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ONE OF THE RAREST AI^RICAN COLOR PLATE BOOKS

Holbrook, John Edwards. Ichthyology of South Carolina. 2 leaves, 182 pp.,
blank leaf. With 2? hand colored lithographic plates, hto. Contemp.half mo-
rocco. (Rebacked).

V

Charleston, S.C., John Russell, 1855^(1857?).

$1,250.00

A fine copy of the First Complete Edition - one of a few surviving copies.
The plates each bear pictures of two fishes, in striking natural colors,
along with small black and white figures of their scales, an invaluable holp
in identifying the various species.

The publishing history of this work, extending as it does from I81i5 (?) to
i860, is quite complicated. Holbrook first planned a work entitled Southern
Ichthyology, which was to be issued in parts. Only one copy of the second
(and last) part issued is recorded as surviving (Crerar Library, Chicago),
and the LC Catalogue states that part 1 was never issued. In the preface to
■ the present work, Holbrook states that two parts were issued, but, in any event,
publication was not completed.

In l855j publication of the present work began, to be completed, as the au-
thor cjays, in "a year or 18 months". A few copies had been distributed when
a fire in Philadelphia destroyed both the original drawings and the stock of
completed plates. Holbrook had to make new drawings and reprint the work com-
pletely for publication in i860 (with one more plate than in the present edi-
tion), at which time he recalled all copies of the 1855 - (1857?) edition.
The LC Union Catalogue records only four copies of the latter (N.Y. State Li-
brary, Yale, Western Reserve, and Acad. Nat. Sciences, Philadelphia), and no
copy has appeared at auction in recent' years. Bennett describes only the
i860 edition, and seems never to have seen a copy of the 1855-(1857?) edition.
Nissen incorrectly states that the l855-(l857?) edition was without plates -
he probably had seen a stray copy which had been circulated after the plates
were destroyed.

See illustration on back cover.

Sabin 32[t52; see also Nissen, Schoene Fischbuecher, no.
Guide to American 19th Cent. Color Plate Books, p . 56 .

77; Bennett, Practical

■MXloCJeA^

i

ICHTHYOLOGY

OF

SOUTH CAROLINA.

BY JOHN EDWARDS HOLBROOK, M. D.,

PROFESSOR OP ANATOMY I>f THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA; MEMBER

OP THE ROYAL MEDICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH ; OP THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF NORTHERN

ANTIQUARIES, COPENHAGEN ; OF THE SOCIETY OF NATUKFORSCHENDE FREUNDE, BERLIN ;

CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY ; OF THE

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ; OP THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL

SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA; OF THE NEW YORK LYCEUM OF NATURAL

HISTORY ; ANI> OF THE BOSTON NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

CHARLESTON, S. C:

PUBLISHED BY JOHN RUSSELL,

18 5 5.

C-

Cambbidge:
metcalf and company, printers to the university.

NOTICE.

It must be here stated, that much of this work now offered to the Public was
printed several years since: indeed twg numbers were published under another title in
1845: some few pages have been reprinted, and new matter added. So much it is
necessary to say, to account for the apparent negligence in not referring to late works
on Ichthyology.

Notwithstanding the great delay in the publication of this work, it is now so far
advanced that it will he printed in a year or eighteen months. In a succeeding num-
ber will he given some account of the anatomy of Fishes, and of the terms made use
of in description.

THE AUTHOR.

Medical College of the State of South Carolina,

November Wth, 1854.

ICHTHYOLOGY

OF

SOUTH CAROLINA.

FAMILY FEnCIDJE. — amer.

Chaeacters. Body elongated, more or less compressed, and covered with ad-
herent scales, generally hard, with their exposed surfaces roughened, and their free
posterior margin ciliated or serrated; opercular bones serrated or spinous; jaws
not cuirassed ; superior margin of the mouth formed by the inter-maxillaries ;
teeth on the inter-maxillaries, the inferior maxillary, vomer, palate, and pharyngeal
bones ; these teeth are brush-like in some, in others they are conical, and are more
or less developed ; tongue in some smooth, in others armed with minute teeth ;
dorsal fin single or double ; anterior part spinous ; ventral fins mostly thoracic ;
no barbels at the chin.

GENUS PEECA. — Lin., Cuvier.

Characters. Body elongated, sub-compressed ; inter-maxillary, inferior maxil-
lary, vomerine, palatine, and pharyngeal teeth villiform, equal; tongue smooth;
internal surface of the branchial arches armed with minute teeth ; two dorsal
fins, distinct, separated, anterior spinous ; free margin of the pre-opercle serrated ;
opercle ends in a flattened point ; branchial rays seven.
1

2 PERCA FLAVESCENS.

PERCA FLAVESCENS. — Mitchill

Plate I. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body above dusky tinted greenish-yellow, below gold-
en ; belly white ; six or eight dark, vertical bands descend from the back and dis-
appear at the belly ; ventral and anal fins orange-colour ; tongue smooth. D. 13 -
1-13. P. 15. V. 1-5. A. 2-8. C. 17.

Synonymes. Morone flavescens, Mitch., Report in part, &c.

Bodianus flavescens, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 421.

Perca flavescens, Cuv., Reg. An., torn. ii. p. 133.

Perca flavescens, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 46.

Perca acuta, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 49, pi. 10.

Perca granulata, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 48, pi. 9.

Perca serrato-granulata, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 47.

Perca gracilis, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 50.

Perca flavescens. Rich., Faun. Boreal. Am., iii. p. 1, pi. 74.

Perca acuta. Rich., Faun. Boreal. Am., iii. p. 4.

Perca gracilis. Rich., Faun. Boreal. Am^, iii. p. 4.

Perca flavescens, Storer, Report, &c., p. 5.

Perca flavescens, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 3, pi. 1, fig. 1.

Perca granulata, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 5, pi. 48, fig. 220.

Perca serrato-granulata, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 5.

Perca acuta, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii., p. 6.

Perca gracilis, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 6.

Perca flavescens, Ayres, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p. 250.

Perca flavescens, Kirt., Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. v. p. 337.

Perca flavescens, Storer, Synops., p. 17.

Red-finned Perch, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish is elongated, moderately compressed, with
the dorsal outline arched, and somewhat gibbous in front of the dorsal fin, and
the ventral outline nearly straight. The head is large, sub-depressed above, or so
flattened as to make the facial outline slightly concave ; and the snout is full and
rounded. The anterior nostril, which is the smaller of the two, is round, and

PERCA FLAVESCENS. 3

placed midway between the eye and snout ; the posterior is oval, and both are on
a line within the orbit. The eye is very large, and is longest in the horizontal
direction ; its posterior margin is equidistant between the angle of the opercle
and the snout, and its inferior margin is about the median plane of the head ;
the lower jaw, though apparently longer than the upper when the mouth is open,
is in fact shorter, and received within it when the mouth is shut.

The mouth is large, though the posterior margin of the upper jaw scarcely ex-
tends beyond the orbit ; the upper jaw, the margin of which is made up entirely
of the inter-maxillary, is armed with a large band of rough, villiform, equal teeth,
and the inferior maxillary has a narrower band of similar teeth ; there is a nar-
row chevron-like group on the anterior extremity of the vomer, and a more slen-
der band on each palatine, as well as a few minute teeth on the transverse bones,
where they join the vomer; the internal faces of the branchial arches are fur-
nished with rows of minute teeth, and the pharyngeal bones are armed in a
similar manner ; the tongue is thin, rounded in front, smooth, and tolerably free.
There are seven branchial rays.

The pre-opercle is rounded at its angle, and is serrated in nearly its Avhole free
margin, both behind and below, where the serratures are largest and directed
forward; it is naked or uncovered with scales. The opercle is sub-triangular,
pointed and spinous behind, Avith its upper side rounded ; it is naked or without
scales on its lower half, which is marked with radiating strise more or less distinct.
The sub-opercle is sub-triangular, with its apex behind and its inferior border
rounded and serrated, and is covered with scales. The inter-opercle is broad, and
rounded below. The head above in front of the eye is smooth ; the cheeks are
covered Avith scales.

The dorsal fin is double, or is so deeply cleft as to appear so, the connecting
membrane between the two portions being so slightly elevated. The anterior is
long, and is equal in elevation to more than half the height of the body ; it
begins just behind the opercle, and has sixteen spines, partially received in a
groove when the fin is closed ; of these spines the first is short, and the third,

4 PERCA FLAVESCENS.

fourth, fifth, and sixth are longest. The second or posterior dorsal is shorter and
less elevated than the anterior ; it arises rather in front of the anus, and has two
spines, the anterior very short, and fifteen branched rays. The pectoral begins
nearly in a line vertical with the spine of the opercle, and extends to the root of
the ninth dorsal spine ; it is broad, rounded behind, and has fourteen rays. The
ventral arises near the anterior fourth of the pectoral, and extends one fourth of
its length behind it ; it has one long spine and five soft rays. The anal begins in
a line with the root of the sixth dorsal soft ray, and terminates with the dorsal
fin behind ; it has two spines and nine branched rays. The caudal fin is large,
sub-crescentic, with its horns broad and rounded ; it has seventeen rays, and is
covered with a few scales both above and below. The scales are small, very ad-
herent, unguiform, rounded and ciliated behind, serrated in front, and marked with
seven radiating lines. The lateral line begins near the supra-scapular, and runs
about the superior fourth of the body and concurrently with the dorsal outline as
far as the middle of the second dorsal fin, when it descends to the median plane,
and thus is continued ; its scale has the duct nearly in the middle.

Colour. The back above is more or less dusky, and tinted with green ; the
sides are golden-yellow, and the belly white ; six or eight vertical dusky bars de-
scend from the back on the sides, but they disappear at the belly ; the membrane
of the anterior dorsal fin is transparent, more or less clouded, and has a dusky
spot near its posterior extremity ; the pectoral is transparent ; the rays of the
ventral are orange-colour, but the membrane is transparent ; the anal is orange.

Dimensions. The length, from the opercle to the tip of the caudal fin, is equal
to three heads and a half; the greatest elevation without the dorsal fin, to one
head ; total length, twelve inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is thin and of a silvery colour. The stomach is very large, and
when distended with food it fills nearly the whole cavity of the abdomen ; its walls are thiti. The
pyloric branch is exceedingly small and short, though it has thick walls ; it departs from the stom-
ach near its middle. The small intestine is larger and more capacious than the pyloric branch of
the stomach ; it runs first towards the vent, is then reflected to the pylorus, whence it returns to
end in the rectum, wliich is long, slender, and has a very prominent valve ; there are three

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PERCA FLAVESCENS. 5

large, short coecal appendages. The liver is small, and seems but a single mass, as there
are no marks of separation into lobes. The spleen is short, flattened, narrow, and of a very
dark colour. The air-bladder is large, and extends the whole length of the abdominal cavity ;
it is of a conical shape, broad in front, and pointed behind, with a beautiful vascular ganglion on
its inferior surface within. The ovaries are large, and united closely together behind. The kidneys
are large, but the urinary bladder is small.

Habits. The Perch, is a voracious animal, although its teeth are but small ; it
is solitary in its habits, for even in ponds and rivers, when most abundant, it is
never seen in shoals, like many other fish, but each one seeks its own dwelling-
place. In cold weather it is found in deep water, but in the summer months it
may be seen swimming slowly, and most generally against the current of the
stream ; suddenly it stops and remains stationary for a minute or two, and often
in a position almost perpendicular, with its head near the ground, as if seeking
nourishment; it now suddenly darts forward, swims rapidly for some distance,
and then again comes to a stand. In July and August it approaches the surface,
allured, doubtless, by grasshoppers and such other insects as may fall into the
water ; and at this time it rises to the fly, though in general it is baited with
worms. The flesh is white, firm, and delicate, and is much esteemed.

Geographical Distribution. This fish has a very widely extended geograph-
ical range. It has been observed in nearly all the Atlantic States ; in the great
Northern lakes ; and, according to Professor J. P. Kirtland, of Cleaveland, it has
lately found its way into the tributaries of the Ohio River.*

General Remarks. Previous to the time of Cuvier, all ichthyologists sup-
posed the American Perch to be identical with, or at least a simple variety of, the
European, so great is the resemblance between them ; Cuvier, however, not only
proved it to be a distinct species, but went still further, and described the
several varieties of the American Perch as so many different species ; and in this
he has been followed by several naturalists. But it should be remembered
that those fishes that are common to a geographical region of great extent are
subject to individual variations, which can only be recognized by a comparison

* Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist., vol. v. p. 337.

POMOTIS VULGARIS.

of many individuals, and from very distant places ; then we shall see, as in the
animal now under consideration, that a " snout more pointed, a head more wrin-
kled, or dentations of the opercular bones equally marked, are not constant char-
acters." Dr. Storer, in his Synopsis of the Fishes of North America, was the first
who referred all the known varieties or supposed species to the Perca jlavescens.

GENUS POMOTIS. — Cuvier.

Characteks. Pre-opercle more or less denticulated ; inter-maxillary, vomerine,
inferior maxillary, and pharyngeal teeth; tongue and palate-bones smooth or
without teeth ; a membranous appendix at the angle of the opercle ; branchial
rays six.

POMOTIS VULGAKIS. — Cuvier.

Plate I. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body sub-ovoid ; brown, with a greenish tint above,
and with brazen or yellow tints and spots below ; head dusky above, with pale-
blue waving horizontal lines on the opercle and pre-opercle ; opercular appendix
dark, with a bright red blotch on its inferior posterior margin. D. 10-11. P. 13.
V. 1-5. A. 3-10. C. 17.

Synonymes. Perca fluviatilis gibbosa ventre luteo, Catesby, Carolina, &c., vol. ii. p. 8.
Labrus auritus, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. See. N. Y., vol. i. p. 403.
Pomotis vulgaris, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Polss., torn. iii. p. 91, pi. 49 ; id. vii. 465.
Pomotis vulgaris, Rich., Faun. Boreal. Am., iii. p. 24, fig. 76.
Pomotis vulgaris, Storer, Report, &c., p. 11.

Pomotis vulgaris, Kirt., Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iii. p. 471, pi. 28, fig. 11.
Pomotis vulgaris, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 31, pi. 51, fig. 166.
Pomotis vulgaris, Ayres, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p. 258.
Pomotis vulgaris, Agassiz, Lake Superior, p. 293.
Pomotis vulgaris, Storer, Synops., p. 40.
Perch or Sun-fish, Vulgo.

POMOTIS VULGARIS. 7

Description. This fish is of an ovoidal form, convex above and below, but
straighter and thicker at the belly. The head is large, broad, though not thicker
than the rest of the body ; it is smooth between the eyes and snout, which is full
and rounded. The eye is large, and is placed with its inferior margin above the
median plane of the head, and about one diameter of its orbit from the snout,
and two and a half diameters from the extremity of the opercle; the pupil is
dusky with a black tint, and the iris is brazen. The nostrils are rather nearer the
mesial line than the orbit, and the upper is about the median plane of the eye ;
both are round, but the posterior is the larger.

The mouth is rather small, very protractile ; the lower jaw is slightly the longer,
and both have very thin lips. The inter-maxillary is armed with a broad group
of small, pointed, thickly set, card-like teeth, with an outer row of conical, point-
ed teeth, of much greater size, and nearly all of the same length; the lower jaw
has similar teeth ; the anterior superior as well as the posterior pharyngeal bones
are small ; the former are armed with a few small, pointed teeth, the latter are
covered with minute villiform teeth ; the middle pharyngeals are massive and
broad ; they are paved with large teeth, some of which have their grinding sur-
faces smooth, others rounded, or slightly depressed ; the inferior pharyngeals are
equally large, and have similar teeth, though the grinding surfaces are here mostly
flat ; there are a few pointed, conical vomerine teeth. The pre-opercle is rounded
and finely serrated at its angle ; its surface is smooth or without scales, though it
has a scalloped appearance. The opercle is broad, covered with large scales, sub-
triangular, with its apex behind, from which proceeds a loose fleshy appendix.
The sub-opercle is long, narrow, rounded below, rather pointed behind, and is cov-
ered with large scales. The inter-opercle is quadrilateral, broadest behind, and
rounded below.

The dorsal fln is large ; it begins with the posterior extremity of the opercular
appendix, and has ten rather stout spines placed in a groove of scales ; the
soft portion of the dorsal is more elevated than the spinous, and has eleven
branched rays. The pectoral begins with the termination of the opercle, or
rather before it, and extends to the root of the third anal spine ; it is broad,

8

POMOTIS VULGARIS.

lonf, and has thirteen rays. The ventral arises just behind the root of the pecto-
ral, and terminates beyond the vent ; it has one short, stiff spine, and five branched
rays, the anterior slightly prolonged by a filament. The anal fin is large, elevated ;
it has three stout spines, the anterior short, and nine branched rays, much longer
than the spines. The caudal is broad, slightly lunate, and has seventeen rays.

