FOURTEEN TELEOSTEAN FISHES AT BEAUFORT, N. C. 393 
almost to the margin of the opercle, as in the adult. The conical, projecting snout, 
characteristic of anchovies generally, is fully developed. Pigmentation has now 
appeared on the back of the fish and particularly in the concentration of chroma- 
tophores forming a brownish area on the head. The silvery lateral band has ap- 
peared, but it remains quite narrow and rather indistinct. A further deepening of 
the body has taken place, and the depth is contained about 6.0 times in the length. 
Scales are not evident on the specimens in hand. (Fig. 14.) 
Figure li.—Anchoviella epsetus. From a specimen 39 millimeters long 
Specimens 4 5.0 millimeters long . — At this length the young fish has virtually all 
the characters of the adult and it may be recognized readily as this species. The 
body is very nearly as deep as in adult fish; the silvery lateral band is clear and 
distinct; and scales, or at least scale markings, are present. Owing to the deciduous 
nature of the scales they often are lost, leaving only scale markings on the body. 
(Fig. 15.) 
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERS 
The number of rays in the anal fin constitutes the most reliable character for 
the separation of A. epsetus from A. mitchilli. However, after the dorsal and anal 
A 
fins become well developed the two species may be separated more conveniently by 
the relative position of the dorsal and anal fin, and, also, by the position of the vent 
with respect to the origin of the dorsal. That is, in A. epsetus the origin of the anal 
is under the middle of the dorsal base, and the vent is definitely posterior to a vertical 
line from the origin of the dorsal. In A. mitchilli , on the other hand, the origin of 
the anal is only slightly behind the origin of the dorsal ; and the vent is under, or more 
usually slightly anterior to, the origin of the dorsal fin. After A. epsetus reaches a 
length of about 45 millimeters it has a broader and a much more distinct silvery 
lateral band than its relative. 
