ALLIS SHAD 



{C/upca a/osa) 



The allis shad is found in a number of rivers during the spawning 

 season, which occurs in June and July. This fish is not so well known 

 in Scotland as it is in England. A fair number are caught by the 

 nets on the Tay, and those I have examined have invariably been 

 tilled with spawn. The average weight of those that have come 

 under my notice was about 5 lbs. It is a short thick fish about 20 

 inches in length. The dorsal fin, consisting of sixteen rays, is very 

 small tor the size of such a fish, and the tail is very much forked. 

 The tail has twenty-five rays, pectoral fin fourteen, ventral fourteen, 

 and the dorsal eight. 



Characteristic of this fish is the colouring. The back is of a light 

 slate colour mero-ino- into a bright silver on the sides and becoming: 

 quite white on the belly. The latter is covered with strong scales, 

 which run along the under part from head to tail in a well-defined 

 ridge. Between the ventral fin and the tail are fourteen strong spines, 

 which no doubt is the principal weapon ot defence. The mouth and 

 head are very large and broad, whilst the eyes have a large black 

 centre surrounded by a golden colour on the outer edge. On opening 

 the mouth one is struck with the beautiful way the gills are arranged. 

 From the latter numerous branches point outwards almost to the 

 exterior, and are arranged in sets. The first set is quite iv inches 

 long, consisting of 120 branches closely set together. Following this 

 again comes the second set, which are shorter, diminishing to about an 



eighth of an inch into the throat, where the upper and lower sets 



258 



