Nortk American Fiskes 



IV. HTie Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) 

 R, W. SHUFELDT, M. D., C. M. Z. S. 



Most authoritative writers on our 

 fishes associate the mackerels and their 

 nearest allies in a group, Scombroidei, 

 relegating the true mackerels to the fam- 

 ily Scombridae, in which the typical 

 mackerels constitute the genus Scomber. 

 At the time Jordan and Evermann pub- 

 lished their "Fishes of North America," 

 there were but two species of mackerels 

 representing the genus Scomber; these 

 were the Common mackerel {Scomber 

 scombrus) — the subject of the present 

 article — and the Chub mackerel (S. 

 colias). This latter is a fish of wide dis- 

 tribution, occurring in many places in the 

 New as well as in the Old World. Al- 

 though smaller than and inferior to our 

 Common mackerel, it is, nevertheless, a 

 fish of considerable economic importance, 

 and it is known by many vernacular 

 names. 



Linnaeus gave the Common mackerel 

 its name of Scomber scombrus; but it is 

 quite possible that modern ichthyologists 

 have changed it since — at least the one 

 for the species. The cut illustrating the 

 present article is a reproduction from a 

 photograph of a market specimen by the 

 writer, and reduced about two-thirds. 



This Common mackerel lacks an air- 

 bladder; possesses eleven or twelve dor- 

 sal spines, and is silvery below the 

 median line of the body. On the other 

 hand, the Chub mackerel has an air-blad- 

 der, and but nine Or ten dorsal spines, 

 with the sides below the median line, in 

 the adult fish, more or less mottled. 



There is no fish in the world that is 

 better known ; more extensively used as 



a food fish, or, of its class, more beauti- 

 ful in form and coloration than the Com- 



mon mackerel. It is not necessary to 

 enter into the details of its external char- 

 acters here, as thev are very clearly 



