Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 



177 



opercle, 1.1-1.3 in head. Cheek short and broad, about as long as eye, its posterior 

 angle approximately 60°. Gill rakers somewhat shorter than eye. 



Dorsal fin rather low, with nearly straight margin, its last ray scarcely longer 

 than the one immediately before it, its longest rays failing to reach its tip if depressed, 

 the origin varying between a little nearer to caudal base than to upper anterior angle 

 of gill opening and equidistant between caudal base and posterior margin of eye. Anal 

 usually originating somewhat posterior to dorsal origin, its base 3.3—4.0 in SL. Pelvic 

 fin very small, not quite reaching halfway to origin of anal, inserted nearer to anal 



Figure 32. Anchoa mitchilH diafhana, 72 mm TL, from Grand Isle, Louisiana, USNM 119790. Drawn by 

 Louella E. Cable. 



origin than to pectoral base by diameter of pupil. Pectoral variable, failing to reach 

 base of pelvic by a distance equal to, or even greater than, diameter of eye in northern 

 specimens, sometimes reaching pelvic base in southern fish, 1.4— 1.85 in head. Axil- 

 lary scale of pectoral rather narrow, 2.3—3.0 in head. 



Color. Preserved specimens, straw-colored above. Lower parts pale silvery. Sides of 

 head bright silvery. Middle of side with a silvery band, often nearly as wide as eye in 

 northern specimens, generally narrower in southern ones. Back with dusky punctula- 

 tions, arranged in two more or less definite rows posterior to dorsal fin ; base of anal 

 with dark spots continued as a single unbroken median ventral line on caudal peduncle; 

 caudal with many dark points. Color in life, greenish with bluish reflections above; 

 lower parts pale; abdominal walls translucent. 



Size. A total length of 100 mm (4 in.) is seldom exceeded, the usual length being 

 around 75 mm (3 in.). The largest examples measured were taken in New York, where 

 this species evidently grows larger than in the southern part of its range, for the largest 

 specimen among thousands from the Gulf of Mexico was only 75 mm long. 



Development and Growth. The egg generally is slightly oblong, but occasionally 

 round; the major axis is about 0.75 mm and the minor one about 0.62 mm. It is 

 transparent and has no oil globule. The yolk consists of separate masses that appear 



