Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 



263 



Etrumeus sadina Mitchill 1 8 1 4 



Atlantic Round Herring 



Figures 62, 63 



Study Material. Many specimens, postlarvae to adults, 25-180 mm TL, the 

 specimens from New Jersey northward being adults caught near or on the shore, 

 those from off Cape Lookout, northern Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico, mostly young, 

 taken quite a distance offshore in 5-2 i fms. depth except for a lot of six small ones 

 from Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, taken in water only about 2—3 fms. deep. 



Figure 62. Etrumeus sadina, female, 140 mm TL, 1 1 5 mm SL, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USNM 143574. 

 Drawn by Ann S. Green. 



'Distinctive Characters. The very slender and roundish body, the roundish chest 

 and abdomen covered with ordinary scales, the absence of bony scutes, the small anal 

 fin situated near the base of the caudal, and the rather small pelvic fin inserted entirely 

 behind a vertical from the base of the last dorsal ray, readily distinguish this species 

 from other American clupeoids. 



Description. Proportional dimensions in per cent of standard length, and counts, 

 based on 22 specimens from Study Material., 55 mm (young adults)— 180 mm TL, 

 45—154 mm SL. 



Body: depth 1 6-1 8.5. 

 Caudal peduncle: depth 6.7—8.2. 

 Head: length 24—29. 

 Snout: length 6.0—9.5. 

 Eye: diameter 6.5-8.0. 

 Interorbital: width 3.0—4.4. 

 Maxillary: length 7.0-10.5. 

 Anal fin: length of base 5.6—6.9. 

 Pelvic fin: length 8.9-1 1.5. 

 Pectoral fin: length 14—17. 



Distance from snout to origin of: dorsal 

 42—46. 



Scales: about 48-55, usually lost in pre- 

 served specimens. 



Gill rakers: 32—38 on lower limb, ca. 14 

 on upper limb. 



Fin rays: dorsal 16-20, usually 18 or 19; 

 anal 10—12, most frequently 11; 

 pectoral 14—16. 



Vertebrae: 49 (7 specimens). 



