OHAV MUI,I-KTS. 



333 



The Gray Mullets Ix'loiiii' to the nidst prolific of 

 fishes". They are said to s|i;nvii in coiniiai-afively shallow- 

 water, where tlic holtoiii is weedy, sand\', muddy or 

 strewn with shells, aud, aceordinu' to Stkaun's observa- 

 tions in the Gulf of Mexico, at spots where the wa.t.er 

 (•haiiges from salt to fresh with the ebb of the tide, at 

 a temperature of froui 70° to 75° Fahr. Fat and de- 

 lieious as it is before the spawnin<?-seasou, the Gray 

 Mullet is afterwards thin, lean and unfit for food. In 

 the countries bordering' <hi the Mediterranean a caviare 

 of great reputation, known as lidhirf/o, is prepared from 

 the ovaries. From the age of H to ."> months, accord- 

 ing to Stkarx, the Gray Jilullet is from 1 to 2' ^ in. 

 long, and is found in great ((uantities near shore. During 

 the first year it is said to grow to a length of about 

 S in. and during the second to 12 or 13 in., when it 

 weighs about a pound and a (piarter. When it returns 

 to shore from its wanderings out at sea, it changes 

 colour. In the open sea the back is gloss}' blue, in 

 tlie inlets light lirown, and in fresh water of a dark 

 Im'owii colour. 



In large aquaiia the Gray Mullets may be kept 

 alive without difficulty for lengthy periods. There are 

 instances to show that these tishes, where coniined to 

 fresh water, may even become fatter than in the open 

 sea/'. The Frenchman Viimi/' asserts that he has cul- 

 tivated or rather reared thousands of Mullets in jjonds. 

 Cauew, the Cornish historian, according to (^ouch'', 



had formed a pond on a branch of the Tamar, in which 

 Mullets were fed at regular periofis, and they were 

 flrawn together to the appointed spot at the sound made 

 by the chopping of their food. 



Gi'.\ ruKi; divided the genus Mugil — if we now 

 follow (ill, I, and separate from it Chfrncnmifjil and llhvno- 

 mujjU — into three groups, corresponding to Cuvieu's 

 three chief sjM'cies, MiifiiJ rrplicdus, capita and chela. 

 The fu'st group is marked \ty the well-developed adipose 

 nuMubrane o\'er the eyes, both in front of and behind 

 the piijiil, and the slight tumiditv of the upper lip; 

 the second is without the adipose membrane, but also 

 without the swollen upper li]); and the third is distin- 

 guished by the ])rominent tumidity of the upper lip. 

 The hi-st group, wiiich is wanting in the Scandinavian 

 fauna, is spread both over the ( )ld and New Worlds, 

 the other two belong exclusively to the Easteiai Hemi- 

 sphere. Within the limits of the Scandinavian fauna 

 three species have been found, which may be most 

 easily distinguished as follows: 



A ; Heiglit (thickness) of tlie upper lip at least 

 about 11) % of the length of tlie iiead behind 

 the eyes Muyil chelo. 



B : Height of the upper lip at most about 12 Vo 

 "i of the length of the head behind the 

 eyes: 

 a: Length of the ventral fins at most about 



70 "o of that of the pectoral fins Mugil auratu!<. 



h: Length of the ventral fins at least about 



80 % of that of the pectoral fins Muyil capito. 



" Oi.SKN, Fiscal. Atl.. pi. 30, estimates the uuiuber of the eggs in a female specimen of j]fiiyil capito at thirteen niillion, an estimate 

 whieh is probably too high, for the eggs, according to R.4FFAei,e (Mittli. Zool. Stat. Neap. Bd. 8, p. 77), are 1 mm. in diameter when the 

 embryo has begun to develop, as was the case with the eggs he found during the summer months. They are said to develop while floating 

 at the surface. 



'' Arnold, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 18.51. p. 120 and Yarr., Brit. FisJi., ed. 2, vol. I, p. 239. 



'■ Bull. Soc. Zool. d'Acclimat., ser. 2, tome IV (18(57), p. 190. According to this writer it is possible, with the usual precautions, 

 to keep from 600 to 800 Mullets, between 2.0 and 40 cm. in length, in a pond of an area of 25 — 30 square metres and a depth of about 

 l'/, metres. 



F/.sV/. Brit. hi.. 



Ill, p. 13. 



i 