The scales are large, semicircular behind, and ciliated, slightly prominent be-
fore, with twelve radiating striae. The lateral line begins at the upper margin of
the opercle, and runs along the upper fourth of the body concurrent with the
dorsal outline to the root of the tail, when it descends to the median plane ; its
scale is slightly unguiform in shape, with the duct opening near its middle.

Colour. The head is dusky above, with pale-blue waving lines running from
the snout to the eye ; the opercle, pre-opercle, and sub-opercle are also marked
with five or six bands of similar colour, more or less undulating ; the appendix
is black, with a bright scarlet blotch on its posterior part. The body is olive-
brown above, with a slight shade of green, and is marked with irregular spots of
reddish-brown ; the sides and belly are yellow, more or less clouded, and below
the lateral line are numerous brazen spots, or at times they may be bright reddish-
brown, arranged with some degree of regularity. The dorsal fin is transparent,
with dusky shades and dusky spots on its soft portion ; the rays of the pectoral
fin are yellow, though the membrane is transparent ; the ventral is transparent,
but with a strong yellow tint ; the anal is transparent, though it is shaded with
blue in places, and has a row of yellowish or brazen spots near the origin of the
rays ; the caudal is semi-transparent, with dusky shades and spots ; it is bordered
with dirty white behind, which is well seen in water when the animal is alive.

Dimensions. The length of the animal from the opercle to the tip of the tail
is equal to two heads and three quarters ; the elevation Avithout the dorsal fin, to
one head and a half; total length, nine inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is silvery. Tlie liver is large, and without subdivisions into lobes
on its inferior aspect ; it is placed mostly on the left side, and extends more than half the length

POMOTIS VULGARIS. 9

of the abdomen backwards. The gall-bladder is small, pyriform, and the bile is of pale colour.
The stomach is broad, tolerably large, though short ; the pyloric portion begins near its middle, and
the sphincter at the pylorus is well marked. The small intestine is capacious, and makes several
convolutions before it ends in the rectum ; there are eight coscal appendages. The air-bladder
is large, broad, full in front, and slightly subdivided into pouches ; it is smaller behind, and
prolonged in two horns for some distance along the sides of the inter-spinal bones of the anal fin.
The kidney is large, though the urinary bladder is small.

Habits. This fish prefers the clearest waters. In the spring of the year the
female prepares herself a circular nest, by removing all reeds or other dead
aquatic plants from a spot of a foot or more in diameter, so as to leave bare
the clean gravel or sand ; this she excavates to the depth of three or four inches,
and then deposits her spawn, which she watches with the greatest vigilance ; and
it is curious to see how carefully she guards this nest against all intruders ; in
every fish, even those of her own species, she sees only an enemy, and is restless
and uneasy till she has driven it away from her dwelling-place. We often find
groups of these nests placed near each other, along the margin of the pond or
river the fish inhabits, but always in very shallow water ; hence they are liable
to be left dry in seasons of great drought. These curious nests are most fre
quently encircled by aquatic plants, forming a curtain round them, but a large
space is invariably left open for the admission of light.

Geographical Distribution. The Pomotis vulgaris is found in the great
Northern lakes, the Atlantic States from Maine to Florida ; and, according to Dr.
Kirtland, in the tributary ponds and streams of the Ohio River.

General Remarks. In giving such a wide geographical range to this animal
the identity of the Northern and Southern animal is presupposed, and of this iden-
tity I have little doubt, after the comparison and examination of hundreds of indi-
viduals. It is true, if we take a single Northern and a single Southern specimen
for comparison, diff"erences may be observed between them that might lead us to
believe they were of difi"erent species ; but in a comparison of many, these apparent
differences are confounded or lost. We have then, in this instance, as in that of
the Perca Jlavesceus, an animal widely extended in our fresh waters, both North
and South, having certain minor differences in different regions, but agreeing per-

2

]^0 POMOTIS RUBRICAUDA.

fectly as a whole. The specific name vulgaris was first applied to this animal
by Cuvier, and it is here retained, because I do not believe that this fish is the
Labrus aiiritus of Linneeus ; nor is it possible at this time to determine the an-
imal on which he imposed this name in the tenth edition of the Systema Natune,
in which it first appears, for his description is short, — his sole reference is to the
Museum of De Geer, — and his " habitat " Pennsylvania. The Labrus auritiis of the
twelfth edition is a difierent animal, for here the " opercula apice membranaceo,
elongato nigro," first appears ; and this description may possibly apply to one of
the two succeeding species, for in 1772, four years before the publication of that
work, Dr. Garden sent the Swedish naturalist, among other things, the dried skins
of two fishes, " Fresh-Avater Eed-bellied Trout " and " Fresh-water Bream." Now
each of these has a black, elongated, fleshy auricular appendage, which exists in none
other of our fishes. Linneeus, however, receiving these fishes from the very scene
of Catesby's labours, refers to the plate " Perca fluviatilis gibbosa," &c. of that au-
thor, not with certainty, but with doubt, and in his description he does not speak
of the red spot at the opercle which Catesby says " distinguishes his fish from all
others " ; so it appears to me certain that the specific name aiiritus was not applied
to the animal now under consideration, but to some other at present unknown.

POMOTIS EUBPJCAUDA. — Storer.

Plate II. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body dusky above ; sides and belly red ; appendix to the
opercle very long ; black, bordered above and below with pale greenish-blue.
D. 10-11. P. 12. V. 1-5. A. 3-10. C. 17.

Synonymes. Pomotis rubricauda, Storer, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p. 177.
Pomotis appendix, Storer, Synops., p. 42.
Red-bellied Perch, Vulgo.

Description. This fish is of an ovoidal form, but more elongated and less
arched than Pomotis vulgaris. The head is large, broad, and rather prominent

POMOTIS RUBRICAUDA. 11

between the eyes, with the snout full and nearly semicircular. The eye is moder-
ate in size, and is j^laced about one diameter of its orbit from the snout, and
two diameters and one quarter from the tip of the opercle, with its lower margin
above the median plane of the head. The nostrils are on a line within the
orbit ; the posterior is the larger ; the anterior is tubular, and both are above the
median plane of the eye.

The mouth is rather small ; the inter-maxillary teeth are numerous, pointed, and
thickly set, with an outer row of larger teeth, conical, pointed, and recurved ; the
lower jaw is armed in like manner ; the palatine and vomerine teeth are very mi-
nute ; the pharyngeal bones are covered with teeth similar to those of the outer row
of the lower jaw, with a few smaller ones behind. The pre-opercle is rounded and
but slightly serrated at its angle, with its ascending border directed a little back
Avards ; it is smooth, though the cheeks above are covered with scales. The oper-
cle is triangular, with its apex below, and its posterior angle rounded, and sustains
a long fleshy appendix. The sub-opercle is an isosceles triangle in shape, long,
narrow, rounded below, with its basis before and its apex behind. The inter-oper-
cle is nearly a parallelogram, narrow, and covered Avith a single roAV of scales.

The dorsal fin begins on a line with the middle of the appendix of the opercle,
and has ten short, rather stout spines, and eleven branched rays considerably
longer than the spines. The pectoral is broad, and begins in front of the termi-
nation of the bony opercle and ends at the middle of the vent. The ventral is
long ; it arises at the root of the pectoral and extends beyond the vent ; it has
one short spine, and five soft rays, of which the anterior ends in a filament. The
anal begins nearly with the soft dorsal rays, and terminates with them be-
hind ; it has three spines, the anterior very small, and the third very long and
strong; there are ten soft rays, much longer than the spines. The caudal is
large, broad, slightly lunate, and has seventeen rays.

The lateral line begins at the upper margin of the opercle, and runs near the
upper third of the body, concurrently with the dorsal outline to the root of the
tail, when it descends to the median plane.

12 POMOTIS RUBRICAUDA.

Colour. The head is dusky above, and has often a greenish tint ; the opercles
and cheeks are red, with blotches or waving lines of pale blue running from the
upper lip towards the orbit ; the appendix of the opercle is dark, bordered above
and below with pale greenish-blue ; the body above the lateral line is more or less
dusky, with cupreous tints ; below the lateral line it is red ; the pectoral fin is
transjiarent, with a pale bluish tint at its posterior extremity ; the anal is of a
bluish colour near its tip, and has occasional cupreous spots at its base. The
caudal is dusky at its root, and reddish at its tip.

Dimensions. Head one fourth the entire length of the animal ; elevation with-
out the dorsal fin equal to one head and a half; total length, eleven inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is silvery. The liver is large, and vi^ithout fissures on its inferior
face, though its left portion is longest and extends even behind the stomach. The gall-bladder is
in size and shape like a small olive ; its walls are thin, and the bile is very light-coloured. The
stomach is large, for, though small at first, it suddenly increases in dimensions, and, as the pyloric
portion goes off from its anterior part, it is so bent as to appear heart-shaped when distended ; the
pyloric valve is well developed ; the small intestine is at first very large, yet it soon decreases in
size and runs to the vent, whence it is reflected to the last coecal appendage, and then again turns
backwards to end in the rectum, which is less capacious and has no valve. There are seven coecal
appendages, increasing in length to the last, which is two inches long. The air-bladder is large,
as it extends not only the length of the abdominal cavity, but is prolonged in two broad horns for
an inch or more behind the vent ; it is rather heart-shaped in front, and has 4hin and silvery walls.
The kidney is well developed behind, though it is small in front.

Habits. This fish lives with the Pomotis vulgaris, and feeds on the same prey,
but is always found in deep waters.

Geographical Distribution. From Massachusetts to Georgia.

General Remarks. The specific name " riihricauda," first imposed on this fish
by Dr. Storer, has here been retained, because it does not appear to me certain
that this animal is identical with the Pomotis ai^wndix ; for that is a much smaller
fish, with the body more arched, — its colour is dusky above and white below, —
its auricular appendix is always black, and has never a border of bluish-green, —
and it has only as yet been found in New York.

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POMOTIS INCISOR. 13

POMOTIS INCISOR — Cuv. et Val.

Plate II. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body very convex, deep blue above, lighter and bronzed
below, with two cupreous spots above and behind the eyes. D. 10 -12. P. 13.
V. 1-5. A. 3-11. C. 17.

Synonymes. Pomotis incisor, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. vii. p. 267.
Pomotis incisor, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 33.
Pomotis incisor, Storer, Synops., p. 41.
Bream, Blue Bream, or Copper-nose Bream, Vulgo.

Description. This fish without the head and tail is so much arched, both
above and below, as to be nearly sub-round, like the Choetodons. The head is
short, not much elevated, smooth above, and the snout broad and full. The eye
is very large, with its inferior border above the median plane of the head, and is
less than its diameter from the snout. The nostrils are midway between the eye
and snout, but on a line within the orbit ; the posterior is ovoid, the anterior round.

The mouth is of moderate size ; the teeth of the inter-maxillary are similar to
those of the Pomotis vulgaris, though the outer row of larger teeth are not so long,
and in the old animal they are frequently blunt at their extremities ; the lower jaw
has an external row of similar teeth, and within these are numerous others, slender,
pointed, and recurved. The superior pharyngeals are small, and covered with con-
ical teeth, more or less pointed, and of various sizes ; the posterior are minute,
closely set, villiform, and the inferior pharyngeal has minute teeth on its outer half,
and moderately strong, conical teeth, more or less pointed, along its inner half.
The pre-opercle is rounded at its angle. The opercle is sub-triangular, with its
posterior angle rounded, from which hangs a long fleshy appendix. The sub-
opercle is long, broadest below ; the inter-opercle is broad.

The dorsal fin begins behind the tip of the bony opercle, and extends to the
root of the tail; its anterior portion has ten spines, compressed, and ensiform;
the posterior portion is the more elevated, and has twelve branched rays. The

14 POMOTIS INCISOR.

pectoral is broad ; it begins near the angle of the opercle, extends to the root of
the anal fin, and has thirteen rays. The ventral is broad ; it begins about the
anterior fourth of the pectoral fin and reaches beyond the origin of the anal, and
has one spine and five branched rays, the anterior of which is prolonged in a fila-
ment. The anal is broad, elevated, ends behind the dorsal, and has three spines,
the anterior small, the others large and long, with eleven branched rays. The
caudal is broad, slightly forked, and has seventeen rays.

The lateral line begins Avith the appendix of the opercle, and runs parallel with
the dorsal outline to the end of the root of the dorsal fin, when it descends to the
median plane ; its scale is unguiform, with the duct in the middle.

Colour. See Specific Characters. Yet it varies much in difi"erent waters.

Dimensions. The head is one fourth the length of the animal ; elevation, one
head and a half; entire length, seven and a half inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is silvery. The liver is large and consists of two lobes, though the
separation is slightly marked in front ; the left lobe is much the larger; the right is short, and gives
off a small lobule at its right and anterior extremity. The stomach is large, curved, with thick
walls ; there are eight coecal appendages, large and long ; the small intestine is very capacious, and
makes several convolutions before it ends in the rectum, which is smaller, though its walls are
thicker ; it has well-developed longitudinal folds, but no rectal valve. The air-bladder is very
large, and extends throughout the abdomen, and subdivides behind into two horns, which are con-
tinued some distance behind the vent ; at its posterior and superior part is a well-marked vascular
ganglion. The kidney is bulky and well developed behind, and the urinary bladder is large.

Geographical Distribution. This fish is common in the rivers and ponds of
fresh water in the lower part of South Carolina, and extends even to Louisiana.

Habits. They live in company with the Pomofis vulgaris, feed on the same
food, and are taken with the same bait, though they do not seem to have the cu-
rious habit of the former, of constructing a nest for their spawn.

General Remarks. This animal bears some resemblance in form to the Pomo-
tis appendix ; but that is a smaller animal, of a diff'erent colour, wanting the
black spot in the dorsal fin, and inhabiting a difierent geographical region.

CENTRARCHUS IRIDEUS. 15

GENUS CENTRAECHUS. — Cuv. et Val.

Characters. Body broad, oval, greatly compressed; dorsal fin single, very
large, elevated, with no depression between its spinous and soft portions ; spinous
portion the larger ; anal large, extending between the ventrals, in form and size
like the dorsal; mouth small, inter-maxillary, inferior maxillary, vomer, palate,
pharyngeal bones, and tongue, with minute teeth.

Remarks. This genus was established to include several Percidse, having cer-
tain forms in common ; as. Body oval, compressed ; dorsal fin single ; teeth on the
tongue, &c. ; but several of these fishes diifer from each other in so many respects
that it became necessary to refer them to other genera, and even to restrict the
genus itself. This has been done by Professor Agassiz with great clearness and
precision ; and furthermore he has distributed many of these fish among genera
long since established by Rafinesque.

CENTRARCHUS IRIDEUS. — Laceptde.

Plate III. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body sub-elliptical, dusky-green above, sides white, with
bluish-green spots ; dorsal fin with a dusky spot, bordered with orange near the
posterior extremity of its soft portion. P. 11. V. 1-5. D. 11-14. A. 8-15.
C. 17.

Synonymes. Le Labre iris, Lacip., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 716, pi. 5, fig. 3.

Centrarchus irideus, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iii. p. 89 ; id. vii. 458.
Centrarchus irideus, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 31.
Centrarchus irideus, Storer, Synops., p. 39.

Description. The form of this fish is nearly elliptical, its dorsal and ventral

16 CENTKARCHUS IRIDEUS.

outlines being arched alike, and is much compressed. The head is small, though
broad above, and the facial outline slightly incurved, with the snout broad. The
eye is very large, prominent, and is placed half the diameter of its orbit from the
snout, and rather more than one diameter from the tip of the opercle, with its in-
ferior margin at the middle plane of the head. The nostrils are very near the eye,
and are on a line within the orbit.

The mouth is very small, and the lower jaw is longer than the upper, though
its teeth are received within it when the mouth is closed. The group of inter-
maxillary and inferior maxillary teeth are small, closely set, pointed, recurved, with
an outer row of slightly larger teeth ; the pharyngeal bones are closely studded
with minute, short, and pointed teeth ; the vomerine teeth, as well as the palatine,
are equally minute ; and the tongue has a small patch of similar teeth. The pre-
opercle is but slightly rounded at its angle, where it is naked, and minutely ser-
rated. The opercle is rather broad, and sustains a short fleshy appendix. The
sub-opercle is long, naiTow, and has a single row of large scales; the head above,
from the middle of the orbits, is smooth, but the cheeks are covered with scales.

