ALOSA — SHAD 49 



opening very high, lower jaw strongly projecting; maxillary past middle of 

 orbit, 2.2 to 2.4 in head; teeth feeble, a few on premaxillary and sometimes 

 some on lower jaw. Dorsal fin nearer muzzle than base of caudal, inserted 

 in front of ventrals, its rays 16; anal rays 18; pectorals 1.7 in head in adults, 

 little more than Y2 to ventrals; ventrals less than half way to anal in 

 adults; pectorals with a double accessory scale above and with scaly sheath 

 below base; accessory ventral scale present. Scales 52-54, transverse series 

 14 or 15; ventral scutes 20+13. 



The golden shad, or skipjack, is a beautiful, symmetrical 

 fish, shading from green to silvery, with rich golden reflections. 

 It ranges along the Gulf coast from Pensacola on the east to 

 Galveston on the south and west, and up the Mississippi and 

 Ohio rivers to Pittsburg and the larger streams of Kansas. 

 It is not a common fish in Illinois, and occurs but seven times 

 in our collections, all from Mississippi, Rock, and Illinois River 

 localities. It appears at Alton in small numbers in September, 

 two pounds being about the maximum weight. It is an active 

 fish, frequently leaping from the water in sport or in pursuit of 

 its prey — whence its name of skipjack. It is a predaceous 

 species, the young feeding on insects, and the adults on other 

 fishes. 



Genus ALOSA Cuvier 



SHAD 



Body quite deep and compressed; heail deep, the cheeks deeper than 

 long; jaws toothless; upper jaw with a shai]\ deep notch at tip, the pre- 

 maxillaries meeting at a very acute angle; clorsa much nearer snout than 

 base of caudal; other characters as in Pornolohus, to which Alosa is closely 

 allied. North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, ascending rivers in spring; 

 species 4 or 5, 3 of them found in the Mississippi and its larger tributaries 

 north about to the latitude of St. Louis. 



ALOSA OHIENSIS Evermaxx 



OHIO SHAD 



Evermann, Rep. U. S. Fish Comm., 1901, p. 277. 



Length 18 inches; body very long, slender, and much compressed; 

 dorsal and ventral outlines very gently and evenly arched; depth 3.6; caudal 

 peduncle very long, the distance from base of caudal to dorsal fin equahng 

 distance from that point to preopercle. Head 4.5 in length; eye 5.5; mouth 

 large; maxillary 2.1 in head, broad, reaching posterior border of eye; lower 

 jaw slightly projecting; gill-rakers 26+49=75. Dorsal rays 18; anal 18. 



