54 8COMBERID.E ; BONITO ; SWORD-FISH. 



than the Mackerel, though bearing a general resemblance to it 



in form ; a specimen, which was 

 caught when chasing Herrings 

 into Loch Fyne, measured 7 ft. 

 10 in. in length, and weighed 460 

 ,lbs. ; but in the Mediterranean it 

 FIG. 375. -TUN-NY. grows to a length of nearly twenty 



feet, and a weight of half a ton. The Tunnies, like the Mackerel, 

 are dispersed through the ocean during most of the year ; but in 

 the summer they resort to the shores in vast shoals ; and a 

 fishery of great importance is then carried on along the north 

 coast of the Mediterranean, and in the island of Sicily. The 

 flesh of the Tunny, both fresh and salted, forms a considerable 

 part of the food of the common people of those shores ; and the 

 fishery constitutes a large source of profit to those who reside on 

 the coasts. The Bonito or Striped Tunny, also a native of the 

 Mediterranean, and a rare visitant on our shores, is a very hand- 

 some fish, though smaller than the common Tunny ; it is further 

 distinguished by its great activity and voracity, being one of the 

 chief enemies of the Flying-fish; and, in common with the 

 Tunny, it can sustain a higher temperature than most other 

 members of its class. 



615. Another remarkable group of Scomberida?, sometimes re- 

 garded as constituting a distinct family, consists of the Sword- 

 fish and its allies, which have the muzzle elongated into a spike, 



terminating in a 

 sharp point, and 

 forming a very 

 formidable wea- 

 pon. These fishes, 

 of which there are 

 several species.are 



FIG. 376. SWORD-FISH. 



usually furnished 



with a high dorsal fin, by the agency of which they are enabled 

 to propel themselves through the water with great energy. They 

 sometimes attain the length of lo or even 20 feet ; and they do 

 not hesitate to attack very large fishes (the Tunny, for example), 