The dorsal fin arises behind the root of the pectoral, is very large, and elevated,
especially in its soft portion; it has twelve spines and fourteen branched rays.
The pectoral begins at the opercle^ ends at the root of the sixth anal spine, and has
twelve rays. The ventral fin begins rather in front of the dorsal, and termi-
nates with the root of the fifth anal spine ; it has one spine and five soft rays, the
anterior of which is prolonged. The anal is as large as the dorsal fin, and is of the
same form ; it has eight spines and fifteen branched rays. The caudal is large,
broad, nearly entire, and has seventeen rays. The scales are large. The lateral
line corresponds to the curve of the back, and is placed about the superior fourth
of the body.

Colour. The cheeks and sides of the head are of greenish-yellow ; the head
above, and the back, are dusky, with a greenish tint ; the sides are white, with
bluish-green spots, arranged in interrupted lines ; the pectoral and ventral fins are
transparent ; the dorsal and anal are semi-transparent, and marked with numerous

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LABEAX LINEATUS. 17

spots of yellowish-brown ; the former has a remarkable dark spot bordered with
orange near the posterior extremity, which grows more indistinct with age.

Dimensions. The length from the opercle to the tip of the tail is equal to three
heads ; the greatest elevation, with the dorsal fin, to two heads ; total length, six
inches.

Habits. This fish is found in rather deep water of ponds and rivers, in com-
pany with the Pomotis vulgaris, and is taken with the same bait.

Geographical Distribution. For the present, South Carolina only can be given.

General Remarks. This animal, which must be regarded as the type of the
genus, was discovered by Bosc in the neighbourhood of Charleston, and he sent it,
with a drawing, to Lacepede, by whom it was first described.

GENUS LABEAX. — Cwmej-.

Characters. Opercular bones covered with scales ; the opercle terminates be-
hind in two spines ; sub-opercle and inter-opercle not serrated ; palatine, vomer-
ine, and maxillary teeth ; tongue armed with minute teeth ; branchial rays
seven.

LABRAX LINEATUS. — Block.

Plate IV. Fig. k. 1

Specific Characters. Body above dusky, sides and belly silvery-white ; sides
arked with seven or eight longitudinal 1:

12. P. 15. V. 1-5. A. 3-n. c. n.

marked with seven or eight longitudinal lines of bluish-black colour. D. 9 - 2 -

Synonymes. Scisena lineata, Block, Ichth., pars ix. p. 53, pi. 304.

Perca , Schoejif, Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. viii. p. 160.

18 LABRAX LINEATUS.

Perca saxatilis, Schneid., ed. Block, Iclitli., p. 89 ; id. P. septentrionalis, p. 90, pi. 20.

Centropome raye, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 225.

Perca Mitchilli, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 413, pi. 3, fig. 4.

Eock-fish, Mease, Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 502.

Labrax lineatus, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 79.

Labrax lineatus, Rich., Faun. Boreal. Am., iii. p. 10.

Labrax lineatus, Slorer, Report, &c., p. 7.

Labrax lineatus, Ayres, Host. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p. 257.

Labrax lineatus, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 7, pi. 1, fig. 3.

Labrax lineatus, Slorer, Synops., &c., p. 21.

Rock- fish, Vulgo.

Description. The body is elongated, sub-cylindrical, moderately compressed,
with the dorsal outline regularly, though gently, arched ; it is thin along the back,
and almost carinated in front of the dorsal fin ; the ventral line is less arched
than the dorsal, and the fish is thicker at the belly than along the back, but its
thickest part is near the lateral line. The head is large, long, thick, and very
broad between the eyes, where it is so depressed as to make the facial outline
slightly concave. The snout is very full and rounded. The nostrils are closely
approximated, and much nearer to the orbit than to the snout ; they are about
the median plane of the eye, and on a line Avithin the orbit ; the posterior is
larger and sub-oval ; the anterior is round. The eye is very large, rather longest
horizontally, and is one diameter and one eighth of the orbit from the snout, and
three diameters and a quarter from the angle of the opercle, with its inferior mar-
gin about the median plane of the head.

The mouth is large, though the upper jaw extends only to the middle of the
orbit ; the lips are tolerably thick and fleshy ; the lower jaw is longer than the
upper, and both are armed with numerous small, villiform, pointed, slightly re-
curved and card-like or closely set teeth ; they are nearly of the same size in both
jaws, but those of the outer row in the inter-maxillary bone are rather largest. The
palate-bones have each a long, slender patch of minute teeth, and the vomer an
angular group in front. There are two bands of minute teeth, at the root of the
tongue, separated slightly from each other in the mesial line ; the sides of the

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LABRAX LINEATUS. 19

tongue are also armed with small teeth. The pharyngeal bones are thickly cov-
ered with teeth, similar in size and form to those of the upper jaw.

The preropercle is rounded at its angle, and is serrated throughout its free
border, though minutely so above. The opercle is sub-triangular, with its apex
behind, crescentic, and ending in two spines. The sub-opercle is very long,
narrow, and covered with a single row of large scales ; the inter-opercle is narrow,
and rounded below. The whole head above, as well as at the sides and posterior
extremity of the superior maxillary bones, is covered with scales, except in front
of the eyes. The gill-openings are large ; there are seven branchial rays. The
supra-scapular and humeral bones are slightly serrated.

There are two dorsal fins; the anterior begins rather behind the root of the
ventral, and has nine spines, of which the third is longest, and all are partially-
received in a groove when the fin is closed. The posterior dorsal is more elevated
than the anterior ; it is slightly crescentic at its superior border, and has two spines
and twelve soft rays, covered with a few scales near its base. The pectoral arises
very near the gill-openings, and extends to the root of the sixth dorsal spine ; it is
broad, very long, and has fifteen rays. The ventral begins at the anterior
fourth of the pectoral, extends one fourth of its length beyond it, and has one
spine and five branched rays. The anal fin commences with the middle of the soft
dorsal, and temiinates beyond it ; its inferior margin is sub-crescentic, and it has
three spines, the anterior very short, and eleven soft rays. The caudal is large,
crescentic, and has seventeen rays, the connecting membrane of which is covered,
for some distance, with scales.

The scales are nearly semicircular, with the diameter in front, round and finely
ciliated behind. The lateral line begins at the supra-scapular, and runs straight
to the tail ; its scale is sub-pentagonal, round and ciliated behind, with the ex-
cretory duct nearly in its middle.

Colour. The body above is a dusky silver-grey, the sides and belly are shining
silvery-white, and marked Avith seven or eight longitudinal dark bands, one of
which includes the lateral line.

20 LABRAX LINEATUS.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the opercle to the tip of the tail, is equal
to three heads ; the greatest elevation without the dorsal fin, to one head ; total
length, twenty-one inches. Rock-fish are sometimes taken of much greater size.

Splanchnology. The liver is very large, thick, and without divisions into lobes ; it extends much
the farthest back on the left side, and is very full in front ; it is of a very pale colour ; the gall-
bladder is of great size, and conical in form, reaching more than half its length behind the right
lobe. The stomach is long, cylindrical, not very broad, and has enormously thick walls ; its pyloric
branch begins near the anterior fifth, is very short, but stout, and has a well-marked contraction.
The small intestine runs at first nearly to the vent ; it is then reflected to the pylorus, whence it
returns to end in the rectum, which has thick walls ; the rectal valve is remarkably full, projecting
far into the intestine ; its surface next the small intestine has large plaits radiating to the centre ; its
rectal surface is smooth ; the spleen is very large, and of darkest purple colour. The air-bladder
is of great size, reaching the whole length of the abdomen, is rather pointed behind, broad in front,
with four or five large sacs on each side.

Habits. The Rock-fish inhabits not only our Atlantic shores, but it also enters
those rivers that open into the sea, and is often found many miles from the coast ;
yet, on the whole, it must be regarded as a salt-water fish, at least in the northern
parts of our country. Dr. Mitchill says, they only ascend fresh-water streams in
the spring to breed, or for shelter during the winter ; and Dr. Mease observes,
that, after heavy rains, or the sudden melting of snow in great quantities, these fish
are forced from their abodes back again into the salt water, but when the freshet
subsides they invariably reascend. Many of the larger kind never run up streams
of fresh water, but live along the shore, and only enter creeks and inlets with the
flood tide, and chiefly at night, in search of food, and return with the ebb. In
Carolina the habits of this fish are somewhat diff"erent, as it is seldom taken in salt
water, and is constantly seen in the rivers of fresh water, and at a distance from
the ocean. It feeds on various small fish, as well as on crustaceous animals. It
is esteemed one of our most savoury fishes.

Geographical Distribution. The Lahrax lineatus is found along the coast
from Maine to Georgia.

General Remarks. The first account of this fish may be seen in the Ichthy-

LABRAX AMERICANUS. * 21

ology of Bloch, -^yho placed it in his genus Sciana with the specific name lineata,
which is still retained. Bloch, however, does not seem to have been acquainted
with the native country of the animal he described ; on the contrary, he supposed
it an inhabitant of the Mediterranean, Avhere it is never seen. — Schoepff, in his
Memoir on the Fishes of New York, gives an accurate description of this animal,
and says it is called Rock-fish, or Striked Bass (Streaked Bass) ; and from this de-
scription Schneider, in his edition of Bloch, established his Perca saxatllis, which
specific name cannot be retained, as that of Bloch has the right of priority. — Dr.
Mitchill, many years after, gave another description of the Bass or Rock-fish, as the
Pe7-ca Mitchilli, being probably unaAvare that it had been previously described
more than once, and under different names. — Cuvier and Valenciennes have given
the best description of our fish up to the present time, arranging it in the genus
Labrax, and retaining the specific name first applied to it by Bloch.

LABRAX AMERICANUS. — Gmelin.

Plate III. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body oval, much compressed, dusky above, silvery at
the sides and belly; neither spots nor stripes. D. 9-1-12. P. 14. V. 1-5.
A. 3-9. C. 17.

Synonymes. Perca , Schoepff, Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. viii. p. 159.

Perca Americana, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1G08.

Perca Americana, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 252.

Morone rufa, Mitch., Report in part, &c., p. 18.

Bodianus rufus, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 420.

Labrax mucronatus, Ciw. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 86, pi. 12.

Labrax mucronatus, Storer, Report, &c., p. 8.

Labrax rufus, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 9, pi. 3, fig. 7.

Labrax rufus, Storer, Synops., p. 22.

White Perch, Vulgo.

22 • LABRAX AMERICANUS.

Description. The form of this fish, without the caudal fin, is nearly oval ; it
is compressed, arched and thin along the back, less arched and slightly thicker at
the belly. The head is rather long, but not much elevated ; the facial outline is
nearly straight, and the head is flat above, very narrow between the eyes, though
the snout is tolerably full and round. The eye is very large ; it is one diameter
from the snout, rather more than two diameters from the spine of the opercle, with
its inferior margin rather below the median plane of the head. The nostrils are
closely approximated; the posterior and larger is sub-round and very near the
orbit ; the anterior is round ; and both are on a line without the orbit and near
the middle plane of the eye.

The mouth is of moderate size, the posterior extremity of the upper jawbone
extending but slightly beyond the anterior margin of the orbit. The lower jaw
is shorter than the upper, and both are armed with a group of numerous small,
pointed, villiform teeth, closely crowded together, and nearly of the same
size. The palate-bones have each a long, narrow patch, and the vomer an
angular group, in front, of still more minute teeth than those of the inter-
maxillary bones. The tongue has a band of minute teeth at its edges, and many
more are scattered about its tip ; the pharyngeals are covered with teeth, similar in
size and form to those of the jaws.

The pre-opercle is rounded at its angle, and its whole free margin is serrated,
the largest serratures being at the angle. The opercle is longest vertically, and
terminates behind in a crescentic margin with two spines, of which the inferior is
the longer ; between these spines. the skin is extended. The sub-opercle is irregu-
larly quadrilateral, elongated, and narrow. The inter-opercle is rather broad, and
is rounded below. The whole head above and on the sides is covered with scales
to the anterior margin of the orbit ; the scales on the opercle are very large, those
on the posterior extremity of the superior maxillary bone are minute ; the sub-
opercle and inter-opercle have each a single row of scales. The gill-openings are
large ; there are seven branchial rays. The supra-scapular and humeral bones are
slightly serrated.

LABRAX AMERICANUS. 23

The anterior dorsal begins at the most prominent part of the back, and on a
line behind the origin of the ventral fin ; it has nine spines, partially received in
a groove Avhen the fin is closed. The anterior spine is very short, and the fourth
is longest and very stout; the posterior dorsal is rather more elevated than the
anterior ; it has one spine and twelve soft rays, protected at their root by a wall of
scales ; smaller scales also ascend for some distance on the connecting membrane
of the rays. The pectoral begins near the spine of the opercle, and extends be-
yond the root of the eighth dorsal spine, and has fourteen rays. The ventral
arises behind the root of the pectoral, extends slightly beyond it, and has one
spine and five soft rays, the anterior of which is slightly prolonged into a filament.
The anal fin begins about the middle of the soft dorsal, and extends beyond it, and
is very slightly crescentic ; it has three spines, the anterior minute and the second
long and very stout, and nine soft rays, with scales like the posterior dorsal. The
caudal is large, slightly crescentic, and has seventeen rays ; its membrane is cov-
ered with scales for some distance.

The scales are nearly quadrilateral, straight before, rounded and ciliated behind,
and marked with twelve radiating lines. The lateral line is very slightly arched at
first, but is soon nearly concurrent with the dorsal outline to the end of the second
dorsal fin, and is placed about the upper third of the body ; its scale is four-sided,
sub-cordate and ciliated behind, with its excretory duct near the middle.

Colour. The back and sides above are pale silver-grey ; the sides below and
belly are silver-white, and without spots or marks.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the opercle to the tip of the tail, is equal
to two heads and three quarters ; the greatest elevation without the dorsal fin is
one head and a quarter ; total length, ten inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is short, but thick, and appears as one mass on its lower surface, though
it is separated into three lobes behind, of which the left is longest and the right is very short.
The stomach extends about half the length of the abdomen, and is pointed behind ; it has thin
walls, and the pyloric branch begins near its middle, is short, and has much thicker walls. The

24 LABRAX AMERICANUS.

intestine runs nearly to the vent, and is then reflected to the base of the pylorus, whence it re-
turns to end in the rectum ; it has an indistinct valve, and its walls are thin ; there are five rather
long and very slender ccecal appendages. The air-bladder is large, and extends the whole length
of the abdomen ; it is sub-oval in shape, and larger before than behind.

Habits. The White Perch inhabits various bays and inlets of salt water along
our coast, and ascends for some distance those rivers that open into the sea ; al-
though this is a marine species, it has been transplanted to ponds and lakes of
fresh Avater in the Northern States, where it thrives very well.

Geographical Distribution. The range of the Lalrax Americanus is very
great, extending from Massachusetts to South Carolina, Avhich must for the present
be considered its extreme southern limit ; and even here it has only been observed
in the neighbourhood of Georgetown, whence I have received specimens from Dr.
Sparkman and from Dr. Cheves,

General Remarks. This animal was first described by SchoepiF, under the
simple name of Perca, Perch, or River Perch of New York ; which, he says,
nearly approaches in size the European Perch ; but it wants the six black bars
and the black spot at the extremity of the dorsal fin. Gmelin's description of
our animal is taken entirely from Schoepff, but he first applied to it the specific
name Atnericana, which must be retained. — Dr. Mitchill, long afterwards, de- ,
scribed it at first as the Morone rufa, and subsequently as the Bodianiis rufus. —
Cuvier and Valenciennes arranged it in the genus Labrax, and applied to it the
specific name mucronatus, supposing it to be identical with the Perca mucronata
of Rafinesque ; but neither this specific name, nor that of Dr. Mitchill, can be
retained, as that of Gmelin, though badly chosen, has the right of priority.

GRYSTES SALMOIDES. 25

GENUS GRYSTES.— CwmVr.

Characters. Dorsal fin single ; inter-maxillary, maxillary, vomerine, and
palatine teeth small, and thickly set, or card-like ; pre-opercle not serrated ;
branchial rays six.

GRYSTES SALMOIDES. — irtce/JtVZe.
Plate IV. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Head and body dusky above, often with a greenish or
bronzed tint ; lower jaw and belly white ; opercle with a bluish-green spot at its
angle. D. 9-14. P. 14. V. 1-5. A. 3-12. C. 19.

