of the Subfamily Clupeinee. 17 
range so far south as Sardina pilchardus ; it is not repre- 
sented on the Atlantic coast of North America nor in the 
North Pacific, but it is represented on the coasts of Pata- 
gonia, Tasmania, and Stewart Island respectively by three 
species that are more closely related to each other than either 
is to C. sprattus. The greater distinctness of the northern 
and southern species, as compared with Sardina, may be 
correlated with their greater remoteness and colder habitat. 
III. BroLogy AND EcoNoMICs. 
Owing to their economic value the life-history of the 
European Clupeide has been extensively studied, especially 
in the North Sea. One need only mention the researches of 
Hjort and Lea on the herring, Sund on the sprat, and Hoek 
on the shads. But a fact that may, perhaps, be emphasized 
is that the exotic species of Sardina resemble the Huropean 
pilchard, not only in the structure of the adult fish, but in 
that of the eggsand larve, and also in their biology—growth, 
food, migrations, etc.,—and that the Australian and South 
African species could certainly be made use of in the same 
way as the Kuropean one. 
I have examined the scales of a considerable number of 
specimens, with a view to testing whether their structure 
agrees with what is known as to the rate of growth ; a com- 
plete examination of the scales of all the pilchards in the 
British Museum collection would not be worth the time 
expended on it, for to get a clear idea of the growth and age 
of the species in any one locality it would be necessary to 
examine large samples taken from different shoals throughout 
the year *. 
Marion (Ann. Mus. Marseilles, iv. 1891, fase. 1, pp. 99- 
108, fase. 2, pp. 66-72) has shown that in the Mediterranean 
Sardina pilchardus sardina breeds from January to May, and 
that the earliest fry, hatched in March, may attain a length 
of as much as 120-140 mm. by the end of the year, whilst 
those hatched in June reach only 80-90 mm. in December. 
Scales of specimens from Trieste, Dalmatia, Barcelona, and 
Madeira bear this out, the first winter ring corresponding to 
a length of 100-140 mm. (Pl. III. figs. 1, 3, 7) ; the largest 
examples, 180 mm., have from 3 to 5 winter rings. A few 
examples from Constantinople indicate that the average rate 
* In a recent paper (Arch. Zool. lii. 1913, pp. 305-341) Fage has 
published the results of investigations on the biology and scales of 
S, pilchardus. 
Ann. & Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 8. Vol. xviii. 2 
