giif lid are scaly, the intestines like those of Trouts. Tliey are marine fishes, and exeeeiLiii;,''ly voracious. r)nir is 

 found in the Mediterranean, a transparent one in the lake of IMcmco, and several in India, where tiie_\ Lire dried 

 and salted as a relish. 



Scope/us, have the B:ape and the gill opening-s very deep. Both jaws with very small teeth, tlie marg'in of the 

 upper formed entirely by the intermaxillaries, the ton;;ue and palate smooth, muzzle very short and hhmt, nine 

 or ten Lrill-i'ays, a first dorsal between the ventrals and anal, and a secorid, in which then/ .irc sU;;lit vtbtiges of 

 ray.s. One small species in the Mediterranean has brilliant silver spots on the belly and tail. 



JhIojxi.':, combines the characters of Salmon and Cod. Their g'ape is wide, their intermaxillaries forming- the 

 ■\\hnli' niaiL^in of the upper jaw ; their palatals, the front part of the vomer, and the lower jaw with a band of card- 

 shaped teeth, but the toni^^ue and flat part of the palate are only rou;;*h. The maxillaries are larg^e and toothless, 

 as in many fishes, their ventrals are under the pectorals, with the external rays thick and unforked. The first 

 dorsal answers to the first half of the space between the ventrals and anal. They have twelve gill-rays, and large 

 scales upon the cheeks, gill-lids, and body. One species inhabits tlie Mediterranean. 



I'^feniopti/.r, are Mttle fishes with high compressed body, the mouth directed upwards, their humeral bones 

 forming'- a ti-enchant crest forwards, and terminating below in a little Sfiine. The pelvis formed by a small spine 

 before the \entrals. There are small grooves on each side of the pi^lvic crest, which has been considered as a ster- 

 num, and hence their name. They have an osseous crest before the first dorsal, and a little membrane answering to 

 the second. Thtt bordeis of the month are formed by the maxillaries. Two species are found in the Atlantic, which 

 may become types of two dii^tinct genera. One of these has five gill-rays, the other nine. 



TllU FIFTH FAMILY OF THE MALACOPTErtYGH ABDOMINALES. 

 C'j.upEiDiE; (the Herring Familyl. 



These have no adipose dorsal, and, as tlie Trout, they have their upper jaw formed in the middle bv 

 internjaxillarics without peduncles, and the siiies by maxillaries. Their l>odics are alwavs ,sealv, and 

 most ot them liave an air bladder and many ci-cea. Few uf theui ascend rivers, though llicy appear 

 periodically ii]ntu the sliores. 



('liij)ca, tlie Herrings, have the intermaxillaries narrow and short, forming but a small portion of the 

 jaw, which is eonifileted on the-siiles by protractile niaxillaries. The lower edge of the compressed 

 body is notched by scales, resembling the teeth of a saw. The gill openings are so wide that the tishes 

 die almost the iustant they are out of the water. The gill arches towards the mouth pectinated, the 

 stomach is an elongated sac, the air bladder long and pointed, aud their bones are verv slender and 

 numerous. They consist of several subgenera, 



Cliijxjn, Herrings properly so called, with the mouth mean-sized, and thc' upper lip entire. C. harengus needs 

 no flescription ; it appears i^eriodically in numerous shoals, [but docs not breed in the I'oUir seas, as was once 

 stated, as it gets southward into warm latitudes. Its llesh is dry and inferior]. C. spratfus resembles the Herring, 

 hut is much smaller. C. alba, White Bait, a small and delicate species, resorts to the top of the brackish water 

 to mature its spawn. It is found in various estuaries, and is highly esteemed. C. pilc/iardu.'f is about the size of 

 the Herring, hot has the dorsal more forward. It inhabits more southernly than the Herring, and is caught in 

 vast numbers on the coast of Cornwall. C. sanUna, the Sardine, is like the Pilchard, only smaller. It is taken 

 in the Mediterranean, where the HerriuL^^ is unknown, and also on the \\est coast of France. \ii> tla\our is highly 

 esteemed. 



Alosa, has a notch in the niiildle of the upper jaw, but is in other respects like the Pilcliard and Sai'dine. A. i-nl- 

 gai-is, the Shad, is much larger and lhi<;ker than the I leiidng, growing to three feet in length, and it has no teeth, 

 and a black spot behind the gills. In spring it ascends rivers, when it is much esteemed; but when taken in the 

 seals di-y and disagreeable. A.fin/a, the Twaite Shad, has teeth in the jaws, and five or six dark spots along the 

 side. It is the Common Shad of the British rivers ; hut is considered inferior to the Connnon Shad, or Alice ShatI, 

 as it is called, which, as a British fish, is by no means so common. 



C/ialoessus, resembles a Herring, only the first dorsal ray is prolonged in tlie lilament. Some have the jaws 

 equal, the muzzle imt iir'uniiiint. and the mouth small and without teeth. Others have themuzzle prominent, but 

 the mouth small. The fibrrs nf the first gills unite with those on the opposite side, and form under the palate 

 curious pinnated points. Th(isc are from the warm seas, and they complete the subgenera of Clupea as at present 

 arranged, though the following come appropriately after the Herrings, inasmuch as they have the belly sharp and 

 notched. 



Odontognaihiis, Inive the body very compressed, with three shnrp tci;'th near the vent, a li'mi^ but narrow anal, 

 a small and feelde dorsal, which is always broken, six gUl-rays, the maxidanes prolonged and a litrle jiointed, and 

 furnished with small teeth directed forwards, and uo apparent ventrals. (.tnr sjiecies from Cayenne is known, 

 resembling a small Sardine, but having the body more compressed. 



PW.s-(';(;ai-(e;-, head and teeth as in the llrrrings, four gill-rays, ventrals generally wanting, belly compressril, 

 arched, and toothed. They are found in both occms. 