Synonymes. Labrus salmoides, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 716, pi. 5, fig. 2.
Grystes salmoides, Ciw. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iii. p. 54, pi. 45.
Grystes salmoides, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 26, pi. 69, fig. 223.
Grystes salmoides, Slorer, Synops., p. 36.
Trout, VuJgo.

Description. This fish is of an elongated, oval form, arched, thick and rounded
along the back ; thinner and nearly straight at the belly. The head is very large
and thick, especially between the eyes, and the snout is full and rounded ; the
facial outline is nearly straight, though the prominence of the inter-maxillary bone
gives it an incurved appearance. The eye is very large ; it is placed one diameter
and a quarter of the orbit from the snout, and two and a quarter diameters from
the posterior extremity of the opercle, with its lower margin slightly above
the median plane of the head. The nostrils are round ; the anterior and smaller
is rather nearer to the eye than to the snout, and both are on a line within the orbit.

The mouth is very large, the posterior extremity of the upper jaw extending
behind the orbit; the lower jaw is the longer, and so projects as to make a part of
4

26 GRYSTES SALMOIDES.

the superior facial line when the mouth is shut. Both jaws are armed with
numerous small, conical, pointed, recurved, card-like teeth ; they are all nearly of
the same size, except some in the upper jaw, which are directed inwards and
backwards. The vomer has in front a large arrow-headed group of minute
villiform teeth ; and the palate bones have, on each side, a long and rather broad
patch of similar teeth. The pharyngeal teeth resemble those of the jaws in size
and form. The tongue is large and thick behind, thin, narrow, and rounded in
front, smooth, and tolerably free.

The pre-opercle is nearly semicircular at its angle, Avhich is smooth, or not ser-
rated, but the ascending border is slightly emarginate above the angle. The oper-
cle is sub-triangular, with its base before and its apex behind, and emarginate.
The sub-opercle is quadrilateral, and extends as far back as the opercle. The
inter-opercle is rounded below, and ascends for some distance between the pre-
opercle and the opercle. The head is covered with scales above, and at the sides
as far as the posterior margin of the orbit ; but the superior maxillary bone is
naked. The gill-openings are very large ; there are six branchial rays.

The dorsal fin is very large and long ; it begins rather behind the base of the
pectoral, and is single, though deeply emarginate ; its anterior portion has nine
spines, partially received in a groove ; the posterior or soft portion of the dorsal
fin is much more elevated, and has fourteen articulated rays. The pectoral is
broad, but short, and rounded behind ; it arises rather before the tennination of
the opercle, and has fourteen rays. The ventral begins nearly with the pectoral
fin, and is shorter ; it has one spine and five soft rays, the internal of which is
bound to the belly for half its length. The anal arises nearly in a line vertical
with the root of the third dorsal soft ray, and has three spines and twelve branched
rays. The caudal is large, broad, slightly crescentic, and has nineteen rays.

The scales are nearly semicircular in shape, with the diameter in front,
straight, and marked with twelve radiating lines. The lateral line is concurrent
with the back, and runs along the superior fourth of the body ; its scale is nar-
rower behind than the others, and its excretory duct is placed obliquely.

GRYSTES SALMOIDES. 27

Colour. The head is dusky above, and silvery though slightly clouded at the
sides, with a bluish-green blotch at the opercle ; the body is also dusky above, or
of a bronzed colour with a greenish tint ; the belly is silvery, and along the flanks
runs a dusky band, more or less evident, according to the age of the animal ; it is
remarkable in the young. The dorsal fin is transparent, with only here and there
dusky shades ; the membrane of the pectoral is transparent, but the rays have a
yellowish tint ; the ventral is yellowish, and the anal is slightly tinted of the same
colour ; the caudal is dusky, with a very obscure yellowish shade.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the opercle to the tip of the tail, is equal
to two heads and a half; the greatest elevation is seven eighths of a head; total
length, fourteen inches ; specimens have been observed nearly two feet in length.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is silvery. The liver is large, and of a very pale colour ; it consists
of a single rhomboidal mass, as there are no marks of lobes ; it is placed mostly in the left side,
and projects but slightly into the right. The gall-bladder is large, round, and is in a great measure
uncovered by the right margin of the liver. The oesophagus is large and broad. The stomach is
large, and has thick, firm, muscular walls, with deep folds of its mucous membrane within ; the
pyloric portion is short, thick, stout, and departs at a right angle from its posterior third. The
intestine runs to the vent, whence it is reflected to the pylorus, and then it turns backwards to end
in the rectum ; its walls are remarkably thick and firm, and its mucous membrane is beautifully
reticulated, and presents numerous small areolae for two thirds of its length, and beyond this longi-
tudinal folds begin, which are continued into the rectum. There are eleven primitive ccecal ap-
pendages, which soon divide into two or three others, so that as many as twenty-eight may at times
be counted. The spleen is rather small, very pale, and is situated so far back that its anterior
extremity hardly reaches the stomach. The air-bladder is large, and extends throughout the
abdominal cavity ; it is full in front, but is partially subdivided into two small pouches behind ;
within, it is bright yellow at its superior and posterior part. The ovaries are sub-oval, rather
broad, and unite in substance behind, before they open.

Habits. The Grystes salmoides has somewhat the habits of the common Trout
{Salmo fontimlis) ; it lives in ponds or streams of running water, and chooses for
its abode deep holes, or the shelter of logs, or the roots of trees that may project
into the water ; here it remains perfectly quiet for hours, while other fish are

28 GENUS SERRANUS.

roaming about in search of food ; but should any of the smaller fish, on which it
feeds, approach its lurking-place, it suddenly darts out, seizes its prey, and again
returns to its favorite spot. It is very voracious, and takes the hook freely when
baited with small living fish ; it ■will also rise to the fly, and being a strong and
active fish, its capture aff"ords much sport to the angler. The Grystes sahnoides,
or Trout of South Carolina, when in season, is esteemed our best fresh-water fish
for the table.

Geographical Distribution. The Grystes salmoides is a Southern fish, and is
abundant in the waters of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, but has never, so far
as I know, been found north of Virginia. Cuvier and Valenciennes supposed this
animal to have had a much wider range than is here given, because they received
specimens of it from New York, through Milbert ; but he must have procured them
from more southern localities. The Trout has, however, its representatives both
in the North and West, with which it is closely allied ; as Grystes nigricans (Huro
nigricans) of Cuvier and Valenciennes, and Grystes fasciatus ( Cychla fasciata) of
Lesueur, both of which have been referred by Agassiz to the genus Grystes.*
Cuvier also speaks of having received this animal, through Lesueur, from the Wa-
bash River, in Indiana ; but it was probably the Grystes fasciatus, as the Trout
is not an inhabitant of those waters.

General Remarks. The Trout was first described by Lacepede as the Lahrus
salmoides, and from a drawing and specimens sent him by Bosc, from Carolina,
under the name of Perca trutta.

GENUS SERRANUS. — CwrnVr.

Characters. Canine or long and pointed teeth distributed among the smaller
teeth of the jaws ; pre-opercle denticulated ; opercle with one or more spines ; dor-
sal fin single ; branchial rays seven.

* Lake Superior, &c., p. 295.

/

ri. V.

"^D qa/'-Wsaxka

SERRANUS ERYTHROGASTER. 29

Remarks. This genus embraces a great number of species ; more than one
hundred have been already described, and arranged in sections, according to the
scales on the head ; — those with the jaws naked, or uncovered with scales (Serra-
nus scriha) ; — those in which both the upper and the lower jaws are strongly
scaled (Sermmis anthias) ; — and those in which the lower jaw alone has minute
scales (Serranus gigas).

SERRANUS ERYTHROGASTER. — jD^-iiCay.

Plate V. jig. 2.

Specific Characters. Head and body above reddish or olive-brown, with
large, pale ash-coloured blotches ; lower jaw and belly salmon-colour ; dorsal,
ventral, and caudal fins bordered Avith blue, more or less distinct. D. 11-17.
P. 16. V. 1-5. A. ;3-10. C. 18.

Synonymes. Serranus erytlirogaster, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 21, pi. 19, fig. 52.
Serranus eryihrogaster, Storer, Synops., p. 30.
Grouper, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish, without the caudal fin, is nearly sub-oval,
more arched and thinner at the back than at the belly. The head is large ; the
facial outline is a gentle curve to the snout, which is full and rounded. The eye
is large and very near the facial outline, Avith its inferior margin rather below the
superior fourth of the head ; it is twice its diameter from the snout, and three and
a half diameters from the posterior extremity of the spine of the opercle ; the
pupil is deep blue, and contracted in front ; the iris is reddish-grey, with an inner
golden margin, very narrow. The nostrils are nearly of the same size ; they are
round, and the anterior has a slightly prominent fleshy border, and is nearer the
eye than the snout ; they are placed below the middle plane of the eye.

The mouth is very large, with lips thick and fleshy ; the upper jaw is protractile.
The lower jaw is longer than the upper, though its teeth are received within it

30 SERRANUS ERYTHROGASTER,

when the mouth is shut. Both jaws are armed with numerous carcl-Hke teeth,
pointed and curved backwards ; those near the middle are the largest ; there is
also a posterior row of longer and very sharp teeth ; and in front of these are from
two to four canine teeth in both jaws. There is a chevron of card-like teeth on
the vomer ; each palate-bone is armed with a long group of similar teeth, and each
group has an internal series rather longer than the others. The tongue is small
thin, I'ounded in front, and but slightly movable. The superior pharyngeals are
studded with numerous card-like teeth ; the inferior have similar teeth, but
those of the internal row are longest.

The pre-opercle is but slightly rounded at its angle, with its posterior border
serrated finely above, and with larger serratures below. The opercle is irregularly
pentagonal, with a long, straight margin before, and a concave margin behind,
between two flat spines, in which it ends ; the upper spine is rounded and the
longer, the lower is sharp-pointed ; and from them is extended back a triangular
fold of skin. The sub-opercle is long, large, sub-pyramidal, with its apex behind
and base before. The inter-opercle is sub-triangular, with its apex before and
truncated. The whole head is covered with scales, except between and in front of
the eye. The gill-openings are very large ; there are seven branchial rays.

The dorsal fin is long, large, single, but emarginate ; it arises with the ventral,
and ends near the caudal ; it has eleven stout spines, the first very short, and the
third longest ; the soft portion has seventeen rays. The pectoral is broad and
rounded behind ; it begins before the fleshy termination of the opercle, but does
not extend quite as far back as the ventral, and has sixteen rays ; both the spinous
and soft portions are covered with small scales for some distance. The ventral is
very large and broad ; it arises behind the root of the pectoral, and has one spinous
and five soft rays, the internal of which is joined for half its length by skin to the
belly. The anal is large and elevated ; it begins nearly opposite the root of the
third dorsal soft ray, and extends as far back ; it has three spines, the anterior very
small, and ten branched rays, and is covered with small scales for half its length.
The caudal is large, broad, and nearly entire, or but slightly lunated, and has
eighteen rays, covered for some distance with minute scales.

SERRANUS ERYTHROGASTER. 31

The scales are small and regularly unguiform, rounded and ciliated behind,
nearly straight, but with a scalloped margin and eight radiating lines in front.
The lateral line is concurrent with the back and about the superior fourth of the
body ; its scale is pyriform, pointed behind ; its duct is nearly in the middle, and
begins very broad in front.

Colour. The roof of the mouth and pharynx are bright salmon-colour, except
the pharyngeal bones, which are white ; the inner margin of the lower jaw is also
salmon-colour, and the tongue has the same tint, except at its tip, which is
white; the head and body above are reddish-brown, with irregular blotches of
palest ash-colour ; the belly is salmon-colour ; the soft dorsal, caudal, and anal fins
are bordered with blue, more or less marked.

Dimensions. The length, from the spine of the opercle to the tip of the tail, is
equal nearly to three heads ; the greatest elevation, nearly to one head ; total
length, three feet. ■

Splanchnology. The small intestine is rather capacious, and is longer than the fish itself; it runs
at first nearly to the vent, where it makes a number of short convolutions, and is then reflected to
the pylorus, whence it returns to end in the rectum. The liver is of a dark colour, and small for the
size of the fish ; it consists of two lobes, united by a short transverse portion ; the left lobe is more
than twice as long as the right, and more than three times its bulk ; both have thin margins, and
both terminate pointedly behind. The peritoneum is exceedingly thick, firm, and satin-like, re-
sembling in structure the air-bladder of many fishes. The gall-bladder is but a long tube, extend-
ing behind the right lobe of the liver towards the vent ; it is only connected to the lobe by its ducts,
and empties into the intestine very near the pylorus. The stomach is very large, and extends three
fourths of the abdomen, and has exceedingly thick muscular walls. Its pyloric portion begins
about its posterior fifth, and is short. The spleen is short, small, and lies above the small intes-
tines. The rectum is more capacious than the small intestine, but has thinner walls, with minute
longitudinal folds ; the rectal valve is broad and circular. There are twenty-eight long and rather
stout coBcal appendages, nearly surrounding the intestine beyond the pylorus. The air-bladder is
large, conical, rather flattened, with its apex behind and base before ; it has exceedingly thick
walls, and on its inferior face is a vascular ganglion, and numerous vessels are seen on its superior.
The urinary bladder is very large. In the empty state, the testicles are long, slender, and have
their margins lobulated.

32 DIPLECTRUM FASCICULARE.

Habits. The Grouper is so seldom seen on our coast that nothing can, at
this time, be said of its habits ; but in confinement, as it is brought to us from
Key West, it appears very voracious and bold, taking its food even from the hand,
when offered, and always injuring such other species of fish as may be its fellow-
captives.

Geographical Distribution. The Grouper is very abundant in the Gulf of
Mexico ; it is exceedingly rare on the Carolina coast, though, according to DeKay,
it is sometimes taken as far north as New York.

General Remarks. This fish was first made known to naturalists by Dr.
DeKay, in his Zoology of New York.

GENUS DIPLECTRUM.* — i?o/6/-ooA-.

Characters. Pre-opercle armed with tAvo rounded groups of radiating spines ;
sub-opercle with a membranous prolongation behind ; jaws without scales ; max-
Ulary, inter-maxillary, palatine, and vomerine teeth small and villiform ; a few
larger teeth in the lower maxillary and inter-maxillary bones ; body much elon-
gated, sub-compressed ; dorsal fin single, and very long ; branchial rays seven.

DIPLECTRUM FASCICULARE. — Cuv. et Val

Plate V. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Pre-opercle with two groups of radiating spines ; sides
marked with longitudinal lines of ultra-marine blue. D. 10-12. P. 15. V.
1-5. A. 3-7. C. 16.

* Ai'y, twice, and TrX^xTpoj/, a spur.

DIPLECTRUM FASCICULARE. 33

Synonymes. Serranus fascicularis, Cuv. el Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 245, pi. 30 ; idem,
torn. vi. p. 350.
Serranus fascicularis, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 23.
Serranus fascicularis, Storer, Synops., p. 28.
Squirrel-fish, Vulgo.

Description. The body is elongated, sub-compressed, and slightly arched
along the back. The head is large, broad above, though rather contracted between
the eyes, but the snout is full and rounded. The eye is very large, longest in the
horizontal direction ; it is placed one diameter and a quarter from the snout, and
three diameters from the posterior margin of the opercle, with its inferior margin
above the median plane of the head. The anterior and smaller nostril is midway
betAveen the orbit and snout ; the posterior is sub-round ; both are below the me-
dian plane of the eye, and on a line slightly within the orbit. The mouth is
large ; the posterior extremity of the superior maxillary bone extends behind the
orbit ; the superior lip is tolerably thick and fleshy ; the upper jaw is armed with
a group, broad in front, of minute, villiform, pointed, and card-like or closely-set
teeth, with several much larger or canine teeth in front, and in an outer row. The
lower jaw is armed with a patch of teeth similar to those of the upper, but it has
an internal row of larger teeth ; these teeth are largest towards the commissure of
the mouth. The vomer has a triangular patch of minute teeth in front ; and the
palate a long, narrow group of similar teeth on each side. The pharyngeals are
armed with numerous small, pointed, and slightly recurved teeth.

