Fishes of Brookhaven^ L. I. 281 



support to those larger fish which from their size and flavor 

 are in demand for the table, and which yield us no small por- 

 tion of our food. 



I have often watched with much pleasure the peculiar habits 

 of these fish, from which they derive their generic name. In 

 pushing my boat along the shallow creeks of the harbor, each 

 thrust of the setting-pole would send them darting forth from 

 their hiding places in the sand, so that where none were to be 

 seen before, the water would become suddenly alive with 

 them. They would in general spring rapidly forward for a 

 few yards or rods, and in an instant disappear in the sand. 

 They may be noticed also in companies of all numbers, from 

 one hundred to several thousands, swimming slowly backward 

 and forward in the creeks. On passing over a favorable spot 

 of sand, two or three will be seen separating from the main 

 body and inclining gently downward, as if selecting a spot for 

 entrance ; when near the bottom they dart forward, and, 

 striking the sand head-foremost, disappear instantly. Some- 

 times, however, when the sand is harder the impetus of their 

 plunge buries but little more than their head, and the body is 

 then forced in with a waving motion, one or two seconds being 

 occasionally consumed in effecting an entrance. I have often 

 noticed them, while swimming, partially coil their bodies and 

 strike upward as at some object in the water ; probably they 

 were then taking some one of the insects which constitute the 

 chief portion of their food. 



I believe that this species is the lancea, and as Dr. Storer 

 has described the tohianus as occurring on the coast of Mas- 

 sachusetts, it is reasonable that I should give the grounds for 

 this belief. My notes and measurements are taken from a 

 specimen four and a half inches in length, which is the largest 

 one in my possession ; the largest one I ever saw was not 

 quite five and a half inches long. 



One of the marks distinguishing the lancea from the tohia- 

 nus is the relative length of the head. Yarrell says " the 

 length of the head compared to the length of the fish is less 

 than as one to five ; " in my specimen the length from the tip 



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