THE SMELT AND ITS ALLIES 



237 



pressed body, and a broad, bright silvery band on the 

 sides, against a greenish general body color. The dorsal 



FIG. 218. Pholis, the rock eel. Right side. Nat. size. Photo, by W. H. C. P. 



spines are slender. The fish swim near shore, in dense 

 schools. One species on the Californian coast is known as 

 a " smelt," and is a good food fish. 



FIG. 219. Gasterosteus punyitius, the nine-spined stickleback; male (above) 

 and female near the nest in rushes. The female is about to deposit its eggs 

 in the nest. 