The pre-opercle is large, and has two rounded projecting groups of radiating
spines, like spurs, the first at its angle, and the second near the middle of its as-
cending border ; between these two groups the margin is incurved, and armed with
a few teeth, and above the superior group it is minutely serrated. The opercle is
broad, and terminates behind in two flat spines, the lower one the longer, and
from them projects the skin. The inter-opercle is broad and rounded below. The
head above is covered with scales only to the posterior margin of the orbits, but
nearly to their middle on the sides ; the snout, jaws, &c. are naked. There are
seven branchial rays ; the supra-scapular is serrated.
5

34 DIPLECTRUM FASCICULARE.

The dorsal fin is single, long, and nearly of the same elevation throughout ; it
begins with the pectoral, and ends before the base of the caudal fin ; it has ten del-
icate spines, the first and second shortest, and twelve soft rays. The pectoral is
rather broad, rounded behind, and has fifteen rays. The ventral arises with the
pectoral fin, and extends rather beyond it ; it has one spinous and five soft rays, of
which the second and third are slightly prolonged. The anal begins nearly with
the soft dorsal, but is not as long ; it has three delicate spines, the first minute, the
second twice as long, and the third double the length of the second ; it has seven
soft rays. The caudal is large and crescentic, with the extremities of the horns
prolonged by two or three of the outer rays ; it has sixteen rays.

The scales are small, oblong, unguiform, rounded and ciliated behind, nearly
straight before, with an undulated margin caused by twelve radiating lines. The
lateral line corresponds with the outline of the back to the root of the tail, when
it descends to the median plane ; its scale is sub-triangular with the apex behind,
rounded, and ciliated ; the excretory duct terminates in three smaller tubes
behind.

Colour. The ground colour along the back is brown, with a tint of faAvn-
colour, or it is bronzed ; the sides are fawn-colour above, silvery below the lateral
line, and are marked with seven or eight horizontal lines of ultra-marine blue ;
the first begins at the occiput, is slightly arched inwards, and ends about the sixth
dorsal ray ; the second goes from the superior angle of the opercle, and is less
arched ; the third departs from the middle of the posterior border of the opercle ;
and the fourth from under its angle ; the three others become paler and paler, and
finally disappear in the white colour of the belly ; the head above is marked with
two or three lines of a similar colour, which run transversely ; or they form chev-
rons, with their angles directed forwards ; the dorsal fin is semi-transparent, and
marked with alternate lines of pale blue and pale yellow ; the anal is transparent,
and marked with pale yellow spots ; the caudal has numerous cupreous spots
arranged in vertical lines ; the ventral is pale yellow in front, and white behind ;
the posterior part of the palate and the branchial arches are pale yellow.

DIPLECTRUM FASCICULARE. 35

Dimensions. There are three heads and a half between the angle of the opcrcle
and the tip of the tail ; the elevation is less than a head without the dorsal fin,
and a head and one eighth with it ; total length, fourteen inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is of large size, and the left lobe, which makes the greater portion of its
bulk, extends half as far back as the stomach ; the central portion is thick, joins the left lobe
without a fissure, and seems to be continuous with it. The gall-bladder is a long tube, extending
almost as far back as the stomach ; it is narrow, and only becomes considerably developed at the
right lobe of the liver. The stomach extends through nearly two thirds of the abdominal cavity ;
it is sub-cylindrical, pointed behind, with thick muscular walls ; the pyloric portion goes off from be-
hind the middle, and is short, sub-conical, with very thick walls, and has a remarkable contraction
at the pylorus. The small intestine runs half-way to the vent, and then returns to the pylorus,
whence it is reflected to end in the rectum, with an indistinct rectal valve. There are seven coscal
appendages, an inch or more long, though one is often in a rudimental state. The spleen is long,
slender, closely connected to the small intestine and ccecal appendages. The air-bladder is large,
as it extends the whole length of the*abdomcn ; it is a little broader before than behind, and has
exceedingly thin and transparent walls.

Habits. Little can be said of the habits of this fish ; it however appears in
our waters in May or June, and remains until November ; it is occasionally taken
with the hook on the Black-fish grounds, but is never abundant.

Geographical Distribution. The Squirrel-fish is found along the Atlantic
coast of America from Brazil to the Carolinas, which must for the present be
considered as its extreme northern limit.

General Remarks. This animal was first described by Cuvier and Valen-
ciennes, in the second volume of their great work on Ichthyology, as the Serranus
fasciciilaris ; and subsequently, much more fully, in the seventh volume, from spe-
cimens taken in Carolina. Although the Squirrel-fish has many of the characters
of the true Serrani, yet it diff'ers from them in so many others, — as in its elon-
gated form, and slightly compressed body, its long dorsal fin, and in the two
rounded groups of radiating spines at its pre-opercle, — that I have established
for it the genus Diplectrum.

36 POMOXIS HEXACANTHUS.

GENUS POINIOXIS. — Rafinesque.

Characters. Mouth large ; lower jaw very prominent ; maxillary, palatine,
and vomerine teeth, small, villiform ; tongue armed with minute teeth near its
root ; pre-opercle minutely serrated ; opercle bifurcate at its angle ; anal spines
more than three ; body sub-oval, elevated, compressed ; dorsal fin single, large,
elevated, no depression between the spinous and branched rays ; soft portion larger
than the spinous ; seven branchial rays.

Remarks. This genus was established by Eafinesque to receive the Pomoxis
angidaris, which is, according to Agassiz, closely allied to the fish now under
consideration.

POMOXIS HEXACANTHUS. — Cuv. et Val

Plate VI. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Anal fin with six spines ; body above dusky, tinted
with bluish-green ; sides and belly silvery, and marked with oblong bluish-green
blotches, disposed without regularity. D. 7-15. P. 12. V. 1-5. A. 6-17.
C. 17.

Synonymes. Centrarchus hexacanthus, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. vii. p. 458, pi. 48.
Centrarchus sparoides, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iii. p. 88.
Centrarchus hexacanthus, Kirtland, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iii. p. 480, pi. 29, fig. 2.
Centrarchus hexacanthus, BeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 31.
Cichla Storeria, Kirt., Rep. Zool. Ohio, p. 191.
Centrarchus hexacanthus, Storer, Synops., p. .38.
Goggle-eye, V-ulgo.

n. ri.

<^:

A»^

^.

A

PS.Sn»ai »■ C'jieam iM./trMf PMlaJ*

</*>^

^,

POMOXIS HEXACANTHUS. 37

Description. This fish is of an ovoidal form, much compressed, arched, thin,
both at the back and belly, the thickest part being just above the lateral line.
The head is long, thin, elevated, but incurved above the eyes, and the snout is
rounded, though narrow. The eye is very large, and near the facial outline, with
its lower margin at the median plane of the head ; the nostrils are round, very
near together, and about midway between the eye and snout, though on a line
within the orbit ; the posterior is the larger.

The mouth, though compressed, is large, as the broad, posterior extremity of
the upper jaw extends beyond the middle of the orbit. The lower jaw has a lip of
tolerable thickness, and is so much longer than the upper as to make part of the
facial outline above when the mouth is shut. There is a large pore on each side
on the inferior face of the lower jaw. Both the upper and lower jaws are armed
with broad patches of small, short, conical, pointed, and slightly recurved teeth,
all nearly of the same size, except a few in front, which are a little longer than
the others. The tongue is round and free in front, with two parallel groups of
very minute teeth near its base. There is also a small patch of similar minute
teeth on the vomer ; and an elongated, extremely narrow group on each palate-
bone. The pharyngeals are furnished with closely-set teeth, similar in form to
those of the jaws, but some of them are rather larger.

The pre-opercle is but slightly rounded at its angle, where it is marked with
minute serratures. The opercle is rather small, sub-triangular, its apex behind,
and bifurcated in two nearly equal-sized flat spines. The sub-opercle is long,
narrow, four-sided, and extends a little farther back than the opercle, and from it
hangs most of the fleshy appendix. The inter-opercle is narrow and semicircular.
The jugal bones are minutely serrated. The head is smooth above, but the cheeks,
pre-opercle, and opercle are covered with scales ; the sub-opercle has but a single
row of large scales ; there are several large water-pores along the sub-opercle, pre-
opercle, and above, behind, and under the orbit, and below the inferior maxUlary
bone.

38 POMOXIS HEXACANTHUS.

The dorsal fin is single, with its soft portion greatly elevated ; it arises in a line
nearly vertical with the middle of the pectoral, and has seven sj)ines, the anterior
minute, and fifteen soft rays. The pectoral begins at the opercle and extends to
the root of the third dorsal spine ; it has twelve rays. The ventral begins nearly
in a line with the pectoral, and terminates with it at the first anal spine ; it has
one stout spine and five soft rays. The anal begins with the soft dorsal, though
it continues farther back, and is more elevated ; it has six spines and seventeen
soft rays. The caudal is large, broad, slightly crescentic, and has seventeen rays.

The scales are nearly semicircular, with the diameter in front, rounded behind,
and not ciliated. The lateral line is well marked ; it corresponds Avith the dorsal
outline, and runs near the junction of the middle and superior thirds of the body;
its scales are sub-triangular, the bases before and the apices behind, and rounded
or very slightly cordate ; the excretory tube is single and large.

Colour. The head and body above are more or less dusky, and shaded with
bluish-green ; the lower jaw, sides, and belly are silvery, and marked with bluish-
green blotches, more or less distinct, and placed without much regularity. The
pectoral is of the faintest yellow tint ; the ventral is yellowish, but very pale near
its root, and bluish at its extremity ; the dorsal is semi-transparent, rather dusky,
and with numerous yellowish spots, more or less bright, in the connecting mem-
brane of the rays, those near the root of the fin being brightest ; the anal is col-
oured like the dorsal ; the caudal is like the anal, but more dusky.

Dimensions. The length from the opercle to the tip of the caudal fin is equal
to two heads and a half; the elevation, to one head and a quarter ; total length,
twelve inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is of moderate size, and without any marks of lobes in front ; but its
posterior margin is subdivided into three lobes, of which the left is longest and the right shortest.
The gall-bladder is large, round, with very thin walls, near the right lobe, and partly concealed by
it. The stomach is large, broad, thick, and with firm walls, especially behind the pyloric portion,
which is short and goes off at a right angle rather beyond its middle. The pyloric valve is well

RYPTICUS MACULATUS. 39

marked. The small intestine runs nearly to the vent ; it is then reflected to the pylorus, whence it
returns to end in the rectum without a valve. There are eight long, slender, delicate ccEcal ap-
pendages. The spleen is small, flattened, very dark, and is placed mostly on the left side. The
air-bladder is very extensive, with thin walls ; it is rounded in front, but behind it bifurcates into
two horns, which are prolonged for some distance on each side of the origin of the anal fin. The
ovaries are large, conical, and rather flattened. The urinary bladder is large.

Habits. The Goggle-eye inhabits ponds and streams of running water, though
perhaps it prefers the former ; it feeds on various insects.

Geographical Distribution. The Pomoxis hexacanthus has a wide geographi-
cal range. Sir John Richardson found it in Lake Huron, Lesueur in the Wabash
Kiver, Bosc in Carolina, and Professor Agassiz has received it from Lake Erie.

General Remarks. Cuvier and Valenciennes gave the first description of this
animal, and, supposing it to be identical with the Lahrus sparokles of Lacepede,
which is a Carolina fish, they continued his specific name. But subsequent exam-
inations convinced them of their error, and then they applied to it the specific
name hexacanthus.

GENUS RYPTICUS. — Ciaw.

Characters. Opercle and pre-opercle furnished with spines, but neither is ser-
rated ; teeth small, villiform ; scales minute, and imbedded in the epidermis ; dor-
sal fin with never more than four spines ; branchial rays seven.

RYPTICUS MACULATUS. — ITo/JrooA-.

Plate VI. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Dorsal fin with two spines ; head and body above olive-
brown, with whitish spots scattered above the median plane ; lower jaw and belly
pale drab-colour. D. 2-25. P. 15. V. 1-5. A. 15. C. 16.

40 RYPTICUS MACULATUS.

Description. This fish is of a semi-oval form, compressed, very regularly
arched above, from the snout to the root of the caudal fin, and nearly straight be-
low ; it is rather thicker at the back than at the belly. The head is long, narrow,
not much elevated, especially between the eyes, and the snout is rounded. The
eye is very large, prominent, near the facial outline, with its inferior margin above
the median plane of the head ; it is about one diameter of the orbit from the snout,
and two diameters and a half from the posterior border of the bony opercle;
the iris is reddish-brown, with a greenish tint, and the pupil is dark. The nos-
trils are very small, round, and near the orbit.

The mouth, though compressed, is large, and the broad posterior extremity of
the superior maxillary bone extends beyond the orbit. The lower jaw is longer
than the upper, and projects so far beyond it, when the mouth is shut, as to make
part of the facial outline ; both are armed with numerous crowded, villiform teeth.
The vomer is furnished with a large, sub-triangular group ; and the palate-bones
have each a large, slender patch of similar teeth, and the pharyngeal bones are
armed with teeth of the same form. The tongue is rather long, narrow, smooth, and
very free. The pre-opercle is rounded both behind and below, and is furnished
with two stout spines near the superior part of its ascending border. The opercle
is sub-quadrilateral, with three spines behind, of which the central is longest, and
from them is extended a triangular fold of skin. The sub-opercle is quadrilateral,
though rather rounded behind. The inter-opercle is semi-lunar. The gill-open-
ings are large ; there are seven branchial rays.

The dorsal fin is single, entire, and very long, as it begins nearly on a line ver-
tical with the anterior fourth of the pectoral, and extends almost to the root of the
caudal ; it has two short spines, that are so far removed from its soft portion as to
represent an anterior dorsal, and it thus difi"ers entirely from the Rt/ptkus sapona-
ceus of Cuvier and Valenciennes ; it has twenty-five soft rays, mostly covered with
skin. The pectoral is large, broad, and rounded behind; it begins at the soft
appendix of the opercle, and has fifteen rays. The ventrals are very small, near
together, and begin rather before the pectorals, but are only about half as long ;

RYPTICUS MACULATUS. 41

they have each one spine and five soft rays. The anal is very short, though as
much elevated as the dorsal, with which it is coterminal behind ; it has fifteen
rays, but no spine. The caudal is broad and rounded behind, with sixteen rays.

The scales are minute, and are deeply embedded in the epidermis, and are at all
times covered with a thick mucous secretion. The lateral line is arched, and ele-
vated opposite the dorsal spines, but it gradually descends to the median plane.

Colour. The head above, as well as the upper half of the body, is olive-brown,
with several whitish spots above the median plane ; the lower jaw and belly are
pale drab colour ; the pectoral fin is dusky at its root, and reddish-brown at its
margin ; the ventral is pale reddish-brown before, and white behind ; the roots of
the dorsal and of the anal fins are olive-brown, and the external half of each is
olive-colour ; the caudal is olive-brown.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the spine of the opercle to the tip of the
caudal, is equal to three heads and a quarter ; the greatest elevation, without the
dorsal fin, is one head and one third ; total length, eight inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is very large, compressed, and appears as one mass at first sight, since
the marks of separation into lobes can be seen from above only, where the left lobe sends a small
lobule upwards and forwards ; the right lobe is about half as long as the left, and terminates behind
in two lobules, while the left ends in a point. The gall-bladder is slender and rather long. The
stomach is large and long, as it extends three fourths the length of the abdomen, and is pointed
behind ; its walls are very thick, and there are strong longitudinal folds on its inner surface ; the
pyloric portion is small, slender, short, and has thinner walls ; the intestine runs to the vent, and is
then reflected nearly to the diaphragm, whence it returns to end in the rectum, which is very short,
and has a remarkable rectal valve ; there are four small coecal appendages. The air-bladder is
very large, extending the whole length of the abdomen ; it is sub-conical in form, the base is ante-
rior and rounded, and the apex behind and pointed ; its walls are thin.

Habits. Nothing is known of the habits of the Rypticus maculatus.
6

42 CENTROPRISTES ATRARIUS.

Geographical Distribution. This fish has been observed only on the coast of
South Carolina.

General Remarks. The Rypticus maculatus is the only species of the genus,
hitherto observed in our waters ; and of this species I have only seen one, which
was taken off Cape Remain. At first sight, it bears a striking resemblance to the
Rypticus saponaceus of Cuvier and Valenciennes, yet it differs from that animal in
its colour ; in the number and disposition of its dorsal spines ; and in the form of
its air-bladder.

GENUS CENTROPRISTES.— C«m>r.

Characters. Maxillary, inter-maxillary, palatine, and vomerine teeth nearly of
the same size ; pre-opercle dentated ; opercle with spines ; dorsal fin single ; bran-
chial rays seven.

CENTROPRISTES ATRARIUS. — Liimmis.

Plate VII. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Head and mouth very large ; back arched ; sides bluish-
black above, lighter below ; membrane of dorsal fin dusky, with irregular whitish
lines. D. 10-11. P. 18. V. 15. A. 3-4. C. 17.

