The grayling, _Thymallus_, of Europe, is termed by Saint Ambrose "the flower of fishes." The teeth on the tongue, found in all the trout and salmon, are obsolete in the grayling. The chief distinctive peculiarity of the genus _Thymallus_ is the great development of the dorsal fin, which has more rays (20 to 24) than are found in any of the _Salmonidæ_, and the fin is also higher. All the species are gaily colored, the dorsal fin especially being marked with purplish or greenish bands and bright rose-colored spots; while the body is mostly purplish gray, often with spots of black. Most of the species rarely exceed a foot in length, but northward they grow larger. Grayling weighing five pounds have been taken in England; and according to Dr. Day they are said in Lapland to reach a weight of eight or nine pounds. The grayling in all countries frequent clear, cold brooks, and rarely, if ever, enter the sea, or even the larger lakes. They congregate in small shoals in the streams, and prefer those which have a succession of pools and shallows, with a sandy or gravelly rather than rocky bottom. The grayling spawns on the shallows in April or May (in England). It is non-migratory in its habits, depositing its ova in the neighborhood of its usual haunts. The ova are far more delicate and easily killed than those of the trout or charr. The grayling and the trout often inhabit the same waters, but not altogether in harmony. It is said that the grayling devours the eggs of the trout. It is certain that the trout feed on the young grayling. As a food-fish, the grayling of course ranks high; and it is beloved by the sportsman. They are considered gamy fishes, although less strong than the brook-trout, and perhaps less wary. The five or six known species of grayling are very closely related, and are doubtless comparatively recent offshoots from a common stock, which has now spread itself widely through the northern regions. The common grayling of Europe (_Thymallus thymallus_) is found throughout northern Europe, and as far south as the mountains of Hungary and northern Italy. The name _Thymallus_ was given by the ancients, because the fish, when fresh, was said to have the odor of water-thyme. Grayling belonging to this or other species are found in the waters of Russia and Siberia.