378 ON THE CLUPEID.ZE OF AUSTRALIA, 



The following is Dr. Gunther's description (Cat. Fish., Vol. 7, 

 13. 426):— B. 6. D. 18. A. 18-19. L. lat. 45. L. transv. 12. 



" The height of the body is a little more than the length of 

 the head, which is one-fourth of the total (without caudal) ; 

 head, longer than deep ; scales, regularly arranged, rather firm 

 and adherent, with the margin very indistinctly striated ; 

 abdominal and dorsal profiles nearly equally convex ; lower jaw 

 projecting beyond the upper ; snout of moderate length, 

 maxillary not extending to below the middle of the orbit ; a 

 narrow strip of minute and deciduous teeth on the palatine bones, 

 none on the vomer ; tongue with a very narrow median band of 

 minute teeth ; cheeks with very fine radiating stride ; opercles, 

 smooth ; gill rakers, fine and closely set, shorter than the eye ; 

 eye shorter than the snout, a little more than one-fourth of the 

 length of the head ; ventral fin inserted below the middle of the 

 dorsal fin, the origin of which is considerably nearer to the end 

 of the snout than to the root of the caudal fin. There are 

 fourteen abdominal scutes behind the base of the ventral fin ; 

 back bluish, with dark longitudinal lines ; sides silvery." 



This species has not much claim to be called Australian. I 

 have seen a few young specimens from Port Darwin, and I 

 procured in August, 1875, three specimens at Bramble Cay, 

 under circumstances explained in page 351 of the 1st Volume of 

 the Proceedings of this Society. Dr. Bleeker says that they are 

 sometimes extremely numerous throughout the entire East Indian 

 Archipelago, more particularly at Batavia, but though celebrated 

 for their excellence, and much prized as an article of food by the 

 Chinese and native inhabitants, they are seldom seen on the 

 tables of Europeans. Tembang, I may add, is the Malay name. 



11. ClTTPEA N0VJE-H0LLAm)L33. (C. & V.) 



Gunther Cat. Fish., Vol. 7, p. 431. 

 Meletta Novce-Hollandice, Cuv. and Vol. XX., p. 376. 

 This and the two following species are the Australian 

 representatives of the Sprat. They are mostly fresh water 



