542 THE SMALL-MOUTHED LATJNCE. 



thought to spawn, it approaches the shore, hut passes the 

 winter far from tlience, as evidenced hy the fact of its 

 often being found in the stomachs of the Cod and other 

 fish that habitually dwell in the deeps. Its food consists 

 of small crustaceans, marine animals, &c. It is said to 

 be very voracious. Nilsson found in the stomach of an 

 individual twelve and a half inches in length a whole fish 

 of the same species that was six and a quarter inches 

 long, the tail of which stood up in its gorge. In its 

 stomach, moreover, were the bones of another fish. 



The Small-mouthed or Sand Lauuce [Bld-Tohis, or 

 blue tobis, Sw. ; Sand-grcBvU)ig, or sand-digger, Dan. ; 

 A. Lancea, Cuv.) was only found, according to Ekstrora, 

 in the more southern portion of the Bohus Skargilrd ; hut 

 on all the other coasts (if at all sandy, at least) of the 

 Peninsula it would seem to be pretty common. As in 

 almost all places, however, this fish and the preceding go 

 by one and the same name, that of Tobis, it is difiicult to 

 define the exact habitat of each. For a long time, indeed, 

 the two were considered to be one and the same fish. 

 But, to say nothing of the inferior size of the A. Lancea, 

 which rarely exceeds seven inches in length, it may 

 readily be distinguished from the A. Tobianus by the 

 lower jaw being shorter in proportion, and by the dorsal 

 fin commencing a little nearer the head, in a line over the 

 middle of the pectoi-al fin. The Small-mouthed Launce 

 spawns in Aui^ust, that is, at a somewhat later period 

 than that assigned to the Wide-mouthed Launce. In 

 other respects their habits are very similar. 



In certain parts of the Peninsula many Launces, espe- 

 cially of the smaller species, are taken in nets during 

 the summer. This is more particularly the case at Cim- 

 britshamu, on the south-eastern coast of Sweden, where 

 something like a regular fishery is then carried on ; and 

 of the extent of which some idea may be formed from the 



