190 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Color pale greenish; lower parts silvery; sides with a well-defined silvery band, narrower 
than half the eye, bounded above by a dark line; scales on the back with numerous brown dots; 
fins plain; peritoneum silvery, usually with dark dots. 
Many specimens of this species are at hand, varying in length from 15 to 75 millimeters. Two 
varieties (subspecies) have been recognized by Kendall (1902, pp. 260 and 261), who regarded the 
Potomac River fish( the typical beryllina ) as subspecifically distinct from the salt-water, coastwise 
form, which he named cerea. The salt-water form is said to have a somewhat blunter snout, less 
compressed body, and usually a shorter caudal peduncle. The Chesapeake Bay specimens are 
partly from fresh, partly from brackish, and partly from salt water. The specimens, however, 
appear to be quite uniform, and they are here all regarded as representing the typical beryllina. 
This species is recognized by its small size, short anal fin, rather large scales, and the pale silvery 
peritoneum. The number of soft rays in the anal fin rarely overlaps with M . menidia. The average 
number, however, is quite distinct. In the present species in 156 specimens the anal fin has 14 soft 
rays in 2 specimens, 15 in 24, 16 in 54, 17 in 55, 18 in 11, 19 in 9, and 20 in 1 specimen. The num- 
