THE FOOD AND GAME FISHES OF NEW YORK. 309 



47. Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus Latrobe). 



Clupea menhaden MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y., I, 453, pi. V, fig. 7, 1815, 



New York. 



Alosa menhaden DF.KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 259, pi. 21, fig. 60, 1842. 

 Brevoortia tyrannus BEAN, igth Rept. N. Y. Comm. Fish, separate, 44, pi. XXV, fig. 35, 



1890 ; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus., I, 433, 1896, pi. LXXIII, 



The Menhaden has received more than 30 common names, among which the one 

 here employed is the best known and most suitable. In New Jersey it is frequently 

 called Bunker or Moss Bunker, and in some other localities it is the Bony Fish. 

 It is also called Bugfish, because of a crustacean parasite which is found in the 

 mouth. 



MENHADEN. 



The Menhaden reaches a length of 15 inches or more ; its average size is about I 

 foot. It is found along our east coast from Maine to Florida, swimming in immense 

 schools and fluctuating greatly in abundance. In certain localities its movements 

 are affected chiefly by temperature. 



The use of the Menhaden as a source of oil and a material for fertilizers is so 

 well known as scarcely to need mention here. As an edible fish it is not generally 

 esteemed ; in most localities it is seldom eaten, though in some places it is consid- 

 ered a good food fish. Since the mackerel is becoming scarce, Menhaden are often 

 salted in barrels as a substitute for that fish. 



The Menhaden appears in Dr. Mitchill's Fishes of New York as the Bony Fish, 

 Hardhead or Marshbanker. The aboriginal name Menhaden, and the one most 

 suitable for the species, is mentioned by this writer. Dr. DeKay, in his New York 

 Fauna, introduced the name Mossbunker as well as the Indian names Panhagen and 

 Menhaden. He notes also the names Skippang and Bunker as in use at the east 

 end of the island. For a survey of the 30 or more additional appellations of this 



