APPENDIX. 
485 
No teeth in either mandible ; eyes and scales large. One dorsal 
only, tail deeply forked. Length six to seven inches. Head and 
back blue, changeable to green, and shaded with purple, yellow, 
and gold. Lower jaw and gill- covers silvery, with a reflecting 
golden lustre ; sides above the lateral line crossed by a sky-blue 
longitudinal stripe. A line of eight to fifteen round, black, eye- 
light spots, extends from the upper edge of the operculum, along 
the whole body. Belly silvery. Iris gilt. 
It would appear that this species stands intermediate between the 
common Shad, (Clupea alosa,) and the Twaite Shad, (Clupea finta,) 
possessing the toothless mouth of the former, but the size and colour- 
ing of the latter. Its natural length neVer exceeds six to seven inches. 
It is caught with the net, and used occasionally as a pickle-fish. 
39. Engraulis Encrasicolus. Flem. (Ansjovis ; Anchovy.) 
Body slender; head and snout pointed: upper jaw projecting 
considerably. Mouth deeply and horizontally cleft far behind 
the eyes. Maxillaries and palate armed with small, but sharp 
numerous teeth. Scales large and deciduous ; tail deeply forked. 
Top of head and back blue, with a tinge of green ; flanks and 
belly silvery. Fins greenish-white. Length four to five inches. 
Caught sometimes abundantly with the net, in summer, but little 
used in the Colony, the Cape salt being found unfit for its preservation 
as a condiment. 
GADIDiE. 
40. Gadus Merlucius. Lin. (Stok-visch; Hake.) Body 
'elongated, slender ; head broad, bony, depressed. Lower man- 
dible protruding beyond the upper one ; mouth very wide ; 
teeth long, sharp, in a double row in each jaw; first row 
smaller and shorter than the inner one. Two dorsal fins ; first 
three angular ; caudal fin slightly lunate ; ventral ovate, with 
five rays. No barbie under the chin. Scales large. Upper part 
of the body dusky-brown, with a bluish, steel-coloured gloss ; 
belly dirty -white. Iris yellow ; inside of mouth black. Length 
from two to three feet. 
It is remarkable that this fish, a notorious denizen of the European 
seas, was utterly unknown at the Cape of Good Hope, before the earth- 
quake of 1809, (4th December.) At first it was scarce and sold at 
exorbitant prices, (4s. 6d.) Since that period it has yearly increased 
in numbers, and is now a standard fish in the market, being caught 
in great abundance. 
English writers on Ichthyology comment very unfavourably on its 
merits, and call it a "coarse fish, scarcely fit for the dinner table." 
At the Cape its qualities are generally and fully appreciated ; in fact, 
its flesh is highly delicate and but little inferior to that of the Hadok, 
(Gadus iEglefinus.) At times it makes its appearance in large shoals. 
