879 



ill four loti,i;itu<liiial bands", one on CMcli side of llic 

 l)()d\- ;dio\<' tlic lateral line, and (jne alon.i;' each side 

 of the lii'lh', at the boundary between tlie ventral side 

 and the side of the liodv, beiiinnin^' below the [josterior 

 part of tlie jieetoral tins, when these tins are at rest, 

 interrupted at the \cntriil tins, but recommencing at 

 about the middle of their length and extending along 

 the base of the anal tin. ( >n the ele\ated base of this 

 fin, as \v(>ll as on the lower margin of the peduncle 

 of the tail, tlie remaining scales (r) are larger liian on 

 the rest of tlu' bod\- and more or less oblii|ue, with 

 one corner more or less elongated. In (he aboxe- 

 iiientioned longitudinal bands tlie scales are elongated 

 to a villiforni shape, but covered to the very tip with 

 skin, ill wiiicli lie scattered pigment-cells, most iiu- 

 merous and most constant at the tip of each scale, 

 rare and most scattered on the proximal part thereof. 

 Coiiiparativeh- large scales form a lobe on each side of the 

 vent, and this lobe is distinguishable even in the female. 



The coloration in essential respects resembles that 

 of the Smelt. In the Cajjelin too the ui)per [larts of 

 the head and Ijody and the hind part of the tail ai'e 

 transparent. The back is green; the sides are silvery 

 with black dots, but the operculum and suboperculum 

 yellowish (with a golden or brassy lustre); the belly 

 is white. Our figures, however, depict the spawning- 

 dress, in which the back is darker, and the head some- 

 times entireh- covered with a sooty black pigment. 

 Below the above-mentioned villous bands of the males 

 runs a more or less pi'ominent, yellowish streak. The 

 fins are transparent, of a light grayish colour; the 

 caudal fin is darkest, especially at the base, the pe- 

 duncle of the tail being also more or less blackish. 



The internal organs too are similar to those of 

 the Smelt. The liver is small, only the middle and 

 the left lobes lieing present. It extends back to aliout 

 a line with the middle of the pectoral fins. The ctccum- 

 like stomach extends almost back to the anterior ex- 

 tremitv of the pelvic bones. The pylorus is furnished 

 with 6 or 7 rather large appendages, four directed 

 forwards and three backwards, two of the latter on 

 the right side of the intestine. The pyloric coil and 

 the intestine are as in the Smelt. The spleen is nar- 



row and ribbon-shaped, hing to the right, at about 

 the middle ol' the stoiiiaeli, between t he forepart of the 

 intestine and the air-bladder, which is comparatively 

 short and occupies a littk; more than the middle third 

 of the dorsal margin of the abdominal cavity. The 

 testes are double, but the i-ight is considerably smaller 

 than the left, and iinl\- the left ovary is present, its 

 inward (i\idiiet ri'sembling that of the Smelt. The 

 pc-ritoneuiii is sooty black inside, but its outer coat is 

 silver\' white. 



The Caiielin is a borco-arctic species from the 

 northern n'gions both of the Atlantic and the Pacific. 

 Off Spitzliergen none of the numerous Swedish expe- 

 ditions has met with the Caiieliu; but at certain times 

 it is extremeU' eomiuon on the coasts of Norwegian 

 Fiinuark, Iceland, Newfoundland, Greenland, Alaska, 

 the Aleutian Islands, and Kamchatka. From the White 

 Sea the Fioval IMuseum of Stockholm has received the 

 species through Lieutenant H. Saxdeberg. Its occur- 

 rence in shoals on the Norwegian coast does not really 

 extend bevond Trondhjein Fjord; farther south it is 

 more and more scattered, and the Capelins from Chris- 

 tiania Fjord sent to the Fioyal Museum in 1842 by 

 Professor Esmakk must rank as a rare find. On the 

 other side of the Atlantic the Capelin goes farther 

 south, one of the consequences of the Arctic current 

 which follows the coast of North America. According 

 to JoKDAX and (tIlheut its range extends to Cape Cod; 

 but Bean states that it does not occur much south of 

 Halifax in Nova Scotia, and is never met with on the 

 coast of the United States. Richakdsox found the spe- 

 cies in Coronation Gulf, whence it appears that in this 

 quarter the range of the Capelin extends between the 

 Atlantic and the Pacific; Init off the extreme north of 

 Asia it has never yet been seen. 



To all the above-mentioned points in which the 

 Capelin resembles the Smelt, we should add its rank 

 odour, which calls to mind that of stale cucumbers. 

 In its manner of life too the Gapelin is very like the 

 Smelt. But it is of a. more jielagic nature, and never 

 enters quite fresh waters. Its haunts and its life be- 

 tween the spawning-seasons are little known; but ac- 

 cording to JuEr/ it is frequently met with in summer 



« According to FABRlcits tliese bands are sometimes wanting, even during tlie spawning-season, and tlie Esquimaux of Greenland have 

 « special name (Setmerstiilsut) for such males. That the scales in these bands only gradually develop the villiforni shape, being at first tri- 

 angular, appears from the remark on Capelin No. 22 in my Riksmuseets Salmonider . 

 » Norsk Fiskeritidende, 1892, p. 4. 

 Scandinavian Fislies. ^^^ 



