224 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF 



and tail oftentimes appears of a deep black. Beneath the 

 pectoral fins, a black spot is perceivable ; the mouth is of 

 the same colour, whilst the tongue assumes a bright silvery 

 hue. The irides of the visual organs have a similar ap- 

 pearance, and marked on one side with a blackish spot. 

 The Gadus Carbonarius is of a "much more elegant form 

 than the common cod-fish. Its weight in general is not 

 more than twenty or thirty pounds.* 



ORDER.— THORACIC!. 



GENUS.— SCOMBER. 

 SPECIES.-SCOMBER SCOMBRUS, 



OR 



THE COMMON MACKEREL * 



This very beautiful fish is a' native of the American Seas, 

 o-enerally appearing at stated seasons, and swarming, in vast 

 shoals, around particular coasts; but its great resort is within 

 the Arctic circle, where it resides in innumerable troops, 

 and grows to a larger size in those regions than elsewhere, 

 and consequently from this cause, we may naturally suppose 

 that it there finds its favourite food in greater quantities than 

 in the warmer latitudes, which is found to consist of chiefly 



* Sir Arthur de Capell Brooke saw shoals of young coal cod-fishes in 

 the Norwegian Seas, and the sea was darkened by them to a great extent. 

 The Norwegians denominated it the " Sey-fisk." Vide Travels in Nor- 

 way, &c. 



* Synonyme. — Scomber Communis. 



