OF GENUS C1CHLA. 



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cated and reclined into the longitudinal cavity of the 

 back ; anal rounded, shorter than the soft part of the 

 dorsal, with three spinous rays anteriorly ; pectorals 

 moderate, rounded ; thoracics truncated, hardly long- 

 er than the pectorals, distant from the anals, and 

 armed with a strong spinous ray ; caudal slightly 

 emarginate, lobes rounded with 17 principal rays, 

 including the lateral flat ones, beyond which are 

 eight small ones ; scales rounded, not denticulated, 

 sub-irregularly placed, large on the sides, smaller on 

 the back, small upon the back of the neck, very small 

 under the belly, throat and cheek, and a little larger 

 on the pre- operculum, and sub-operculum ; there are 

 also very small ones between the rays of the anal and 

 caudal fins ; general colour brownish-olivaceous, 

 deep and fuliginous upon the back, lighter on the 

 sides, the middle of the scales browned with a black 

 margin ; anal fin greenish ; posterior part of the 

 dorsal and the caudal violaceous, abdomen and throat 

 bluish and violaceous, the 13, 14 and sometimes 15 

 bands with which this species is ornamented, are a 

 little deeper than the general tint ; they are more per- 

 ceptible in the fresh state of the fish, when but re- 

 cently taken from the water ; the opercula are also 

 traversed with many olivaceous bands, the lateral 

 line is undulated oblique, the colour chauges in the 

 dying fish, it is then sometimes all blue or bluish, or 

 entirely black, and the transverse bands disappear. 



Length 18 or 20 inches. 



This is one of the best fish of Lake Erie for the 

 table, and with that which the fishermen call herring 



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