Synonymes. Perca atraria, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 485.

Perca atraria, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1314.

Lutjan trilobe, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 137.

Centropristes nigricans, Cuv. el Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iii. p. 37, pi. 44.

Centropristes nigricans, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 24, pi. 2, fig. 5.

Centropristes nigricans, Storer, Synops.,p. 35.

Black-fish, Vulgo.

CENTROPRISTES ATRARIUS. 43

Description. The form of this fish is somewhat oblong, but when its capacious
mouth and large gill-openings are extended, it appears almost sub-triangular. The
head is very large, and more or less elevated between the eyes, with the snout full
and rounded. The eye is large and prominent ; the pupil is deep sea-blue, and
the iris a dusky grey, with an inner margin of bright yellow. The nostrils are
closely approximated, and on a line within the superior border of the orbit, though
on a plane rather below it ; the posterior is sub-round, the anterior and smaller is
round, and about half way between the orbit and snout. The mouth is very large ;
the lips are thin ; the upper jaw is protractile, the lower is rather the longer ; and
both are furnished with numerous irregular series of small, closely set, conical,
sharp-pointed, and recurved teeth, all nearly of the same size, except those of the
external row, which are larger, farther apart, and less pointed. The vomer has in
front a triangular group ; and the palate-bones have an oblong patch of similar
teeth, the latter being rather shorter and more scattered. The pharyngeal bones
are covered with teeth of similar form, but directed more backwards, and some few
along their inner margins are rather longer and more slender.

. The pre-opercle is rounded at its angle, with its ascending border vertical, or
directed slightly backwards ; both angle and border are finely serrated, the serra-
tures being rather larger below. The bony opercle terminates in two flat, exposed
spines, the superior larger, the inferior very small, but the skin is continued be-
yond the superior for some little distance, and ends in an obtuse point. The
whole head is covered with scales, except the cheeks, snout, and the space between
the eyes ; those on the opercle are nearly as large as the scales of the body. The
gill-openings are exceedingly capacious ; there are seven branchial rays ; the supra-
scapular bone is rather large, and serrated behind.

The body is short and thick ; the shoulders are much elevated, but descend
rapidly towards the tail. The dorsal fin begins above the root of the pectoral, and
ends about an inch before the caudal, though, when folded, the tips of the last
rays reach it; it has ten spines, the anterior very short, and the third longest,
and each has a small delicate filament near its tip ; there are eleven soft rays, the

44 CENTROPRISTES ATRARIUS.

seventh, eighth, and ninth prolonged to make the fin end in a point. The pec-
toral is rather large, broad, rounded posteriorly, and extends beyond the vent ; it
has eighteen rays. The ventral is broad and strong ; it begins with the pectoral,
and terminates in a point before the vent, and has one spine and five soft rays.
The anal arises nearly opposite the junction of the spinous and soft portions of the
dorsal fin, and has two spines, the anterior very short, and seven soft rays ; the
third and fourth are prolonged, and give a pointed form to the end of the fin. The
dorsal, pectoral, and anal fins are covered with scales for nearly one fourth of their
extent. The caudal has seventeen rays, and is trilobate when perfect, as the upper
and lower margins are prolonged, and the central portion is rounded and pro-
jecting ; this shape of the tail is not, however, always present ; when not, its
border is irregular.

The scales are large, sub-pentagonal, rounded behind, and finely ciliated. The
lateral line is concurrent with the back, and runs along the upper third of the
body to the extremity of the origin of the dorsal fin, where it descends to the
median plane ; its scales are smaller than the others, sub-round, with the ciliated
portion prolonged, and more or less notched.

Colour. The Black-fish presents some variety in its colour, but is in general
dusky-brown, or even bluish-black along the back. Each scale has a dusky mar-
gin, with a transparent spot in its middle, that allows the black skin to be seen
under it ; the dark margin in the scales below the lateral line is very small, and
consequently the sides and belly are of a much lighter colour than along the back,
where the transparent spot is but small. The head is dusky above, often tinted
with green or olive. The tongue is white, though the roof of the mouth and the
fauces both above and below are pale yellow. The membrane of the dorsal fin is
dusky, often with a bluish tint, and has several series of elongated spots of a pale
olive-colour or dirty white, which are so disjiosed as to make three longitudmal
interrupted lines in the spinous, and five in the soft portion. The anal fin is also
dusky, with similar lines, but less distinct and regular ; the other fins are more or
less dusky.

CENTROPRISTES ATRARIUS. 45

Dimensions. The length from the opercle to the tip of the tail is equal to three
heads ; the elevation, without the dorsal fin, to one head and one twentieth ; total

length, twenty inches.

1

Splanchnology. The liver is large, and of rather a pale colour ; the transverse portion is thick, and
joined without a fissure to the left lobe, which is tolerably thick and subtriquetral in front, slender
and pointed at its termination, which is rather beyond the anterior third of the abdomen ; the right
lobe is about half as long, and both project pointedly into the hypochondriac regions at their supe-
rior part. The gall-bladder is large, and situated behind the right lobe, even as far back as the
posterior extremity of the left. The stomach is large, and ends in a point at the posterior fourth of
the abdomen ; the pyloric branch is short, goes off at an acute angle from its posterior third, and is
nearly as broad as the stomach itself ; it has thick walls, and is greatly contracted at the pylorus.
The small intestine runs to the vent ; it is then reflected to the pylorus, whence it returns to end in
the rectum. There are seven coecal appendages. The spleen is small, dark purple, sub-oval,
flattened, with acute margins, and is concealed by the last convolution of the small intestine. The
air-bladder is large, oblong, with two or three small pouches or sacks on each side of its anterior
part ; the most anterior of these are the largest. The testicles are oblong, pointed before, and unite
far back. The kidneys are narrow ; and the ureters are slighdy developed behind, and make a
small urinary bladder.

Habits. The Black-fish is very voracious; it feeds on any animal substance
whatever, whether dead or alive, and is consequently easily taken with the hook.
In its stomach I have often found small fish of various genera, and parts of such
as were too large to be swallowed whole, as well as small crabs, shrimps, &c. It
abounds in shallow, as well as in deep waters, even of twenty-five fathoms or more,
where the largest are taken ; but fish of a smaller size are caught in the mouth of
our river, or even from the wharves of our city. It is so abundant, that it may be
found every day in our market, and is always sold alive; and yet, notwithstanding
the many thus destroyed, it is so prolific that its numbers appear undiminished.

Geographical Distribution. The Centropristes atrarius inhabits the Atlantic
coast of the United States, from Cape Florida to Cape Fear in North Carolina,
which must for the present be considered as its northernmost limit.

46 CENTROPRISTES ATRARIUS.

General Remarks. This animal, it appears to me, is the Perca atraria of
Linnaeus, which, he says, was sent him from Charleston, by Dr. Garden, who
called it Black-fish ; a name in fact applied to it from the earliest settlement of
our State. Nor is there any other fish of this same colour, with which it could
possibly be confounded, the Tautoga Americana excepted ; but this animal was not
introduced to our waters until about fifty years since.*

In 1788, SchoepflFf described a fish that he found in the waters of New York,
there called, as he says, " Sea Bass or Blackfish" and which he supposed to be
an undescribed species, for he observes, — " The Carolina Blackfish of Dr. Garden,
or Perca atraria, L., seems in some particulars to approach near it ; but in the
number and character of its fin-rays is widely diff'erent." This fish of Schoepff
is also the Coryphana nigrescens of Bloch ; the Perca varia of Mitchill ; and
the Centropristes nigricans of Cuvier and Valenciennes, which they describe as
identical with the Perca atraria of Linnaeus, and in this they have been followed
by all our ichthyologists. In fact, these two fishes are so much alike in form, col-
our, &c., as hardly to be distinguished at first sight ; yet they are not only diff'erent
animals, but have an entirely diff'erent geographical distribution ; the one inhabits
the waters north of Cape Hatteras, while the other is only found south of it. The
external mark most to be relied on, in determining these species, is the compara-
tive length of the pectoral fin, which is longer than the ventral in the Southern
species, and coterminal with it in the Northern. But the most distinctive char-
acter is found in the shape of the air-bladder, which is always sacculated in the
Centropristes atrarius, and never in the Centropristes nigricans.

* In the year 1800, General Thomas Pinckney imported from Rhode Island several hundred Tautog, together
with many Lobsters. These he distributed in the sea at the eastern extremity of Sullivan's Island ; the lobsters
soon died out, but the fish increased and multiplied, and are now common, though not abundant.

f Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. viii. st. 2, p. 164.

CENTROPRISTES TRIFURCA. 47

CENTROPRISTES TEIFUECA. — Linnmis.

fid. Y^ I.C '

Specific Characters. Body marked with seven dusky bars ; dorsal spines
with filaments, those of the third, fourth, and fifth as long as the spines them-
selves; tail trifurcate. D. 10-11. P. 17. V. 1-5. A. 3-10. C. 16.

Synonymes. Perca trifurca, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 489.

Perca trifurca, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1316.
Lutjanus tridens, Lacip., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ii. p. 137.
Centropristes trifurca, Cuv, et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iii. p. 43.
Centropristes trifurca, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 25.
Centropristes trifurca, Storer, Synops., p. 35.
Rock Black-fish, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish is more oblong, and the outline of the back
is much less arched, than in the preceding species ; the head is also smaller, less
prominent, or is even flattened between the eyes ; and the snout, instead of being
rounded, is truncated. The eyes are very large and prominent, and their upper
margin is on a plane with the outline of the head above ; the pupil is black and
the iris golden, intermixed with grey. The posterior nostril is round, and about
the middle plane of the eye ; the anterior is the smaller, and is placed on a line
without the superciliary ridge, and about midway between the orbit and snout, but
on a line rather within the edge of the orbit.

The mouth is large, the posterior extremity of the upper jaw reaching to the
middle of the orbit. The upper jaw is protractile, though less so than in Centro-
pristes atrarius, and the lower projects slightly beyond the upper; both are armed
with numerous small, sharp-pointed teeth, nearly all of the same size, except the
anterior, which are sHghtly longer than the rest. The tongue is small, very nar-
row, triangular, smooth, thick at its root, pointed, and very free in front. The pre-
opercle has its angle rounded and minutely serrated, with its ascending border

48 CENTROPRISTES TRIFURCA.

directed a little forwards, and finely serrated. The opercle is sub-triangular, pro-
longed behind in a round fleshy appendix, and furnished with tAvo flat spines
placed near together ; the superior is large, and the inferior minute. The head is
covered with scales, except the snout, cheeks, and under the eyes to the upper jaw,
and between the eyes ; those of the opercle are large, except near the angle, where
they are small. The gill-openings are very extensive ; there are seven branchial
rays ; the supra-scapular is small, but strongly serrated behind.

The dorsal fin is long, and begins rather before the termination of the fleshy
opercle, and ends in a point at the root of the caudal; it has ten compressed,
slightly curved, sharp-pointed spines, of which the anterior is very short, the sec-
ond twice its length, and the third and fourth are double the length of the second ;
from this they gradually decrease to the tenth ; each spine has a delicate filament
appended to it, which in the third, fourth, and fifth are as long as the spines them-
selves ; the soft portion has eleven rays ; the seventh, eighth, and ninth are pro-
longed, and give a pointed form to the fin. The pectoral fin is long, broad,
rounded behind, and ends before the vent ; it has sixteen rays, with a semicircular
fold of skin in the axilla above. The ventral is short, rather broad, and begins
with the pectoral, but is shorter and has one spine and five soft rays. The anal is
very long ; it arises nearly opposite the root of the third dorsal soft ray, and ex-
tends almost to the root of the caudal ; it has three spines, the anterior very small,
and eight soft rays, of which the fourth, fifth, and sixth are prolonged like the
dorsal fin. The caudal is elongated, with sixteen rays ; those of the margin above
and below, as well as some of the central ones, are so prolonged as to give the tail
a tridentate appearance.

The scales are rather large, sub-pentagonal, with two faces of the pentagon
meeting at a very obtuse angle behind, where it is finely but strongly serrated ; its
anterior margin has eight radiating striae. The lateral line is concurrent with the
back, and at about the upper third of the body ; its scale is sub-triangular, with its
base before, and its apex behind and rounded ; the tube is near its middle.

CENTROPEISTES TRIFURCA. 49

Colour. The head is of a bronzed colour above, and marked with cupreous
lines from the eye to the upper jaw and lip, which is of a coppery tint along its
inferior border ; the root of the tongue, the branchial arches, as well as the roof of
the mouth, are bright yellow ; the lower jaw is white ; the body above the lateral
line is gray, with a purple tint ; below the lateral line it is silvery ; the sides are
marked with six dusky-gray vertical bars, darkest near the back ; the membrane
uniting the spines of the dorsal fin is transparent in front, or shaded with olive
spots ; and behind, near the root of the three last spines, is an irregular black
spot ; the filaments of the spines are red ; the soft portion of the dorsal is transpar-
ent, with a row of cupreous spots near its base, and spots of similar colour are
disposed without regularity near its margin, which is also cupreous ; the pectoral
is transparent ; the ventral is white, tinted blue in its posterior third, and yellow
in its anterior part ; the lateral line is marked by a succession of oblong dark spots
arranged in pairs ; the anal is semi-transparent, with a broad yellow band passing
through its middle, above which it is white, and the margin is blue ; the tail is of
a pale bluish tint, more or less transparent, with many yellowish-orange spots.

Dimensions. The length from the opercle to the root of the caudal fin is equal
to two heads ; the greatest elevation of the body is one sixth of a head ; total
length, twelve inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is large and of a very pale colour ; it consists of two lobes, with a cen-
tral or transverse portion, so joined to the left lobe as to leave no mark of separation, and making
with it more than four fifths of the organ ; the right lobe is exceedingly small, and is separated from
the central part by a well-marked fissure ; both lobes send processes into the hypochondria, but that
of the right is very short. The gall-bladder is but a long, narrow tube, reaching nearly half the
length of the abdominal cavity ; the stomach is large, long, sub-cylindrical, though pointed behind,
and has thick walls ; its pyloric branch departs rather in front of its posterior third, is very short,
and has its pyloric contraction well marked. The air-bladder is very small, and has thin walls.

Habits. The Centropristes trifurca, unlike the last-described animal, is never
found, so far as I know, in deep water, but is common in the harbour of Charleston ;
yet it is only seen in the summer months, and is never abundant ; parts of crusta-
ceous animals, as well as small fish, have been found in its stomach.

7

50 GENUS SARGUS.

Geographical Distribution. This fish has been hitherto observed only in the
waters of South Carolina and Georgia.

General Remarks. The Centropristes trifurca was first described by Linneeus,
and. succeeding naturalists have, to this time, only copied his description.

FAMILY SPARID^E.— O^mVr.

Characters. Jaws not protractile ; neither vomerine nor palatine teeth ; pre-
opercle and opercle without spines or serratures ; dorsal fin single ; scales ctenoid
and large ; branchial rays never more than six.

Hemarks. This family was founded by Cuvier, chiefly on the genus Sparus of
Artedi, the celebrated Swedish ichthyologist, to include only those species with
non-protractile jaws, and it comprises several genera. Prior to the publication of
the work of Cuvier and Valenciennes, there existed in no family of fishes so much
confusion ; nor any in which such a number of animals belonging to entirely dif-
ferent genera and families were included. It is especially Valenciennes, one of
the best ichthyologists of our time, who, by his researches, has cleared up the ob-
scurity that rested on this subject.*

GENUS SAUGVS. — Klein.

Characters. Jaws not protractile ; trenchant incisor teeth in both jaws ;
molar teeth in several series, sub-conical, rounded at their apices and paved;
branchial rays five.

* Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. vi. p. 1 el seq.

n.vE.

■ uCD^"

SARGUS OVIS. 51

Remarks. Klein established his genus Sargus, to receive certain fishes with
flattened, truncated, incisor teeth, and he consequently included in it many fishes
having this character in common, although they belong in reality to very
diff"erent genera. It was Cuvier who first restricted this genus within the proper
natural limits above stated.

SARGUS OVIS. — MitchiU.

Plate VIII. fg. 2.

Specific Characteks. Form semi-oval, compressed ; head dusky above ; body
grey above, silvery-Avhite at the sides, with six or seven vertical dusky bars ; belly
white ; mouth small, with six or eight quadrilateral, trenchant, incisor teeth, in
each jaw ; and two or three rows of rounded, sub-conical, paved, molar teeth. D.
12-12. P. 16. y. 1-5. A. 3-11. C. 17.

