GREAT BRITAIN. 151 



middle of the eye. No barbel beneath the chin. Teeth. 

 Cardiform, with some larger ones intermixed in the lower 

 jaw, the outer row enlarged in the upper jaw, in a semi- 

 lunar patch upon the vomer ; none on the palatines or 

 tongue. Fins. First dorsal commences opposite the first 

 third of the pectoral ; its second and third rays the longest, 

 the last ray very short. A short interspace between the 

 bases of the first and second dorsal fins, also between the 

 second and third dorsal fins, which latter does not quite 

 reach the base of the caudal. First anal fin commences 

 beneath the middle of the first Dorsal fin, and terminates 



meath the end of the second dorsal ; the second anal and 

 third dorsal fins similar. Ventrals some little distance 



;fore the base of the pectoral. Lateral-line. Commences 

 >pposite the upper edge of the opercle, and curves gently 

 downwards ; from opposite the anterior half of the second 

 lorsal it goes direct to the centre of the base of the caudal. 



ic vent is situated beneath the middle of the first dorsal 

 in. Colours. Back, greenish gray or yellowish, becoming 

 ;ilvery on the sides and beneath ; in the fresh state several 

 Bellow lines pass along the sides. A bluish-black blotch 

 exists in the axil of the pectoral fin. Vertical fins dark in 

 their outer two-thirds. 



Varieties in colour. The axillary spot is occasionally 

 little marked, or even entirely absent. 



Habits. It appears in the spring in large shoals, delight- 

 ing in sandy bays where young fish abound ; it seems to 

 be shy, and mostly keeps from half a mile to three miles 

 from the shore, in spring-time hanging about the more 

 distant rocks. In Cornwall it swarms into the bays in 

 autumn to feed on young pilchards* It appears to be very 

 susceptible to the influence of cold. In the Moray Firth it 

 is said to be most abundant in May and June, but in the 



