298 
HEBRIDAL SMELT. 
Salmo silus by Ascanius, to whose writings, however, I have 
not access; but it appears that even by writers who must 
have known this fish it has been confounded with another 
which is like it, as by some it has been called Argentina 
SphtjrcBna, this latter being a fish of the Mediterranean; and 
Nilsson describes two closely-allied fishes of the north, one of 
which he designates A. silus, and the other, which is our 
Hebridal Smelt, he calls Argentina silus Junior. But further, 
as a proof that these two fishes are distinct, he specifies the 
number of vertebrae in each, those of the larger species (or 
A. silus) being sixty-five, while those in our fish are only 
fifty-two; a difiPerence too great to be ascribed to a casual 
variation in the number, or an error in the counting. 
It appears that this fish is not rare in the sea near the 
islands to the north of Scotland, and along the coasts of 
Norway; and yet I am informed by Mr. John Iverach, of 
Kirkwall, in Orkney, that it is not known to the fishermen of 
that island; and but little seems to be known of its habit of 
going up into fresh water. Its being taken with a baited 
hook is proof of its eagerness for food. 
To assist observers in further inquiry as to the habits of 
this fish, we have copied the figure given of it by Bloch, as 
above quoted; and our description is taken in a great measure 
from that supplied by Mr. Yarrell. The ordinary size of this 
fish appears to be seven or eight inches in length, while that 
of A. silus, referred to above, is said by Nilsson to be 
seventeen inches, the general form being much like that of 
the Smelt. Jaws nearly equal; gape small; teeth as described 
in the generic character; eye very large; upper surface of 
the head flattened, descending to the snout with a rapid 
slope. The body covered with large scales, ■which are easily 
lost; the lateral line rather high on the side, and below this 
line are two rows of silvery white scales, which run the 
length of the body. Nilsson says that in the large species 
when young the sides are silvery, but when full grown they 
become yellow. The dorsal fin in our fish begins half rvay 
between the point of the nose and the anterior edge of the 
adipose fin, and the longest ray nearly twice the length of the 
base of the fin; the adipose fin very near the tail; the tail 
itself deeply forked. The pectoral fin reaches to the plane of 
