SKIPJACK. _ 873 
son to the same district, or even the same State, is not very great. . 
Several large individuals have already been taken inthe Ohio. As tothe 
value of the Shad as a food fish in Ohio, the following note by Mr. Klip- 
part, seems to contain the gist of the matter. 
‘People from the Kast, who, in their childhood, were accustomed to 
Shad as a food fish, have imbibed very strong prejudices in its favor ; but 
people accustomed to White-fish at first, never learn to esteem the Shad 
as highly as Eastern people do. Non-migrating fishes will find greater 
favor as food fish, while any sort of game fish will be greatly preferred by 
the sportsman.” 
Genus 47, POMOLOBUS. Rafinesque. 
~ Pomolobus, RAFINESQUE, Ich. Oh., 1820, 38. 
Kowala, Meletta, etc, Cuv. et Vau., Hist. Nat. des Poiss., xx. 
Alausella, Git, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1861, 36, etc. 
Type, Pomolobus chrysochloris, Rafinesque. 
Etymology, poma, operculum ; lobos, lobe. 
No teeth on the vomer ; feeble or caducous teeth present on some one or more of the 
bones of the mouth (rather stout in one species); lower jaw rather the longest, its lips 
fitting into the emargination of the upper; gill rakers rather long; dorsal fin median, 
beginning ratherin advance of ventrals, its last ray not filamentous; ventral serrations 
strong; body oblong, compressed ; scales medium, posteriorly entire. Species 60 or 70, 
in all seas, some of them entering or remaining in fresh water. 
This genus is divisible into several groups or subgenera, Pomolobus proper being re- 
presented by a single American fresh water species. It is distinguished by its stronger 
dentition, the teeth at the symphysis of the lower jaw being larger than in other 
Clupeid@, and there are some teeth on the premaxillaries and the tongue. The Ameri- 
can marine species (Alewife, etc.,) belong to the subgenus Meletia, with teeth on the 
tongue only. Both Pomolobus and Alosa are distinguished from Clupea by characters of 
little importance. 
89. PoMoLOBUS CHRYSOCHLORIS Rafinesque. 
Skipjack; Ohio Shad. | 
Pomolobus chrysochloris, RAFINESQUE, Ich. Oh., 1820, 38 —GiL1, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., 
Phila., 1861, 33.—JORDAN, Man. Vert., 2d Ed., 1878, 279, and of most late writers 
who have noticed the species. 
Alosa chrysochloris, KIRTLAND, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist., iv, 307, pl. 15, fig. 3. 
Description —Body elliptical, much compressed, not elevated; mouth rather large, 
terminal, oblique, the teeth in the jaws better developed than in other shad-like fishes ; 
caudal peduncle rather deep, its depth about twice the width of the eye ; color brilliant 
blue, with green and golden reflections, silvery below; head 4; depth 54; D.18; A. 183 
lat. 1. 55; 17 scutes behind ventrals. Length 8 to 12 inches. 
Habitat, Mississippi Valley and Gulf of + exico; generally abundant in the larger 
streams, and escaped through the canals into Lakes Erie and Michigan. 
