70 



SalmonidiE 



gals, and 75 to 95 pyloric coeca. The gill-rakers are more numer- 

 ous than in any other salmon, the number being usually about 



FIG. 54. King-salmon grilse, Oncorhynchus tKchawytscha (Walbaum). 

 (Photograph by Cloudsley R utter.) 



39 (16 + 23). The scales are larger, there being 130 to 140 in 

 the lateral line. In the spring the form is plumply rounded, 

 and the color is a clear bright blue above, silvery below, and 

 everywhere immaculate. Young fishes often show a few round 

 black spots, which disappear when they enter the sea. Fall 

 specimens in the lakes are bright crimson in color, the head clear 

 olive-green, and they become in a high degree hook-nosed and 

 slab-sided, and bear little resemblance to the spring run. Young 

 spawning male grilse follow the changes which take place in the 

 adult, although often not more than half a pound in weight. 



Fro. 55. Male Red Salmon in September, Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum). 

 Payette Lake, Idaho. 



These little fishes often appear in mountain lakes, but whether 

 they are landlocked or have come up from the sea is still un- 



