516 
ACCOUNT OF SOME FISHES 
albits, or Attihhawmeg, their general figure, and the shape 
of their fins being nearly alike. It is. however, a more 
dehcate-looking fish, from the comparative smallness of its 
organs. 
Its body, viewed laterally, is broadly oblong, tapering ra- 
ther suddenly to form the tail. Its back is straighter than 
that of the Attihhawmegh, and seldom gibbous. Its depth 
is one-third of its length. The body is compressed ; the 
belly is obtuse ; the back rather more acute ; the greatest 
diameter near the lateral line. The lateral line is straight, 
until it nearly reaches the adipose fin, when it makes a very 
slight curvature upwards. 
The colour of the whole body, when held opposite to the 
light, is silvery, with much lustre. In the shade, the back 
is greenish-grey, the belly white, and the sides of interme- 
diate colours. The fins are bluish-grey; the opercula, 
cheeks, and irides, silvery. The scales are oblong, half an 
inch long, and of nearly uniform size over the whole body. 
The vertex is covered with a soft, smooth, bluish-grey skin. 
Tlie head is small, and, when viewed sideways, appears 
conical. The snout is short, and, when the jaws are open, 
appears truncated. In a dried specimen it looks rather 
pointed. 
The mouth is smaller ; and the lips, w hen open, project 
in a still less degree beyond the snout than those of the 
Attihhawmegh, Its orifice is transverse. The lower jaw 
is very slightly longer than the upper one, and has a small 
knob at its symphysis in the male, which is received into a 
depression, produced in the upper one by the smallness and 
recession of the intermaxillary bones. 
The teeth on the jaws, if any, are too small to be felt. 
The tongue is heart-shaped,, soft on the edges ; but there 
is a small plate in its centre set with minute teeth. 
