Fishes of the IVestern North Atlantic 195 



Body slender, moderately compressed, its greatest thickness generally exceeding 

 the depth of caudal peduncle, its depth 4.5—5.4 in SL. Head 3.3—4.0 in SL, its depth 

 equal to postorbital and about a fourth of eye. Snout projecting about 66 "/q of its 

 length beyond tip of mandible, 4.5—6.0 in head. Eye 3.25—4.0 in head. Postorbital 

 1.8— 2.1 in head. Maxillary quite pointed, its upper free margin generally straight, 

 reaching nearly to margin of opercle, 1.2— 1.3 in head. Mandible 1.4— 1.6 in head. 

 Cheek a little longer than eye, its posterior angle rather broad, about 45°. Gill rakers 

 at angle of first arch about 75''/o of length of eye. 



Dorsal fin low, its margin somewhat concave, its longest rays failing to reach tip 

 of last ray if deflexed, its origin usually about equidistant between base of caudal and 

 middle of eye. Anal fin with origin under middle to posterior fourth of dorsal base, its 

 base 4.4—5.2 in SL. Pelvic reaching about halfway to origin of anal, inserted nearly 

 equidistant between origin of anal and pectoral base. Pectoral not strongly falcate, its 

 four uppermost rays usually of about equal length, its first or uppermost one some- 

 times a little shorter than the second one, its last or shortest ray usually reaching well 

 past midlength of the first one, the fin often failing to reach base of pelvic by diameter 

 of eye, though sometimes nearly reaching it, its length 1.7—2.0 in head. Axillary 

 SCALE of pectoral slender, usually failing to reach tip of fin by less than diameter of 

 pupil, 2.0—2.5 i" head. 



Color. Preserved specimens, pale above. Lower parts pale silvery. Side of head 

 silvery. Middle of side with a bright silvery band, variable in width, often about 75"/o 

 of width of eye above base of anal, sometimes scarcely wider than pupil. 



Size. The largest specimen seen, from Beaufort, North Carolina, is 153 mm 

 (6.1 in.) TL, which probably is near the maximum size attained. A specimen 150 mm 

 long, weighing one ounce, has been reported for Chesapeake Bay. The usual size 

 ranges between about 100—125 mm TL. 



Development and Growth. The egg is elliptical, with a major axis of about 1.4— 

 1.6 mm and a minor one of about 0.7—0.85 mm. It is transparent and has no oil 

 globule. The yolk, as in other anchovies studied, is separated into masses having 

 the appearance of large cells under magnification. The egg floats at or near the surface 

 and hatches within about 48 hours at a water temperature of about 66°— 7o°F. 



The newly hatched fish, very slender and thread-like, is about 3.6—4.0 mm long. 

 It is transparent, has a slight greenish shade on the head, and has no definite chromato- 

 phores; the head is slightly concave. The myomeres are very distinct. It is quite 

 active. The yolksac generally is absorbed within 24 hours after hatching at 65°-70°F. 

 The fish is then about 4.0—4.5 mm long, at which stage the mouth is open and ap- 

 parently functional. The fish is still transparent. 



The first chromatophores, situated in the midventral line of the chest, appear 

 when the fish is about 5.0 mm long, and at this stage the mouth is large, terminal, 

 and oblique. The dorsal and anal fins become more or less definitely differentiated 

 at a length of 5.0—6.0 mm, but the rays cannot be counted accurately until the fish 

 is about 10 mm, at which length it has become considerably more robust, the 



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