expanded tails. The split-tail, _Pogonichthys macrolepidotus_, is found in the Sacramento. [Illustration: FIG. 132.—Chub of the Great Basin, _Leuciscus lineatus_ (Girard). Heart Lake, Yellowstone Park. Family _Cyprinidæ_. ] In the chisel-mouth, _Acrocheilus alutaceus_, of the Columbia the lips have a hard cutting edge. In _Meda_, very small fishes of the Colorado Basin, the dorsal has a compound spine of peculiar structure. Many of the species of Western waters belong to the genus _Leuciscus_, which includes also many species of Asia and Europe. The common Japanese dace (_Leuciscus hakuensis_) is often found out in the sea, but, in general, _Cyprinidæ_ are only found in fresh waters. The genus of barbels (_Barbus_) contains many large species in Europe and Asia. In these the barbel is better developed than in most other genera, a character which seems to indicate a primitive organization. _Barbus mosal_ of the mountains of India is said to reach a length of more than six feet and to have "scales as large as the palm of the hand." =The Carp and Goldfish.=—In the American and European _Cyprinidæ_ the dorsal fin is few-rayed, but in many Asiatic species it is longer, having 15 to 20 rays and is often preceded by a serrated spine like that of a catfish. Of the species with long dorsal the one most celebrated is the carp (_Cyprinus carpio_). This fish is a native of the rivers of China, where it has been domesticated for centuries. Nearly three hundred years ago it was brought to northern Europe, where it has multiplied in domestication and become naturalized in many streams and ponds. Of late years the cultivation of the carp has attracted much attention in America. It has been generally satisfactory where the nature of the fish is understood and where expectations have not been too high. The carp is a dull and sluggish fish, preferring shaded, tranquil, and weedy waters with muddy bottoms. Its food consists of water insects and other small animals, and vegetable matter, such as the leaves of aquatic plants. They can be fed on much the same things as pigs and chickens, and they bear much the same relation to trout and bass that pigs and chickens do to wild game and game-birds. The carp is a very hardy fish, grows rapidly, and has immense fecundity, 700,000 eggs having been found in the ovaries of a single individual. It reaches sometimes a weight of 30 to 40 pounds. As a food-fish the carp cannot be said to hold a high place. It is tolerated in the absence of better fish.