THE " HERRING SALMON. 295 



as to its family and genus will probably tell you that it is 

 a Hyodon, quoting Cuvier as their authority. 



It is true that the Hyodons have the form of the 

 herring; and that the above naturalist describes under 

 the name of Hyodon claudalus the Lake-herring, Shiner, 

 or Moon-eye. It is, however, not the least of the dis- 

 advantages and inconveniences arising from the use of 

 such local names, which are generally bestowed in the 

 first instance by fishermen, farmers, and uneducated 

 persons, that they are applied to more than one object, 

 as in this instance, where the fish named by some local 

 authority to Cuvier as the Lake-herring, &c., is of a 

 totally difi"erent family to the Lake-herring of which we 

 are treating, and which is generally known as such. 



The absence of teeth (exceedingly abundant in the 

 Hyodontida), and the presence of the adipose fin in this 

 fish, place it among the Coregoni, and I believe it to be 

 the C. Clupeiformis described by Cuvier under the local 

 name of " Herring Salmon." He says :* " Cette espece, 

 tr^s commune en Amerique, a re^u, comme la plupart des 

 poissons qui sont observes successivement par plusieurs 

 naturalistes, plusieurs noms. Les riverains du lac 

 I'appellent 'Herring Salmon;' on voit par cons(^quent, 

 que les pecheurs des difi"^rentes contr^es du globe ont 



* Ouv. et Val. Poiss., torn. xxi. Paris. 



