California Sardine 



European sardine, Cliipanodon pilchardus, with which they all 

 agree in richness of flesh. 



The 3 genera, Cliipea, Cliipanodon and Pomolobiis, are all 

 closely related and perhaps should be united. 



a. Opercle conspicuously striate; side with a series of round black 



spots ; cccruleus, loo 



aa. Opercle scarcely striate; side without black spots; 



pseiidohispanicus, loo 



California Sardine 



Cliipanodon ccEruleus (Girard) 



This excellent food-fish reaches a length of a foot, and occurs 

 on our Pacific Coast from Puget Sound southward to Magdalena 

 Bay. It is abundant on the California coast, and spawns in the 

 open sea. It resembles the European sardine, but has no teeth, 

 and the belly is less strongly serrate. 



Head 4; depth 5; D. 14; A. 17; scales 53; scutes 18 + 14; ver- 

 tebrae about 50. Body slender, subfusiform, the back rather broad; 

 ventral serratures very weak; maxillary reaching nearly to middle 

 of eye; mandible little projecting, the tip included; no teeth in 

 mouth ; gillrakers longer than the eye, very slender and numer- 

 ous, close-set, some 50 or 60 on lower limb of arch; a frill of en- 

 larged scales with dendritic striae about nape and shoulder; insertion 

 of dorsal considerably nearer snout than base of caudal. Colour, 

 dark bluish above^ silvery below; a series of round black spots 

 running backward from level of eye, bounding the dark colour of 

 the back; similar smaller spots above, forming lines along the rows 

 of scales; these spots sometimes obscure or wanting, especially in 

 old examples; tip of lower jaw yellow; lower part of dorsal yel- 

 lowish; peritoneum black; flesh darker and more oily than that of 

 the herring. 



Spanish Sardine 



Cliipanodon pscudohispanicus (Poey) 



This is called sardina de Espana in Cuba and bang in Jamaica. 

 It is found from Pensacola southward and is abundant about Cuba. 

 It is sometimes carried north in the Gulf Stream to Woods Hole 

 and Cape Cod. It reaches 8 inches in length and in the West 

 Indies is of considerable value as a food-fish. 



