PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



issued 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 

 Vol.85 W»shington: 1937 No. 3029 



REDESCRIPTION OF THE CAPELIN MALLOTUS CATER- 

 VARIUS (PENNANT) OF THE NORTH PACIFIC 



By Leonard P. Schultz ^ 



Pallas (1826 ^, pp. 389-390) described as new Salmo socialis, a 

 capelin from the islands situated between the continents of Asia and 

 America. Additional specimens of capelin collected in the north- 

 eastern Pacific in recent years have made it possible to study the 

 differences between the capelins of the North Atlantic and North 

 Pacific Oceans. Since the publication in which Pallas's description 

 appeared is rare, the following quotation is given: 



269. SALMO socialis. TAB. LXXXI. fig. 2. 



S. (Osmerus) fascia lateral! ciliata, radiis pinnae ani 22. 



Clupea (villosa) linea lateral! prominula, hirta, Muller prodr. Zool. Dan. 

 p. 60. n. 125. Gmelin. syst. Ill, p. 1409. sp. I4. 



Pisces sunt gregarii et acervis innumerabilibus circa initinm et usque ad medium 

 Jun!!, maris fluctibus in littora egeruntur, tanta copia, ut instar aggeris ad dimi- 

 diae ulnae altitudinem coacervati jaceant. Observatur hoc tarn in insulis inter 

 Asiae et Americae continentes sitis, quam in Camtschatca, nullibi autem majori 

 frequentia quam circa sinum Avatscha et ad ostia rivulorum Shupanova et 

 Schemaetschik. Mirum autem cjuod, ope lineae lateralis ciliatae, pisces plerum- 

 que plures, duo, tres et usque ad denos ita firmiter cohaerent, ut sublato uno 

 reliqui velut adglutinati sequantur. Videntur autem etiam in mari sic cohaerere 

 natant«s, et forte ad prolificationis negotium talis sexuum cohaesio requiritur. 

 Odorem spargunt virosum, spermatis ranarum aemulum, ut Osmeri alii et cito 



' The author was assisted by his former student George B. Garlick in obtaining data from specimens taken 

 at Newfoundland and at Yakutat. 



2 The year 1826 instead of 1831 as usually cited by authors appears to be the date of publication as cited by 

 Mertens and Lorenz (1928, p. 46) with some doubt. The title page was printed in 1831, according to Dr. 

 L. Stejneger. 



18376—37 13 



