ALOSA —SHAD 49 



projecting; maxillary past middle of _ orbit, 2.2 to 2.4 in head; teeth 

 feeble, a few on premaxillary and sometimes some on lower jaw. 

 Dorsal fin nearer muzzle than base of caudal, inserted in front of 

 ventrals, its rays 16; anal rays 18; pectorals 1.7 in head in adults, little 

 more than h to ventrals: ventrals less than half way to anal in adults; 

 pectorals with a double accessory scale above and with scaly sheath be- 

 low base; accessory ventral scale present. Scales 52-54, transverse 

 series 14 or 15 ; ventral scutes 20 + 13. 



The golden shad, or skipjack, is a beautiful, symmetrical fish, 

 shading from green to silvery, with rich golden reflections. It 

 ranges along the Gulf coast from Pensacola on the east to Galveston 

 on the south and west, and up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to 

 Pittsburg and the larger streams of Kansas. It is not a common 

 fish in Illinois, and occurs but seven times in our collections, all 

 from Mississippi, Rock, and Illinois River localities. It appears at 

 Alton in small numbers in September, two pounds being about the 

 maximum weight. It is an active fish, frequently leaping from the 

 water in sport or in pursuit of its prey — whence its name of skipjack. 

 It is a predaceous species, the young feeding on insects, and the 

 adults i m other fishes. 



Genus ALOSA Cuvier 



(shad) 



Body quite deep and compressed; head deep, the cheeks deeper than 

 long; jaws toothless; upper jaw with a sharp, deep notch at tip, the pre- 

 maxillaries meeting at a very acute angle; dorsal much nearer snout than 

 base of caudal ; other characters as in Pomolobus, to which Alosa is 

 closely allied. North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, ascending rivers in 

 spring; species 4 or 5, 3 of them found in the Mississippi and its larger 

 tributaries north about to the latitu le of St. Louis. 



ALOSA OHIENSIS Evermann 

 (onio shad) 

 Evermann, Rep U. S. Fish Comm . 1901, p. 277. 



Length is inches; body very long, slender, and much compressed; 

 dorsal and ventral outlines very gently and evenly arched; depth 3.6; 

 caudal peduncle very long, the distance from base of caudal to dorsal 

 fin equaling distance from that poinl to preopercle. Head I 5 in length; 

 eyi 5 5; mouth large; maxillary 2.1 in head, broad, reaching posterior 



