Miscellaneous Fishes 363 



much compressed, being nearly round. The head 

 is long and pointed, with a very wide mouth, with 

 upper and lower lips nearly equal, or terminal. 

 The eye is large, hence one of its names, big- 

 eyed herring. There are many series of small 

 and sharp cardlike teeth on the jaws, tongue, and 

 roof of the mouth. There is a bony plate beneath 

 the lower jaw. 



The color on the back is greenish or bluish, 

 the sides silvery and bright, and belly white ; the 

 top of the head is greenish, with bronze reflec- 

 tions ; the cheeks have a golden lustre ; the lower 

 fins are tinged with yellow, the others dusky. 



Its habits are not unlike those of the lady-fish, 

 and they often associate. It feeds principally on 

 crustaceans and also on small fishes. It frequents 

 sandy shoals and banks in shallow water at high 

 tide, also grassy situations where its food abounds. 

 Its breeding habits are not well understood, 

 though, like the lady-fish, its young pass through 

 a larval form, and are ribbon-shaped. It grows to 

 a length of two feet or more, and weighs several 

 pounds, sometimes ten or more. It is quite bony, 

 and is not considered a good food-fish, but excels 

 as a game-fish, being equal to the lady-fish in this 

 respect. 



