298 KAM.UvICHI KLSUIXOUYE: 



foiTu of tbü VkkIy diffei's sometimes m diflereut seasons. Geneiuüy the fonn of 

 the liody is fat iiud fine before the spawning season ; but it liecomes lean aoad 

 ugly after spawning, and remains in such a condition dm-ing some three or 

 fonr montlis. The lean fonu of Cyhima niphaiiivm in summer Ls esiDeciaJly 

 rcmai'kable. This difference of fatness in seasons is little discernible in the 

 case of the Plecostei. In the stiiped bonito, however, the flesh becomes 

 remai-kably wateiy after sjii'wuing, much paler in colour, aaid at the same 

 time losing Ixjth taste and tenacity. 



Size of the Body. 



Mackerels are generally small, never reaching one meti'e in the total 

 length. Scerfishes generally gi'ow more than a meti'e iu length, smd certeiu 

 species attain a verj' large size, for example Cyhium cMneiise grows to a length 

 of more than fr^vo metises, and to a weight of more than one hundred kg. 

 Gymnosarda nvda, Cyhium comrnersmi and Accadhocyhium sdandri gi-ow very 

 large too. Much larger sizes ai'e rather common in tunnies. Thv.nmts orient alts 

 gi-ows tcj more than 260 kg in weight, and ca 3 m in length, and even tunnies of 

 375 kg are recorded. Thus our common tunny is smaller than the AtLxntic 

 congener, the latter is Sixid to grow to ca 451 kg iu Aveight. NeoVmnnus raws 

 is the smallest tunny known, reaching maturity when it is ca 60 cm in length, 

 and 8 kg in A\eight, l)eing nearly equal tj the average size of the stii]^)ed 

 Ixmito. In Ixjnitos the size becomes small again, rarely exceeding a meti-e in 

 length, and 15 kg in weight, the smallest fish of the kind is found iu the 

 genus Aiixis. Fishes fif the genus Aiixis s\,ve ca 30 cm long and 600 g iu 

 weight. 



Colour and Markings. 



The l)ack is blackish at the auttrieir part, chiinging gi-;uluall_A- to bluish 

 or gi-eenish coknu', with metiiUic lusti'e, and the IjeUy is silvery ( r gi'eyish, with 

 irridesc-ent reflections. Generally speaking the gi-ouud coloiu' of the l)aek is 

 greenish in the Scombridaa, steel-blue in the Cj'biida?, and bluish iu the 

 Plecostei. When we (>l)serve the li\iiig fish, the coloiu' gi'eatly difieis from that 

 of the dead, even iijceutly killed. I have obseiTed a remarkjible difterence in 

 the genus Aitxis, which is dark bluish gi'eeu when hving, but bluish when 



