OSMERUS EPERLANCS. 3:3'3 



appendages. The eggs are small, like those of Coregonus, but the distinctive 

 characters are in the dentition. 



The pre-m axillary and maxillary teeth are small, especially the outer row. 

 There is a transverse series of large teeth on the small vomerine bones, and 

 conical teeth on the pterygoid and palatine bones ; while the tongue has strong 

 fang-like teeth in front, and small teeth behind. The opening of the mouth 

 is wide, and the maxillary bone so long that it reaches almost to the hinder 

 margin of the orbit. The pseudobranchise ai*e rudimentary. The scales of 

 the body have no lustre, are transversely oval, and of medium size. Three 

 species of Smelt have been recognised, one limited to the coasts and fresh 

 waters of Northern and Central Europe, another, scarcely distinguished by 

 smaller scales, represents it on the Atlantic side of the United States, while a 

 third, common in the Bay of San Francisco, is limited to the Pacific coast of 

 North America. The allied Thaleichtliys is an oily fish, that is capable of being 

 burned as a candle, and is known as the Caudle Fish along the Pacific coast. 



Osmems eperlanus (LINN^US). The Smelt. 



D. 11, A. 13 1C, P. 811, V. Scales : lat. line 6062, transverse -- 



The name Smelt is said to be derived from the odour which this fish exhales 

 when freshly taken from the water, an odour which is not always the same, 

 but is usually suggestive of cucumber, though Pennant also compares it to 

 violets. In Germany the perfume would appear to be stronger, since Benecke 

 says the Smelt has a frightful smell of putrid cucumbers. The odour would 

 seem to arise from the mucus secretion which lubricates the fish, since it is 

 readily imparted to the hand, and soon disappears as the skin of the fish is dried. 

 The French name itEperlan. The Dutch name Spierling appears to have been 

 introduced by the Dutch engineers into the East of England, and survives in 

 the local English names, Spirling and Sparling, by which the fish is sometimes 

 known. Although generally distinguished in Germany as the Stint, it has 

 many provincial names, among which Pennant mentioned Stinkfisch, and he 

 quotes Linnaeus as saying that in spring, when the peasants come to buy it, all 

 the streets of Upsala are filled with its foul odour, and he adds that agues are 

 then prevalent. In Sweden it is known as SloM. Not only is it found in the 

 countries enumerated, but penetrates southward into Central Germany, and in 

 Russia is found in the White Sea and Baltic, and the lakes which are connected 

 with those waters. 



Smelts ascend rivers to spawn, and according to Yarrell, live in fresh 

 water from August to May. Pennant remarks that they appear in certain 



