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BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
about equal to length of snout, except in very young, 3 to 4.4 (average for 22 specimens 3.53) in 
head; interorbital 2.95 to 5.8; mouth moderate, oblique, slightly superior, but not entering into the 
dorsal profile; maxillary broad, reaching about opposite middle of eye, 2.2 to 2.6 in head; cheek 
broad, its width greater than its depth; mandible slightly projecting, the tip not included in the 
upper jaw, but not entering into the general dorsal outline, its outline as in P. pseudoharengus; 
teeth as in P. pseudoharengus; gill rakers long and slender, increasing in number with age, young of 
40 to 50 millimeters in length, with 28 to 34 gill rakers on the 
lower limb of the first arch, adult specimens with 42 to 50 gill 
rakers; scales moderate, more or less deciduous: ventral scutes 
19 to 22 in advance of ventrals and 13 to 16 behind ventrals, 
total number of scutes 33 to 36; dorsal fin rather small, its outer 
margin concave, the origin at least an eye’s diameter nearer tip 
of snout than base of caudal; caudal fin forked, the lobes about 
equal; anal fin a little longer than the dorsal, but lower, its 
origin about equally distant from base of ventrals and base of 
caudal; ventral fins small, inserted equidistant from the base of 
pectorals and the origin of the anal; pectoral fins similar to the 
ventrals, but larger, 1.3 to 1.85 in head. 
Color bluish above, sides silvery; upper rows of scales with 
more or less distinct dark lines in the adult; a dark spot at 
shoulder (this is rarely present in specimens less than 100 milli- 
meters (4 inches) in length). Fins all plain, sometimes slightly 
yellowish or greenish in life. Peritoneum black. 
Numerous specimens, ranging from 20 to 295 millimeters (% to 11% inches) in length, have 
been examined. This species is similar to the branch herring (P. pseudoharengus), the most out- 
standing difference being the color of the peritoneum, which is black in the present species and pale 
or silvery in the branch herring. Externally, the glut herring differs from the branch herring in 
being a more slender and elongate fish. It has a somewhat smaller eye, and the color of the back 
is bluish rather than grayish green, as in the branch herring. This difference in color is recognized 
by the fishermen and gives rise to the local names “blue herring” and “gray herring.” All of the 
external differences mentioned, however, appear to vary, and occasionally intermediate specimens 
are found, which are difficult to separate without examining the peritoneum. The difference 
between the young and the adults of this species are not especially pronounced and are not unusual. 
The sexes are so similar that they are not readily distinguished externally. 
The habits of this fish are similar to those of the branch herring, and the remarks regarding the 
latter in general also apply to this fish. The glut herring, however, enters fresh water several 
weeks later than the branch herring. In the lower bay a few are caught with pound nets in March, 
the catch increasing toward the end of the month. In the first week of April, 1922, the pound 
nets at Lynnhaven Roads and Ocean View were catching the two species in the following ratio: 
Branch herring 60, glut herring 40. The peak of the catch of glut herring is usually taken between 