SvNONYMEs. Sparus, Sheepshead, Schoepjf, Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. vii. st. ii. p. 152.
Sargus ovis, Milch., Trans. Lit. et Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 392, pi. 11, fig. 5.
Sargus ovis, Cm\ el Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. vi. p. 53.
Sargus ovis, Storer, Report, &c., p. 36.
Sargus ovis, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 89, pi. 8, fig. 23.
Sargus ovis, Ayres, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p. 260.
Sargus ovis, Slorer, Synops., p. 80.
Sheepshead, VuTgo.

Description. This fish is of a semi-oval form, compressed, thicker and nearly
straight at the belly, thinner and greatly arched along the back, with its greatest
elevation opposite the sixth dorsal spine. The head is large, compressed, elevated,
full between the orbits, which are promment, and with the snout rather narrow,
though rounded. The eyes are large, near the facial outline, and about three
diameters of the orbit above the angle of the pre-opercle, three from the anterior
extremities of the incisor teeth, and two diameters from the angle of the opercle.
The pupil is deep sea-blue, and the iris silver-grey, with an internal golden margin.

52 SARGUS OVIS.

The nostrils are double ; the posterior and larger is a narrow, elliptical fissure,
nearly horizontal, but a little higher behind, and placed near the o)-bit, though
about the median plane of the eye ; the anterior is small, round, and on the same
level, but nearer the mesial line.

The mouth is small, as it does not extend as far back as the anterior nostril ;
the lips are thick and fleshy, but not protractile. The lower jaw is rather shorter
than the upper, and both are armed with four incisor and two canine teeth ; the
latter are turned inwards ; within these are two or three series of short, stout, sub-
conical teeth, round at their tips, and disposed like paving-stones. There are
neither vomerine nor palatine teeth ; but the pharyngeal bones are provided with
numerous conical, pointed, recurved teeth. The tongue is soft, smooth, thick,
round m front, and but slightly movable.

The pre-opercle is rounded at its angle, with its ascending border nearly ver-
tical, or but slightly directed forwards, and is marked with depressions and radi-
ating elevations. The opercle is narrow in the antero-posterior direction, and
terminates behind in an obtuse angle ; it is covered with scales, but the rest of the
head is smooth, except a patch of four or five rows of scales, which run from the
anterior margin of the pre-opercle, between the posterior part of the orbit and the
commissure of the mouth. The gill-openings are large ; there are five branchial
rays. From the supra-scapular ascends fonvards a remarkable row of large scales,
that marks the limit of the head ; in front of this row are two or three series of
smaller scales.

The dorsal fin is single, elevated, large, and preceded by a short recumbent spine,
often concealed by flesh ; it begins with the pectoral, and ends behind with the
anal ; it has twelve spines, the anterior short, and the fifth longest ; they are all
convex in front, concave behind, flattened at the sides, or ensiform in shape, and
all are received in a groove when the fln is closed ; the soft portion is round at its
extremity, and has twelve rays, with their inferior fifth protected by a wall of
scales, but without any attachment. The pectoral is long, narrow, sub-falciform.

SARGUS OVIS. 53

thick at its root, and terminates pointedly behind ; it has sixteen rays. The ven-
tral fin is large ; it begins nearly opposite the origin of the fourth dorsal spine,
and has five soft rays, with one spine about three fourths their length ; in the
axilla above there is a long, narrow, bony plate, nearly half as long as the fin, and
covered with scales. The anal arises in a line behind the origin of the soft portion
of the dorsal, and has three spines ; the anterior is very small, the second long,
broad, strong, and the third as long as the second, but more slender ; there are
eleven soft rays, the anterior of which, as well as the spines, is received in a
groove when the fin is closed ; but the others have their roots only protected by
scales, for one fifth their distance, making an imperfect groove. The caudal is
strong, forked, covered with adherent scales for some distance, and has seventeen
rays.

The scales are sub-quadrilateral, rounded behind, with a soft, ciliated margin,
and slightly concave before ; they are large, tolerably adherent, and are so imbri-
cated as to have a" sub-rhomboid appearance. The lateral line is concurrent with
the outline of the back, and runs along the upper third of the body, to the origin
of the last dorsal ray, when it descends to the median plane ; its scale is smaller
than those of the body in general, and has its tube beginning with several branches
behind, and ending in a large duct in front.

Colour. The head is rather dusky above, and often with a bronzed or greenish
tint ; the body is silver-grey above, more or less dark, and shining silvery-white at
the sides, and marked with seven transverse, bluish-black bars ; the first runs from
the shoulders to the gill-openings ; the second, from the anterior part of the
spinous dorsal to behind the root of the pectoral fin ; the third, from the sixth
dorsal spine to the middle of the pectoral ; the fourth, from the ninth spine of the
dorsal to the posterior extremity of the pectoral ; the fifth passes from the three or
four first rays of the dorsal to corresponding rays of the anal fin ; the sixth, from
the extremity of the dorsal to the extremity of the anal ; and the seventh is placed
at the root of the caudal fin ; all these bands are directed a little backward, except
the last two, which are vertical. The old animal becomes more dusky, the head is

54 S ARGUS OVIS.

almost black, and the silver colour of the sides of the body quite a dusky-grey.
The membrane of the spinous part of the dorsal is semi-transparent, with occa-
sional faint tints of palest olive, or bluish-brown ; the spines are white at their
tip ; the soft portion is semi-transparent, slightly shaded with dusky-grey ; the
pectoral is black at its root only ; the rest is semi-transparent, and in places more
or less shaded ; the ventral has the spines and rays of a light colour, and the mem-
brane of a bluish tint, almost white behind ; the second anal spine is dirty white,
the rays and membrane bluish-black, with occasional lighter tints.

Dimensions. The head is one fourth of the entire length ; the elevation of the
body is rather more than one head and a half, without the dorsal fin, and nearly
two heads with it ; total length, two feet.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is silvery, pointed with innumerable black dots, so as to give it a
dusky tinge. The stomach is rather small, and does not extend more than half the length of the
abdomen ; its walls are not very thick ; the pyloric portion begins far back, is narrower than the
stomach, and has thicker walls. The small intestine is long, more than twice the length of the
body, and makes several convolutions, connected by a loose fold of mesentery. The liver is of
moderate size ; the left lobe is the largest, though it does not extend as far back as the stomach ;
the transverse portion is thick, and projects backwards to make a kind of third lobe ; the right lobe
is smaller, and has a deep fissure between it and the middle portion ; both lobes send pointed pro-
longations to the hypochondria, especially the left ; the gall-bladder is long, sub-cylindrical, and
convoluted at the place where it terminates in the cystic duct, which is also long and large. The
air-bladder is large, and terminates rather broad in front, with a small, short, delicate horn, ascend-
ing perpendicularly before the anterior rib ; its walls are remarkably thick and strong ; its inner
membrane is very delicate, and can be easily separated from the external ; on its internal and infe-
rior face is a large vascular ganglion ; the testicles unite behind, and open into a large cavity ; the
ureters unite in one, and thus open into a large urinary bladder.

Geographical Distribution. The Sargus ovls inhabits the Atlantic shores of
America, from Massachusetts, where it has been observed by Dr. Storer, to Cape
Florida, where it has been seen by Major Leconte ; from this it ranges along the
northern shores of the Gulf of Mexico, even as far west as Lake Pontchartrain,
near New Orleans.

SARGUS OVIS. 55

General Remarks. Schoepff, in his Memoir on the Fishes of New York, so
long ago as 1778, gave a good description of our animal, in which he says, " It is
called Sheepshead " ; and he further observes, " Common and well known as this
fish is, in most regions of America, it seems not yet to have been described." If
it appeared to Schoepff remarkable that no one had given a description of the
Sheepshead, it is still more so to us, that a fish so large, one so sought after for the
table, and sold almost daily in our markets, should never have been noticed by
ichthyologists, from that time to 1817, when Dr. Mitchill gave a good description
of it from recent specimens, and accompanied it with a tolerable figure.

Habits. The Sheepshead appears in the neighbourhood of Charleston in April,
and continues until November, though farther south it doubtless remains the whole
year, as it has been taken in Port Royal Sound as early as January. It enters
shallow inlets and mouths of rivers, but never leaves the salt for fresh water ; it
prefers rocky bottoms or sheltered places for its residence ; the wreck of some old
vessel is always "a favorite resort, either from the protection it afi"ords, or because
barnacles and other shells, the natural food of the animal, soon collect about it.
Major Leconte informs me that these fish are exceedingly numerous along the in-
lets of Southern Florida, where the roots of the mangrove-trees are broadly ex-
tended into the salt water, and covered Avith barnacles. Mr. Elliott,* in his charm-
ing little work, which I advise all sportsmen to read, observes that " they were
formerly taken in considerable numbers among our various inlets, into which largo
trees had fallen, to which the barnacles soon became attached ; but as the lands
have been cleared for the cultivation of sea-island cotton, the trees have disap-
peared, and with them the fish ; and it has been found necessary to renew their
feeding grounds by artificial means." Thus, " logs of oak or pine are formed into
a sort of hut without a roof, five or six feet high ; it is floored, and then floated to
the place desired, and sunk in eight feet water, by casting stones or live oak tim-
ber within ; as soon as the barnacles are formed, which will happen in a few
weeks, the fish will begin to resort to the ground." It is sometimes necessary to
protect the fish from their great enemies. Porpoises and Sharks, and this is done

* Carolina Sports, by Land and Water, by the Hon. William Elliott, of Beaufort, S. C.

56 LAGODON RHOMBOIDES.

either by placing " two of these pens near each other," or " by surrounding the
pen with piles driven close together."

At present the best fishing-ground for the Sheepshead in South Carolina is the
Breakwater at Sullivan's Island, or the foundation rocks of Fort Sumpter at the
entrance of Charleston Harbou.r. The Sheepshead is a very wary fish, and takes
the bait cautiously ; but once hooked, it afi"ords much sport to the fisherman in its
attempts at escape, and it is always necessary to have strong tackle, otherwise the
line might be cut with its sharp and strong incisor teeth. The flesh is good, but
by no means as delicate and savoury as the Crevalle; nor do I think this fish at
Charleston equal in delicacy and flavor to the same fish at New York, which may
depend either on the nature or abundance of its food, or on the colder waters of
the latter region.

GENUS L AG OBO'N. — Holhrook.

Characters. Jaws protractile ; molar teeth in several rows, sub-conical, with
rounded apices, and paved ; incisor teeth broad, trenchant, and cleft at their cut-
ting margins ; branchial rays five.

LAGODON EHOMBOIDES. — Limiceus.

Plate VIII. Fig. 1.

Characters. Head small ; each jaw with eight incisor teeth, notched at their
summits ; body sub-oval, compressed, light gray above, silvery below ; sides marked
with eight longitudinal bands of purple, alternating with yellow ; below the lateral
line the bands are yellow, alternating with silver ; a dark spot above the root of
the pectoral fin. D. 12-11. P. 14. V. 1-5. A. 3-11. C. 17.

^Ji^jJCy^j^J^

pi.rtfi

\\

J^

M

W.ti'-,v^,.,-.j',f,''*' ■

IB

^

•>^ ■■<:::--.

6

Thinned If Ta.j,j,xti: iSr/ut/iri Botton/ .

Ma^ (An/)

LAGODON RHOJIBOIDES. 57

Synonymes. Sparus rhomboides, Lhi., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 427.

Salt-water Bream, Schoepff, Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. viii. p. 151.

Sparus rhomboides, Shaw, Gen. ZooL, vol. iv. p. 447.

Sargus rhomboides, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. vi. p. 68, pi. 143.

Sargus rhomboides, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 93, pi. 71, fig. 228.

Sargus rhomboides, Slorer, Synops., p. 81.

Salt-water Bream, Vulgo.

Description. This fish is of a semi-oval form, and compressed. Tlie head is
small, and uncovered with scales in front of the posterior part of the orbits. The
eyes are large, and rather nearer the snout than the angle of the opercle, their
lower margin corresponding with the median plane of the head. The posterior
and larger nostril is an elliptical opening, directed downward and forward to about
the middle plane of the eye ; the anterior is round, and both are on a line within
the orbit.

The mouth is small, and does not reach half the distance between the snout and
orbit ; the lips are thin ; the upper jaw is the longer, and the lower is so received
within it as to leave the teeth of the upper exposed. Both jaws are armed with
eight incisor teeth, notched at their cutting margins ; behind these are two rows
of sub-conical molar teeth, rounded at their apices, so as to resemble paving-stones ;
scattered between these rows are very small teeth of similar form, which are col-
lected in a group at the symphysis just within the incisors. The pharyngeal bones
have numerous teeth, conical, pointed, and recurved.

The pre-opercle is round at its angle ; the ascending border is not serrated, but
has numerous longitudinal depressions, which give a beautiful, though minute,
plaited appearance to the skin that covers it ; it is without scales behind, but near
its anterior margin are four or five series of large scales, that cover the cheeks,
leaving only a small smooth space below the eye. The opercle is narrow in the
antero-posterior direction, and terminates in an obtuse angle behind, above which
it is slightly emarginate ; it is covered with scales, as is also the inter-opercle,
which is very broad. The supra-scapular scale is large, round behind, with radiat-
8

58 LAGODON RHOMBOIDES.

ing strife, and from it begins a row of scales of similar form and stria?, though
smaller, that ascends forward to meet a corresponding row of the opposite side.

The dorsal fin is single, and begins nearly on a line with the root of the pecto-
ral ; it has in front one small recumbent and twelve erect spines ; the second,
third, and fourth longest and slightly curved ; the soft portion has eleven rays.
The pectoral fin is long, narrow, delicate, terminates behind in a point, and has
fourteen rays. The ventral begins at the anterior fourth of the pectoral, and ter-
minates before the vent ; it is very near its fellow, and has a long, pointed, narrow,
supplementary scale in the axilla above ; each has one spine and five soft rays.
The anal begins nearly opposite the first ray of the soft dorsal, and ends with it,
before the root of the caudal ; it has three spines received in a groove ; the first is
short and delicate; it has eleven soft rays. The caudal is broad, and forked,
though it appears deeply crescentic when distended ; it has seventeen rays.

The scales are semi-orbicular in form, finely ciliated behind, and straight before,
with twelve radiating stria?, which give it a scalloped appearance. The lateral
line is concurrent with the outline of the back, to the posterior extremity of the
dorsal, when it descends to the median plane ; its scales are smaller than those of
the body, sub-round, with radiating strige before, and a tube near the middle, Avhich
bifurcates behind into much smaller tubes.

Colour. The head above is pale brown, with small golden spots ; the lij)s are
white ; the sides of the head and opercles are marked with several alternate pale-
blue and golden lines ; the body above the lateral line is marked with similar pale-
blue and golden lines, but more clouded, slightly arched, and concentric ; below
the lateral line these are horizontal and parallel nearly to the belly, where the blue
lines disappear, and are replaced with alternate white and golden lines ; the belly
is white ; there is a dusky spot above the root of the pectoral fin ; the spinous
portion of the dorsal fin is transparent, with an irregular, longitudinal yellow
band near its middle, bordered with pale blue. In the soft part of the dorsal, the
yellow band in the centre is more regular, with yellow blotches above, and with its

LAGODON RHOMBOIDES. 59

margin yellowish ; the ventral is transparent, and white, except its two or three
anterior rays, which are yellow ; the anal spines are white, and a yellow longitu-
dinal band passes through the middle of the fin, which is bordered with blue near
the origin of its rays, and with paler blue on its external margin ; the caudal is
yellowish-brown ; six or seven vertical dusky bars at times mark the sides, the an-
terior of which includes the dusky spot above the pectoral fin ; but it must be re-
membered, that these bands are often so indistinct, as to be seen only in certain
lights.

Dimensions. The length between the opercle and tip of the tail is equal to
three and a half heads ; the elevation, to a head and a quarter without the dorsal
fin, and to a head and a half with it ; total length, ten inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is silvery, but with numerous small, dusky spots, that give the
whole a dark colour ; the liver is large and trilobate ; the left lobe is irregularly three-sided, and
extends nearly to the vent ; the middle lobe is thick above, and joined to the left, without a distinct
fissure, but does not extend more than half as far back ; the right lobe is thick, and about half as
long as the middle lobe ; both right and left lobes project into the hypochondria. The gall-bladder
IS a long tube, reaching nearly to the vent, and is very slightly enlarged behind. The stomach is
rather small, though long, sub-cylindrical, and pointed behind in the undistended state ; when full,
it fills much of the abdominal cavity ; the pyloric portion begins at the posterior fourth, and is
small, though rather long ; there are four large ccecal appendages. The small intestine runs half
way to the vent, then returns to the base of the pylorus, whence it is reflected, after one or two
short convolutions, to end in the rectum. The spleen is very small, oblong, and flattened. The
air-bladder is large, broad before, and narrow behind, where it terminates in two horns. There is
no urinary bladder, though the kidney is tolerably thick.

