SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 121 



gill-rakers long and numerous, teeth weak, cheeks longer than deep, an adipose 

 eyelid, dorsal fin short and placed midway between tail and snout, scales 

 cycloid, deciduous. Three of the four American species are found in North 

 Carolina and may be distinguished as follows: 



i. Membrane lining abdominal cavity pale. 



a. Head long (.25 total length); size large mediocris. 



aa. Head shorter (a little over .2 total length); size small pseudoharengu^. 



a. Membrane lining abdominal cavity black cestivalis. 



{Pomolobus, lobed opercle.) 



107. POMOLOBUS MEDIOCRIS (Mitchjll). 



"Hickory Shad"; "Hick"; "Jack"; "Skip-jack"; Tailor Herring; Tailor Shad; 

 Fall Herring; Mattowacca; Fall Shad; Fresh- water Tailor. 



Clupea mediocris Mitchill, Transactions Literary and Philosophical Society New York, i, 1815, 450; New York- 

 Smith, 1893o, 195, 199; Roanoke River and Edenton Bay. 



Pomolobua mediocria, Yarrow, 1877, 215; Beaufort. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 385; Beaufort (after Yarrow). 

 Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 425, pi. Ixxi, fig. 188. 



Diagnosis. — Form elliptical, compressed, greatest depth contained 3.5 to 3.75 times in 

 total length; head long and sharp, .25 total length, its superior profile straight and little elevated; 

 lower jaw much longer than upper; eye somewhat less than .25 length of head and shorter than 

 "snout; scales in lateral series 50; fins small; dorsal origin anterior to middle of body; dorsal 

 rays 15; anal rays 21. Color: back bluish silvery, sides with faint lengthwise lines; a longitudi- 

 nal line of 6 to 8 brown spots posterior to head, {mediocris, mediocre, in allusion to its food 

 value.) 



Fig. 40. HicKOBT Shad. Pamoldbvs mediocris. 



The hickory shad ranges along the east coast from Massachusetts to Florida, 

 often occurring in abundance at the extremes of its range. The region of greatest 

 abundance is Chesapeake Bay. The species is common in the coast waters and 

 rivers of North Carolina, coming in from the ocean in late winter or early spring, 

 and ascending streams to spawn, going to the headwaters in company with the 

 branch herring. It is usually present in large numbers in Pamlico and other 

 salt-water sounds in winter, and the nets then in operation take many thousands. 



It is known among the fishermen as "hickory shad" (sometimes shortened 

 to "hick"), "jack", and "skip-jack". 



