MACKERELS. 115 



Nothing is recorded of the habits of this fish ; 

 but its flesh is said to be as excellent, as its ap- 

 pearance is brilliant. 



Family IX. ScoMBRiDiE. 



{Maclxereh.') 



This is a very important Family, not only on 

 account of the number of species included in it, 

 which is very great, but also because of the value 

 of many of them as food ; the great abundance 

 of some, and their gregarious habits, rendering 

 them suitable subjects for extensive fisheries. 

 The body is commonly ovate, with a tendency 

 to compression, sometimes becoming very thin 

 and high ; the scales are remarkably small, some- 

 times almost invisible ; the bones of the head 

 have only the ordinary development, and the gill- 

 covers are not armed with spinous projections. 

 The body is smooth, but the back is often armed 

 with prickles ; the fins are strongly developed, 

 and indicate the power of swimming to be pos- 

 sessed in a high degree ; the pectorals are gene- 

 rally long, narrow, and pointed ; there are two 

 dorsals, the first containing bony rays, which are 

 often greatly lengthened ; the second composed 

 of soft rays, and frequently divided into a number 

 of small finlets, as is also the anal; the caudal 

 is in general greatly produced vertically, and 

 deeply forked. 



The Family before us is one of the most ex- 

 tensive in the whole Class ; in this respect it is 

 exceeded only by the Carps and the Perches, and 

 just equalled by the Wrasses. In Prince Bona- 



