ANCHOVY. 



9!ia 



ffeners. riic etIiiiKj'uhil i-egioii is in-oloiigated in I'roiit 

 of the iiioutli Mild al)()\e the iiiterinnxillaries, wiiicli 

 are c\eii inofc ix'diiced tliaii in the preccdinsj' Clii- 

 peoid forms. 



'J'he licad in its remaining: fomi and strnctnrc 

 lends itself most rcadiiv to a, comitarison witli that u[' 

 tlie (ireatcr Seoiielus (Miiil<ipln(iii cIdiK/iif/iiii). Tiiis 

 resemliliince may be seen in tiie large, horizontal cleft 

 of the mouth, with the gill-slits extending far forward 

 in the lower jaw, tiie very strongl\- constricted cheek- 

 region below the eyes, and llie l>ackward and do\\'n- 

 ward pi'olongation ol' the opei-cular apparatus, the ])re- 

 opereulum having lost the lowei', horizontal arm that else 

 projects in a forwai'd direction. The cheek behind the 

 eye is also of the same triangular form as in the said 

 Scopeloid. 



In Anchovies \H — I') cm. long the length of the 

 head occu|)ies about iM' ^, — 22' ., *«- of that of the l>ody. 

 So great, however, is the extension of the i)haryngea] 

 and opercular apparatus tliaT the head itself, trom the 

 tip of the snout to the occiput, measures only about 

 Vt of the abovi' length. The longitudinal diameter of 

 the eyes, which are round, but incline to ;ui oval shape, 

 is between 24 and 21' ^ **>, their \crtical diameter about 

 20 %, of the length of the head. The eyes and the 

 sides of the snout in front of them are covered by an 

 adipose membrane, which is ijuite continuous, without 

 aperture or eyelid. l)ut trans|iarent on the pujiil. The 

 interorbital width at the middle of the eyes is slightly 

 greater than their vertical diameter, but less than the 

 longitudinal. The length of the snout is slightly less 

 than the said vertical diameter, the difference being 

 least in old specimens. The nostrils on each side are 

 set close together, being divided only b}' a narrow- 

 strip of skin, which raaj', however, be elevated so as 

 to form an obliquely cut groove, open in front. They 

 are set at the edge between the flat or faintly convex 

 top of the snout and its converging sides, about half- 

 way between the ti]j of the snout and the anterior 

 margin of the eyes or a little nearer to the latter. 

 The small, stiletto-shaped, and curved intermaxillaries 

 are attached to the lower anterior margin of the long 

 maxillaries. The latter bones increase uniformly, but 

 slightly, in breadth behind, where each of thera is fur- 

 nished with two narrow jugal bones, pointed in front. 



" On the sides of tlie lie.Kl of Uie vomer, on Uic palad 

 eotopterygoids. 



their greatest breadth, including the jugal bones, being 

 oidy about ' ,„ of their length. The lower jaw is also 

 shallow and long, in contradistinction to that of the 

 ]>rcce(ling ('lu|)coids; it is slightly tui-ned up at the 

 ti]i. The length of tlu; maxillaries is about (Jl — 65 %, 

 that of the lowei' jaw about 68 — 71 %, of the length of 

 the head. The internuixillaries, maxillaries, and lower 

 jaw are each furnished with a row of small pointed 

 teeth, somewhat curved and of uniform size. Similar 

 teeth nia\' be found on almost all the bones of the pa- 

 late", but are more or less deciduous. In old specimens 

 the teeth of the maxillaries, and sometimes, at least in 

 part, those of the lower jaw, also disapjjear. The tongue 

 is small, cartilaginous, and toothless, but free. Close 

 to its base begins the fine denticulation of the long and 

 narro\\ row of copular bones. Both the upper and 

 lower phar\ ngeals are armed with small teeth. The 

 gill-rakers are long and tine, numbering about 62 — 72 

 (ju the first branchial arch. 



The top of the head, which is almost flat, is coursed 

 at the middle b}' a longitudinal ridge from the very tip 

 of the snout (the u])per margin of the ethmoid bone) 

 to the occiput: and from the inner side of each pair of 

 nostrils, oliliquely outwards to each supraorbital mar- 

 gin, and thence obliquely inwards to the occiput, there 

 run the same ridges as in the Clupeoid forms im- 

 nicdiateh- preceding the Anchovy. The cephalic sy- 

 stem of the lateral line is generally less developed than 

 in the said forms, but here too varies considerably in 

 its development. In some instances only faint traces 

 thereof appear: in others the whole top of the head, 

 the temples, the upper parts of the scapular region, and 

 the triangular cheeks are covered with numerous, ver- 

 rucose elevations and pores, sometimes \vith a network 

 of confluent ducts belonging to this system, and the 

 hind margins of the operculum, the preoperculura, and 

 the scales on the scainilar region are pierced by the 

 straight, backward ramifications of these ducts. The 

 preoperculum is crescent-shaped, though the lower cor- 

 ner is somewhat prolongated, forming a thin, rounded 

 lobe. The operculum is quadrangular and of uniform 

 breadth, but curved like a sickle, its uj)per anterior 

 margin, above the articular head, being perpendicular, 

 and its whole posterior margin forming a fairly regular 

 curve of about a quarter of a circle. Its lower posterior 



on the entoplcrygoids. and. in .n small card, on the liind part of (lit- 



