78 
PISCES ABDOMINALES. CLUPEA. 
Feet. 
1 
Inches. 
6 
green, and yellow; the breast, sides and belly, like mother-of-pearl. The dorsal and part of the caudal fin 
above the scales, darkish, the other fins light, whitish. 
Length from the rostrum to the tail - 
the tail - 
to the dorsal fin 
to the pectoral fin 
Height from the abdomen to the ridge of the back 
o 
o 
o 
o 
2 
5 
3 
4 
Lines. 
O 
7 
o 
6 
8 
REMARKS. 
This fish is known at Calcutta under the name of Sable fish, and highly esteemed. At Vizagapatam it 
had passed unnoticed, like many others left to the lower ranks of the people. On its appearance, by my request, 
in the way of experiment at my brother’s table, it was recognised by him as a Bengal acquaintance; and 
allowed by all to be a rich and luscious fish, with much of the herring flavour. 
On questioning the fishermen why it had never been brought before to the Chief’s table, they replied, “ It was 
“ not a gentleman’s fish; the multitude of small troublesome bones utterly disqualifying it.” I found it however 
well known to the Portuguese race, who used it souced, or prepared with tamarinds. 
In some respects it resembles the Shad, or Clupea Alosa, but differs in shape, has no spots, and the 
branchial membrane has only six ossicles. 
No. CXCIX. 
Clupea cor pore elongato, cultralo, alepidoto ; pinna clorsi remota, venlrali exigua. 
The Clupea with an elongate, knife-form body, without scales ; the dorsal fin near the 
tail, and the ventral extremely small. 
Clupea Dorabf Forskal. JVo. 108. 
Called by the Natives Wahlah. 
B. viii. D. 16. P.14. V. 6. A. 31. C. 23. 
The body long, straight, knife-form, compressed, smooth, without scales. 
The head small, compressed; the rostrum hardly declining; the front depressed, with a small ridge in the 
middle. The mouth large, very oblique, without lips. The under jaw longest, carinate, and when received into 
the upper, makes the rostrum appear pointed. In the upper jaw, are four long, projecting, lanceolate, teeth, 
with many smaller marginal behind; in the under jaw they are long, distant, reflex. Tongue small, ovate, 
smooth, loose; palate also smooth. E} r es supreme, moderate size; nostrils oval, divided by a valve. The 
branchial opercula two-leaved, with the appearance of a third, smooth, rounded; the membrane easily seen : 
the aperture large and gular. 
The trunk. The back quite straight, a little rounded, the sides compressed; the abdomen carinate, but 
serrated, differently from the others, by small fibres. The branchial denticles very long. The lateral line 
middle, straight, faint. The anus remote. 
The Jins. The dorsal near the tail has sixteen slender, declining rays, the points extending beyond the edge 
of the membrane; the pectoral low, with twelve or fourteen rays, acuminate above, and a large lanceolate 
squama at the root; the ventral middle, of six very slender, short rays; the anal commences opposite to the 
dorsal, of the same shape, but twice as long; the caudal fin strong, bifid, two inches in length. 
