CLUPEA ALOSA. 



257 



ClTipea alosa (Linn^us).— The Shad. 



D. 19—21, P. 15— IG, V. 19, A. 2L— 24, C. 19. Scales : lat. line 70. 



The Shad, or Allis-Shad, of Englaud, is a visitor to the rivers rather than 

 a true fresh-water fish. Yarrell mentions that it has occasionally been taken 

 above Putney Bridge, and opposite Hampton Court Palace ; it does not, how- 

 ever, commonly come so hig"h up the Thames. It ascends the Severn when 

 the water is clear, but when it is flooded keeps below Gloucester; it goes up 

 the river in May, returning to the sea in July. The chief English fishery is 

 at Newnham, near Gloucester, whence Shad are sent to the Forest of Dean, 

 and many local markets, as well as to London. The English rivers are by no 



^^^S^, 



Fig. 144. — CLUPEA AT,osA (linx-t^as), avith caudal scales, 



means exceptional in receiving visits from this fish. It is common in France, 

 where it is known as I'Alose. It enters the Rhone, and ascends the Saone as 

 far as Graz, and is found in the Isere. It is also abundant both in the main 

 stream and affluents of the Garonne and Loire ; and, according to Blanchard, 

 occurs in most of the rivers of France (Fig. 144). 



In Germany it is known as Maifisch, because it ascends the rivers in May. 

 It goes up the Rhine as far as Basel, and is especially common in the Main 

 and Neckar. It ascends the Danube, and is occasionally taken at Pesth. It 

 is the Sahalo and Suboga in Spain, and Savel in Portugal. It occurs in the 

 Tagus and Minho. In Upper Italy it is found in the Lakes Como and Garda, 

 where it arrives in May and June. It has been seen at Milan returning to 

 the sea in September; and is taken in the Tiber. It is apparently absent 

 from Russia, where the Black Sea Herring similarly ascends the Dnieper, 

 the Bug, and the Dniester. The TJirixsa of the ancient Greeks appears to 

 have been the modern Shad. 

 17 



