976 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



In the Mediteri'Jiiiean the Spnit is replaced by a I by tlie greater depth uf the tail, the more advanced 



very closely allied species, the Melette of the French, 

 Vlupea phalerka". Judging from a specimen 90 mm. 

 long, taken oft' Genoa, and sent to us liy Professor 

 GiGLiOLi, the Melette is distinguished from the Sprat 



position of the dorsal tin, and tlie somewhat greater 

 size of the head. Its relations to the Sprat in these 

 respects are most readily indicated by the following 

 table of percentages: 



Length of tho body from the articular knobs of the niasilliirics to the end of the middle c-auJal rays, i.ini 



Length of the head - in % of the length of the body 



Distance between the dorsal tin and the articular knobs of the maiillaries ,, ,, ,, „ „ „ „ „ 



Least depth of the tail — „ „ ,, ,, „ „ „ „ 



Length of the head in % of the distance between the dorsal tin and the articular knobs of the masillaries 



Least depth of the tail „ ,, ,, ., „ ,, ,. ,, „ ., „ „ ,, ,. „ 



The Sprat is common from Trondlijem Fjord (CoL- 

 lett) to La Rochelle (Valenciennes). It is said to oc- 

 cur, though scantily, northwards to the Lofoden Islands, 

 as G. 0. Saks was informed by the iishermen, and 

 southwards in the Bay of Biscay beyond the Gironde (IMo- 

 REAu). In Scandinavia it is most common oft' the south- 

 west of Norway and the coast of Bohusliin; but it is 

 taken in numbers within tlie Baltic, and is common, 

 according to Mela, throughout the Gulf of Finland, as 

 well as in the (lulf of Bothnia up to lat. G4° N., rarer 

 to lat. 65°. On the Baltic coast of Russia, according 

 to Seidlitz (1. c), only solitary specimens are met with 

 that have attained full growth and sexual maturity, 

 though the young are plentiful. Oft' Memel and Dant- 

 zic spawning Sprats are common in May and September; 

 and in Putzinger Wiek (the eastern part of the Gulf of 

 Dantzic), says Benecke, countless spent Sprats may be 

 seen in the May spawning-season floating dead at the 

 surface. In Kiel Bay the Sprat is also common. On 

 all the coasts of Denmark the Sprat occurs, though only 

 at a few points in any great number (Wintiiek). In the 

 Zuyder Zee and all I'ound Great Britain it is as plen- 

 tiful as anywhere in Scandinavian waters. 



The Sprat-shoals live and feed in the same man- 

 ner as the Herring-shoals, and often intermingle with 

 tlie latter. It is, we may say, a rare occurrence to 

 take any quantity of StrOmmings or small Herrings 



without finding a number of Spi-ats in the catch; and 

 in the same way small Herrings are found interspersed 

 among a haul of Sprats. The Sprat-fishery cannot in- 

 deed be so productive in most cases as the Herring- 

 fishery, the S|)rat being a much smaller fish ; Init con- 

 sidering the size of the fish the Sprat-shoals are hardly 

 inferior in point of numbers or density to the Herring- 

 shoals. The same gregariousness, the same manner of 

 life, and the same diet conjoin the two species with 

 each other. They are also so similar in appearance 

 that only a practised eye can distinguish between them, 

 unless the observer has experience enough to feel tlie 

 dift'erence in the sharpness of the ventral margin. 



The spawning-season of the Sprat occurs within 

 the island-belt of Stockholm, according to the joint 

 observations of Sundevall and Cederstkom, in June. 

 In the west of the Baltic, according to Heincke, the 

 Sprat spawns lioth in spring and autumn. He observed 

 in Kiel Bay during the months of Jul}- and August 

 Sprat-fry 25 — 35 mm. long, which he assumed to date 

 from the spawning in April and May, and during the 

 latter part of October and till December other speci- 

 mens 23 '2 — 33' '3 mm. long, which could consequently 

 not have been spawned, in all probability, earlier than 

 in July. Malm found in July and August at Strom- 

 stad and oft' Gaso (Bohusllln) young Sprats 20 — 57 niiii. 

 long, which would thus seem to be the ott'spriiig of a 



" ^feUttes, Bei.on, p. 208. Aphya phalerka, Rond., p. 212. VlupanoJon phalerica, Kisso, Eur. Mi'r., toni. III. p. 452; MoR. 

 ((Uupen), III, p. 445. Meletta mediterranea, Cuv., Val., XX, p. .309. Alosa papalina, Canestr., Fiia D'ltal.. Pesc, p. 135. 



' Maxiiiuiiii in the specimens measured by lis 21'9. 



' Mitiimimi ,, „ ,, „ ., ,. 48-tJ. 



i* .Maximum ,, ,, ., ,, ,, ,, 8-4. 



' „ „ „ „ „ „ „ 43-6. 



■' „ „ „ ,. ., „ „ 16-6. 



