484 TEN YEARS IN SWEDEN. 



wliicli I shall proceed to give of an example taken in Corn- 

 wall (figured below),, can be ascribed to the confessedly- 

 mutilated condition of the northern fish, will only be a 

 matter of opinion, but if finally it should be decided that 

 they are only variations of one species, they form a new 

 and remarkable portion of the history of this curious 

 fish." 



He then proceeds to describe the Cornish specimen 

 which was 17 in. long and 5-ij- in. deep, exclusive of the fins. 

 His general description agrees in the main with Nilsson's, 

 but he notices nothing of the peculiar position of the dorsal 

 and anal fins. It is, I believe, the opinion of the northern 

 icthyologists that this is a good and distinct species. 



Fam. 6. SCOMBRIDJE. 



Glen. Scomber, L. 



Number of finlets in front of the dorsal and anal fins five 

 in each case, wide apart. 



29. SCOMBER SCOMBRUS, L. Mackrill. The Mackerel. D. 



Is very common off the south-west coasts both of 

 Sweden and Norway ; rarer in the Sound and Baltic, where 

 it is never met with in shoals, always as single indivi- 

 duals. The best fishery off these coasts is in the end of 

 May or June, when the large shoals come in from their 

 winter quarters in the depths of the North Sea into shallower 

 water to spawn. 



Eeferring to the coloured engravings of this fish both in 

 Ekstrom's "Scandinavian Fishes" and Couch's "British 

 Fishes," there is so marked a difference not only in the 

 colouring of the two figures but in the shape of the fins, 

 especially the dorsal and anal finlets, that, assuming both to 

 be correct, one can hardly believe the two fishes to be iden- 

 tical. 



The general length of the mackerel taken off these coasts 

 is 16 to 18 in.; according to Ekstrom they, however, 

 occasionally reach a length of 2 ft. They appear to become 



