52 Appendices to Second Annual Report 





Sprat. 



Young 

 Herring. 



(a) Length from tip of premaxillse to back of head 



mm. mm. 



mm. mm. 



(commencement of dorsal scales), . 



14 to 18 



17 to 20 



(b) Length from premaxillse to insertion of pectoral 







fin, 



19 to 23 



21 to 25 



(c) Length from premaxillae to pelvic fin, 



50 to 52 



56 to 58 



(d) ,, from pelvic fin to first ray of dorsal, 



•5 to 3 



1-5 to 5 



(e) ,, of dorsal fin from first to last ray, . 



11 to 14 



13 to 14 



(/) from pelvic fin to first ray of anal, 



20 to 21 



18 to 21 



(g) ,, of anal fin from first to last ray, 



12 to 14 



11 to 13 



It will be seen from this table that although the head of the young 

 herring may be safely said to be longer than that of a sprat of the same 

 length of body, yet the reverse occasionally occurs (I only found one 

 example among all those examined). For instance, a sprat 114 mm. long 

 was measured, which had a head [see (a)] 18 mm. in length, while the 

 head of a young herring of the same total length measured only 17 mm., 

 and the same remark applies to the position of the fins on the respective 

 fish, except always in the case of the situation of the ventral in respect to 

 the dorsal, the former being, as I have said, invariably in the sprat in 

 front of and in the herring behind the latter. The number of rays in 

 the pectoral, dorsal, and anal fins is not constant in either species, but 

 the number in the pelvic fin I have never found to change either in the 

 sprat or herring ; and as the latter has two more rays in that fin than the 

 former, this character affords an excellent test where any doubt exists as 

 to the species. The fin formula is as follows : — 





Sprat. 



Herring. 



Pectoral, 



15 to 17 rays (generally 16) 



16 to 18 rays (generally 17) 



Dorsal, 



15 to 17 ,, 



17 or 18 ,, 



Pelvic, 



7 



9 



Anal, . 



18 to 20 „ 



15 or 16 , 



In both sprats and herring there are 19 caudal rays, counting only those 

 included between the most external of the long rays. The pectoral fins 

 are about the same size in both herrings and sprats of the same total 

 length ; the dorsal in the herring is slightly the longer ; the pelvic of 

 the herring is both longer and wider at the base than the sprats ; but it 

 is characteristic of the sprat that it has more rays and a longer base in 

 the anal fin than the herring, consequently that fin is generally longer in 

 the sprat than the dorsal, and scarcely so long as the dorsal in the 

 herring. 



A distinguishing character between the sprat and young herring, though 

 rather an obscure one, is the arrangement of the teeth. These are so 

 slight and slender, that it is sometimes difficult to satisfactorily ascertain 

 their presence, especially if only the feeling of roughness to the touch is 

 depended on. The teeth are arranged in the herring on the premaxillae, 

 maxillae, vomers, and there is a small patch on the tongue. In the sprat 

 they are found only on the premaxillse and maxillae, and the teeth on the 



