SCOMBER. FISHES. 473 



the family into four sections or tribes, characterized from the structure of their dor- 

 sal fins. 



1. With two dorsal fins, the spinous one not divided. 



Gen. 100. SCOMBER, Lin. 



A projecting ridge on each side of the tail, and a row of point- 

 ed teeth in each jaw ; anal and dorsal fins with the posterior 

 part divided into spurious fins ; the second dorsal distant from 

 the first. 



S. scomber, Lin. The Mackerel. Back blue, marked with small 

 round black lines j five spurious fins above and below. 12 to 16 

 inches long. European seas. B. Pen. Brit. Zool. iii. pi. 62. 



The Mackerel visits the British shores annually in vast shoals, and is highly 

 esteemed as an article of food. The colours of this fish when taken are very bril- 

 liant, and it is one of the most beautiful of the British fishes. It was greatly esteem- 

 ed by the Romans, who used it in the preparation of their garum, a sort of pickle 

 for their sauces. The preparation of the anchovy for a similar purpose has long 

 superseded this ancient condiment. 



S. Colias, Gmel. Body bluish green ; no swimming-bladder. Smal- 

 ler than the preceding. Mediterranean sea Shaw, iv. 580. 



Gen. 10L THYNXUS, Cuv. Scomber, Lin. 

 A projecting ridge on each side of the tail ; and a row of point- 

 ed teeth in each jaw ; anal and second dorsal fins subdivided; 

 first dorsal fin prolonged almost to the second, and sometimes 

 touching it. 



T. vulgaris, Cuv. The Tunny. Back steel-coloured ; sides and 

 belly silvery, with eight or nine spurious fins. 2 to 8 or 10 feet 

 long. Inhabits Mediterranean sea. B. Pen. Brit. Zool. iii. pi. 63. 



The Tunny was well known to the ancients ; and formerly, as at present, the 

 Tunny fisheries in the Mediterranean were an object of great commercial importance. 

 It is a gregarious fish, and often appears in large shoals; and Pliny relates that the 

 fleet of Alexander the Great was impeded by a shoal of Tunnies so closely impacted 

 that the ships had to make their way through them in order of battle. They are 

 occasionally taken on the British shores, and have been frequently seen in the arms 

 of the sea on the west coast of Scotland in pursuit of the shoals of herrings. 



T. Sarda, Bloch. Back bluish, banded obliquely with black ; six 

 or seven spurious rays. 2 feet long. Inhabits Mediterranean 

 sea Block, pi. 334. 



T. Pelamis, Cuv. Back blue ; belly silvery,, marked by bands pro- 

 longed longitudinally on the sides ; eight or nine spurious fins. 

 Shaw, iv. 588. 



T. Mediterraneus, Rondelet. Back blue, marked by broad trans- 

 verse blackish bands ; six or seven spurious fins ; teeth strong 

 and pointed. Inhabits Mediterranean sea Rondelet. 248. 



T. Commersonii, Lacep. Body elongated, with brownish back, and 

 sides marked with irregular brown spots j lateral line undulated ; 

 ten spurious fins above and below. Inhabits Pacific Ocean 

 Shaw, iv. pi. 85. 



