346 VERTEBRATES I FISHES. 



of the genus, and is celebrated for its delicious flesh. It 

 is from twenty-four to thirty-six inches long, and attains 

 a weight of thirty pounds or more. 



The Great Trout of the Lakes, 5. amethystus, Mitch., 

 of the Northern lakes of North America, is from twenty- 

 four to sixty inches long, dark gray, with numerous lighter 

 spots on the back and sides ; under parts light ashy- 

 gray or cream-color. It sometimes attains the weight 

 of one hundred and twenty pounds, and is often called 

 Mackinaw Trout. It is also known as the Longe. 



The Speckled Trout, or Brook Trout, 6". fontinalis, 



Mitch., of the clear streams of Northern North America, 



is from six to twenty inches long, horn-color above with 



irregular darker markings, sides bluish mixed with silvery 



white, and ornamented with yellow 



Fig. 221. < 



spots and vermilion dots. There are 

 many varieties of trout, and probably 

 some of the so-called varieties are dis- 



Trout, S. fontinalis, Mitch. . A11 i i i i 



tinct species. All are highly prized 

 on account of the delicacy of their flesh. 



The Genus Osmerus contains the American Smelt, O. 

 viridescens, LeS., which is six to twelve inches long, green- 

 ish above, silvery beneath, with an obscure satin-like lon- 

 gitudinal band. It abounds on the coast, and ascends 

 rivers, from New York northward. 



The Genus Coregonus contains the White-Fish, C. al- 

 bus, LeS., which is from eighteen to twenty inches long, 

 bluish-gray above and white below, and inhabits the Great 

 Lakes ; and the Common Shad Salmon, C. clupeiformis, 

 Dekay, of Lakes Erie and Ontario. 



CLUPEID.E, OR HERRING FAMILY. This Family em- 

 braces abdominal malacopterygians which have the body 

 compressed, very scaly, and the inferior portion of the 

 body forming an edge more or less serrated. The Genus 

 Clupea comprises the Herrings proper. The Common 



