GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE HERRING FAMILY. 26? 



times almost the dorsal, united to the caudal fin : like all 

 such fishes, the body is more or less lengthened and eel- 

 shaped ; but its great compression, its large scales, and 

 the general aspect, clearly show an affinity to the herrings ; 

 while it also reminds us both of Laurida and Esox, by 

 its numerous, slender, sharp, and unequal teeth. 



(234.) The herrings, taken collectively, are moderate 

 sized fishes, the greater number not exceeding in size 

 that which is so well known on our own coasts ; yet a 

 few others, found in tropical seas, attain to the gigantic 

 length of from ten to twelve feet : many of them, how- 

 ever, are small ; and of these the sprat and white bait 

 {Clupea alba Yarr.) are native examples. It appears 

 that the whole of this family, so far as known, are car- 

 nivorous; yet the animals upon which the greater part of 

 them feed, are very small : we argue this from the 

 excessive minuteness of the teeth, and even. in the total 

 absence of them in very many of the herrings ; and 

 this idea is confirmed by the fact of immense quantities 

 of minute shrimps, resembling our sand fleas, having 

 been found in their stomachs : it seems, also, that they 

 greedily devour the roe or spawn of other fishes ; since 

 large quantities are said to be imported into France from 

 the north of Europe, for the purpose of attracting 

 pilchards to the nets.* There are several genera, how- 

 ever, whose teeth are much more developed, which, with 

 their very wide mouths,' leads to the conclusion that they 

 feed upon other fishes and larger prey : among these are 

 the anchovies (^Engraulis^, Butirinus, Hyodon, and par- 

 ticularly Chirocentrus, whose teeth, in fact, much more 

 resemble those of the pike ; the habits and economy, 

 however, of all these are quite unknown. There is not 

 much diversity among the herrings in the form and 

 disposition of their fins : the dorsal is always single, at 

 least in the more typical genera, and most generally 

 placed towards the middle of the back ; this we make 

 the strongest mark of discrimination between them and 



* For this, and several other facts connected with the herrings, see 

 Yarrell's British Fishes, — a work which abounds with similar interesting 

 anecotes. 



