90 



clupeid^. 



the occiput ; snout short, as long as the eye in the young, a little longer in the adult ; 

 eye with a very distinct transparent lid in front and behind ; diameter of eye five 

 (young) to six and two-thirds times in the length of the head, equal to the interorbital 

 width in the young, about five-sixths that width in the adult ; mouth large, oblique ; 

 upper jaw notched in the middle, lower jaw slightly projecting, with small teeth in the 

 young, toothless in the adult ; maxillary large, extending to below the posterior third 

 of the eye in the young, to below the posterior border of the eye or a little beyond in 

 the adult; operculum with radiating striae descending towards the suboperculum. 

 Gill-rakers slender, 20 to 23 on the lower part of the anterior arch ; the longest 

 measuring one-half to two-thirds the diameter of the eye*. Dorsal fin small, with 

 17 to 20 rays, 13 to 16 of which are branched, originating nearer to the end of the 

 snout than to the root of the caudal fin ; anterior branched rays longest. Anal fin 

 low, with 21 to 24 rays, 18 to 21 branched, originating a little nearer to the base of 

 the ventral fin than to the root of the caudal. Pectoral fin pointed, three-fifths to 

 two-thirds the length of the head ; a scaly pointed appendage above its base. Ventral 

 fin small, a little behind the vertical of the origin of the dorsal fin, also with a scaly 

 appendage above its base. The distance between the base of the pectoral fin and that 

 of the ventral equals the distance between the latter and the vent. Caudal fin covered 

 with small scales at the base, deeply forked, with pointed lobes, the lower often a little 

 longer than the upper. Caudal peduncle a little longer than deep. Scales smooth 

 and thin, deciduous, 58 to 64 in a longitudinal series, 18 to 20 in a transverse series ; 

 19 to 21 bony keeled long scutes between the isthmus and the ventral fins, 13 to 15 

 between the latter and the vent. 



Back greenish or bluish, steel-colour, sides and belly silvery white ; a blackish spot 

 behind the upper part of the gill-cover, sometimes followed by a series of four or five 

 smaller spots on the body ; fins whitish or greyish, the caudal fin often edged with 

 blackish ; iris silvery or pale golden. Mr. Loat describes young specimens from 

 Samannud as dark brownish on the dorsal surface, shot with various colours, mostly 

 blue and green, dusted with gold specks ; some yellowish orange on the caudal fin. 



Total length of largest specimen 360 millimetres. 



In view of the great uncertainty which still prevails as regards the forms clustering 

 round Clupea alosaf, and so as not to add further to the existing confusion, the 



* In the Nile they do not appear to vary in number or in relative size with age. 



t Cf. Steindachner, Sitzb. Ak. Wien, lvii. i. 1868, p. 737 ; Benecke, Naturg. Fische, p. 168 (1886) ; Horst, 

 Tijdschr. Nederl. Dierk. Yer. (2) i. 1886, p. xlix ; Fatio, Faune Vert. Suisse, iv. p. 40 (1890) ; Smitt, Scandin. 

 Fish. ii. p. 983 (1895); Ehrenbaum, Wiss. Meeresunters. Kiel, (2) i. 1896, p. 54 ; Hoek, Tijdschr. Nederl. 

 Dierk. Ver. (2) vi. 1900, p. 212. The observations of the latter author invalidate Patio's suggestion that 

 the gill-rakers, after having increased in number up to a certain age, may decrease again in large specimens. 

 A renewed study of the Shads of Europe is much needed, but it appears tolerably certain to me that the 

 Shad of the Nile is specifically identical with the Twaite of Northern Europe, and is correctly named 

 Olwped fintd. 