Habits. The Salt-water Bream is found in our waters at all seasons of the year,
though it is most abundant in May and June. It feeds on various crustaceous
animals, and on smaller fish.

Geographical Distribution. This fish abounds along the southern shores of
the United States, from Cape Hatteras to Lake Pontchar train, where it was ob-
served by Lesueur ; what may be its extreme northern limit is not yet well deter-

gQ FAMILY SCOMBRIDjE.

mined. Cuvier and Valenciennes suppose it common in the waters of New York,
because they have received " numerous specimens " from that city ; but Dr. DeKay
declares that he has never seen it in that latitude.

General Remarks. Linnteus published the first account of this fish, from
notes and specimens sent him by Dr. Garden, of Charleston, who called it Salt-
water Bream. Gmelin, Shaw, and Lacepede have only copied Linnaeus, without
alteration, and this seems to be all that was known of our animal, previous to the
work of Cuvier and Valenciennes ; for I cannot believe, with them, that the Poki
or Porgee of Schoepfi" has any reference to this fish ; as Schoepff expressly says,
that the whole body of his Porgee is silver-colour, and without stripes or spots ;
and he furthermore remarks, that it might possibly be identical Avith the Sparus
argyrops of Linnaeus (which it really is), though he confesses he could not see the
three anterior prolonged dorsal rays. This animal cannot be retained in the ge-
nus Sargus, where it has been placed by ichthyologists ; nor yet even in the fam-
ily Sparidse, because it lacks its most distinctive character, "jaws not protrac-
tile" ; nor can it be arranged with the Menida;, though its jaws are protractile, for
it has the broad incisor teeth of Sargus ; — I have, therefore, established for it the
genus Lagodon, to which must also be referred the Sargus unimaculatus of Cuvier
and Valenciennes.

FAMILY ^COMB^IBM. — Agassiz.

Characters. Body more or less elongated, and in general fusiform ; ventral
fins thoracic or jugular ; two dorsal fins contiguous or remote ; anterior dorsal
spinous, posterior with soft rays ; Avith or without finlets behind the dorsal and
anal fins ; vertical fins without scales ; opercle and pre-opercle without spines or
serratures ; scales cycloid and small ; branchial rays seven.

Remarks. Such are the characters of this family, as it now stands restricted

GENUS TEMNODON. 61

by Agassiz ; and it will be seen by a reference to his work,* that he has removed
from it many of the fishes which were formerly included among the Scombridae
of Cuvier ; and yet this family is still one of the most extensive, comprising more
than fifty genera, and more than three hundred known species.

These fishes are in general more gregarious, and much more roving in their
habits, than the Percidse or the Scisenidse, as some of the species, according to
Cuvier and Valenciennes, are common, not only to the Atlantic shores of Europe,
Africa, and America, but to the more distant seas of Asia and New Holland.
Perhaps, of all the different families of fish, this may be considered as the most
useful to man, especially when we look to its many varieties, the excellent food
they all afford, and the immense numbers that are taken from this apparently
inexhaustible source.

GENUS TEMNODON. — Cwmer.

Characters. Body oblong, compressed ; jaws each with a single row of sepa-
rated, sharp-pointed, compressed, lancet-shaped teeth, upper jaw with an internal
series of crowded, villiform teeth ; vomerine and palatine teeth minute, villiform ;
tongue with similar small teeth near its root ; anal fin preceded by two small
spines ; tail without a carina ; branchial rays seven.

Remarks. This genus of the family Scombridse was first established by
Cuvier, for the reception of a single species, the Gasterosteus saltatrLv of Lia-
nseus.

* Rech. Poiss. Foss., torn. v. p. 16.

62 TEMNODON SALTATOR.

TEMNODON SALTATOR — LmncBus.

Plate IX. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body oblong, compressed, silvery, shaded with bluish-
green above; a dusky spot at the root of the pectoral fin. D. 8-27. P. 16.
V. 1-5. A. 2-28. C. 20.

SrNONYMES. Skipjack, Cateshy, Carolina, &c., vol. ii. p. 14, t. 14.
Gasterosteus saltatri.x, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 491.
Gasterosteus saltatri.x, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1326.
Pomatome skib, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 268.
Gasterosteus saltatrix, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. iv. part ii. p. 609.

Scomber plumbeus, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 424, pi. 4, fig. 1.
Temnodon saltator, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. i.x. p. 225, pi. 260.
Temnodon saltator, Storer, Eeport, &c., p. 57.

Temnodon saltator, DeKatj, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 130, pi. 26, fig. 81.
Temnodon saltator, Webb et Berth., Hist. Nat. des Isles Canaries (Ichth. jmr Val.),

p. 58, pi. 26, fig. 2.
Temnodon saltator, Store)\ Synops., p. 108.
Skipjack, Vidgo.

Description. The form of this fish is oblong, compressed, thicker above, and
almost sharp below. The head is rather large, thick, with the line of the profile
slightly convex, and the snout rounded. The eyes are of moderate size, and
placed about the anterior third of the head, and near its median plane ; the pupil
is dusky, and the iris golden. The nostrils are closely approximated, and about
one third the distance between the orbit and the snout, on a plane above the orbit,
and on a line within the supra-orbital ridge ; the posterior is large and semi-
lunar ; the anterior is nearly round.

The mouth is large, and opens to the anterior border of the orbit ; the lips are
thick, and the upper is slightly protractile ; the lower jaAV is thick in the vertical

TEMNODON SALTATOR. 63

direction, and slightly longer than the upper; both are armed with a single roAv of
straight, sharp-pointed, compressed, or lancet-shaped teeth, about twenty-four in
the upper, and twenty in the lower jaw, which are slightly longer, and received
within those of the upper; the upper jaw has, besides, an internal and less exten-
sive row of smaller teeth. The vomer is furnished at its anterior part with a
small, sub-triangular patch of minute pointed, villiform teeth ; each palate-bone
has a narrow, oblong group, directed outward and backward, of similar teeth.
The tongue is small, narrow, rounded in front, tolerably free, and is smooth, except
near its base, where there are two small groups of very minute teeth. The pha-
ryngeal bones are all armed with numerous small, villiform teeth.

The pre-opercle is very thin, rounded at its angle, with its ascending border
slightly emargiuate, and directed upwards and backwards. The opercle terminates
behind, in two flat and pointed processes, covered with skin, which projects beyond
them, and gives a rounded form to its angle. The sub-opercle and the inter-
opercle are both large, and appear sub-ciliated at their free margin ; the cheeks,
the opercle, and the pre-opercle are covered with scales, but the jaws and snout
are smooth. The gill-openings are wide ; there are seven branchial rays.

The anterior dorsal fin arises opposite the middle of the pectoral, and has eight
delicate spines ; the fourth is longest, the eighth very minute, and all are con-
nected by a membrane, delicate, thin, and transparent, and are completely received
in a groove when the fin is closed ; the posterior dorsal is much elevated, and has
twenty-seven rays ; the first and second are longest, and all are united by a thin,
transparent membrane, on which minute scales ascend for some distance. The
pectoral is short, thick at its root, though it terminates rather pointedly behind ;
it has sixteen rays, with a triangular fold of scaly skin in the axilla above. The
ventral is very short, and has one spine and five soft rays ; it begins nearly at the
posterior border of the root of the pectoral, is very close to its felloAv, and is bound
by a fold of skin, for half its length, to the belly. The anal is shaped like the soft
dorsal fin, and terminates behind it ; it has twenty-eight soft rays, and is preceded
by two minute spines, which are at times covered with skin. The caudal is thick

g^ TEMNODON SALTATOR.

at its root, deeply forked, has twenty rays, and is covered with minute scales for
three fourths of its length.

The scales are small, sub-pentagonal, with two sides directed forwards; the
lateral line begins above the opercle, and is at first arched upwards, but it soon
takes a straight course, and thus continues to the tail.

Colour. When first taken from the water, the Skipjack is of a brilliant silver-
colour ; but it soon becomes shaded with pale green along the back, which finally
darkens into a greenish-blue, especially in the old fish, and hence it is called Blue-
fish in some parts of the country, and Green-fish in others. The connecting mem-
brane of the dorsal spines is perfectly transparent ; that of the soft dorsal is semi-
transparent, and slightly tinted with yellowish-green below ; the pectoral fin is
yellowish, transparent in its middle, with a few minute dusky spots at its tip, and
has a bluish-black blotch at its base, which is most distinct on its inner face ; the
anal is yellowish, with a slight tint of olive, and a few minute dusky freckles ; the
caudal is yellowish-olive, with dusky points to near its tip, which is yellowish.

Dimensions. The length from the opercle to the tip of the tail is equal to three
heads and one eighth ; the greatest elevation is about seven eighths of a head ;
total length, three feet.

Splanchnology. The liver is large and trilobate, as the central portion is prolonged backwards,
nearly as far as the right lobe, and is its thickest part ; the right and left lobes are both long and
slender, the former shorter and narrower. The ccecal appendages are delicate, and extremely
numerous. The gall-bladder is an elongated tube, nearly of the same size throughout, with several
convolutions, and closed at its posterior extremity, which is near the vent. The stomach is large,
sub-cylindrical, with very thick walls, and extends three fourths the length of the abdomen ; its py-
loric branch is small, very short, goes off from the stomach at its anterior fifth, and has a well-
marked pyloric contraction. The spleen is dark purple, slender, and vei-y long, as it extends from
the right lobe of the liver to near the vent. The ovaries are small, oblong, and unite in substance
far back. The kidney is large near the oesophagus, narrow and thick in the middle, and pointed
behind ; there is no urinary bladder. The air-bladder is simple, and has exceedingly thin walls.

TEMNODON SALTATOR. 65

Habits. These fishes have many of the habits of the common Mackerel ; they
collect in great multitudes, and often swim near the surface of the water, and thus
cause a thousand rijjples ; and at times they leap a foot or more into the air,
whence the common name Skipjack ; they are ravenous, and seize the hook
greedily, when baited with small living fish, or if it be kept in motion, or dragged
behind a boat under easy sail. Their flesh is not much esteemed at the South,
where they are generally small ; but at the North they reach a much larger size,
and are there highly prized.

Geographical Description. The Skipjack has the widest geographical distri-
bution ; it is found on the Atlantic coast of America, from Massachusetts Bay,
according to Storer, to Brazil, where it was observed by the Prince de Wied;
Webb and Berthollet saw it at the Canary Islands ; and Cuvier asserts that it
not only inhabits the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, but is also found
along the shores of Madagascar, Amboyna, and New Holland. \

General Remarks. Catesby, in his Natural History of Carolina, &c., gave the
first account of this fish, and accompanied it with a figure ; the description is
short and imperfect, and the figure is very defective, as it represents the animal
wanting the anterior dorsal fin, which is, in fact, so small, thin, and delicate, and
so completely received in a groove when the fin is closed, that it might easily be
overlooked by a careless observer.

Linnaeus's description is next in order, and is very good, as it was drawn from
recent specimens sent him by Dr. Garden.

Lacepede described it at first as the Pomatome skib, from drawings done in
Carolina, by Bosc ; and again, according to Cuvier and Valenciennes, as the Chei-
lodijitcre heptacanth, from a drawing of Commerson, made at Madagascar ; though
Lacepede says his fish is an inhabitant of the '■^ grand ocean equatorial."

9

*

66 CYBIUM MACULATUM.

Gmelin and Shaw have done no more than retain the name, and copy the de-
scription, of Linnseus.

Dr. Mitchill observed this fish in the waters of New York, and, supposing it to
be an undescribed species of Scomber, he applied to it the specific name of plum-
beus, and gave a very good figure of it.

Cuvier and Valenciennes have published the most accurate description of the
Skipjack, and cleared up the obscurity of its history.

GENUS CYBIUM. — Cwmer.

Characters. Body elongated, without a corselet ; maxillary teeth rather large,
sharp, more or less compressed ; vomerine and palatine teeth villiform, short,
equal ; finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins ; a carina on each side the tail ; bran-
chial rays seven.

CYBIUM MACULATUM. — Mitchill.

Plate IX. fig 1.

Specific Characters. Body sub-cylindrical, elongated ; above silvery, clouded
with bluish-green; jaws, opercle, sides, and belly satin-white, with occasional
purple tints ; several bright cupreous spots, both above and below the lateral line,
which terminates in a strong carina ; eight finlets each to the dorsal and anal fins.
D. 18-1-15 = 8. P. 19. V. 1-5. A. 2-15 = 8. C. 22.

Synonymes. Scomber maculatus, Milch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 426, pi. 6,
fig. 8.
Cybiutn maculatum, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. viii. p. 181.

CYBIUM MACULATUM. 67

Cyblum maculatum, Storer, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p. 179.
Cybium maculatum, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iii. p. 108, pi. 73, fig. 232.
Cybium maculatum, Storer, Synops., p. 92.
Spanish Mackerel, Vulgo.

Desceiption. This is a beautiful fish, with somewhat the form of the Mack-
erel ; the body is, however, more elongated, slender, and compressed both above
and below, so that a transverse section of it appears semi-oval ; it is smooth and
without scales, except near the base of the dorsal fin. The head is long, com-
pressed, the outline above nearly straight. The snout is prolonged, narrow, and
terminates in a point, Avhich is slightly incurved in front ; the lower jaw is equally
long, and very thick in the vertical direction. The posterior nostrU is large, oval,
narrow, vertical, very near the orbit, and on a plane with its middle ; the anterior
is sub-oval, situated at a distance from the posterior, and on a plane with the
upper margin of the eye. The eye is of moderate size, and placed about midway
between the snout and posterior border of the opercle, above the median plane of
the head, and near the facial line ; the pupil is dusky, and the iris a pale golden
colour.

The mouth is large, extending beyond the middle of the orbit of the eye ; both
jaws are armed with a single row of strong, elongated, conical teeth, very pointed,
and slightly compressed, which gives them a sub-lanceolate form ; there are about
eighteen in each jaw, and nearly of the same size ; the upper may be a little larger,
but the lower are quite as long ; they are all directed obliquely forAvard ; those of
the lower jaw are received within those of the upper, and decussate them when the
mouth is closed. The Avhole surface of the roof of the mouth is studded with
minute teeth, scarcely visible, but very perceptible to the touch ; besides these,
there is a small group of larger teeth on the anterior part of the vomer, and a
narrow oblong group of teeth of similar size, extending backwards on each side of
the palate. The tongue is short, slightly movable, pointed at the tip, broad
behind, and roughened with innumerable minute teeth. The pharyngeal bones
are small, long, narrow, and thickly studded with small, sharp teeth, curved back-
wards at their point.

68 CYBIUM MACULATUM.

The pre-opercle is incurved at its ascending border, and smooth. The opercle
is rounded, smooth, flat, and slightly projecting at its angle. The gill-openings
are large ; there are seven branchial rays.

The anterior dorsal fin is rather low, and has eighteen spinous rays ; the first is
longest, and the posterior very short, almost concealed in the anterior root of the
second dorsal ; these are received in a groove when the fin is closed. The second
dorsal is elevated in front, but soon becomes depressed, and in this way termi-
nates ; it has one spinous and fifteen soft rays, the anterior stout and strong, like
a concealed spine ; the second, third, and fourth are longest. Behind this fin are
eight small finlets, round at their roots, but compressed and broad above ; the last
portion of the dorsal appears like a finlet, but is not perfectly separated. The
pectoral arises close to the opercle, and is rather long and narrow, though broad at
its root ; it is sub-falciform, and terminates in a point about the tenth dorsal spine ;
it has eighteen rays ; and the axilla is deepened by a portion of skin adhering to
the fin and to the belly. The ventrals are very small, short, and close together ;
they begin on a line Avith the posterior margin of the root of the pectorals, and
terminate about their posterior third ; their internal margins are connected by a
fold of skin to the belly, and each has one spinous and five soft rays. The anal fin
has two spinous and fifteen soft rays, and is falciform ; it begins opposite the third
dorsal ray, and terminates beyond its ninth ; there are eight finlets behind it. The
caudal is bi-lobed ; each lobe is long, slender, and pointed ; there are twenty-two
rays.

The lateral line is slightly undulated, though concurrent at first with the out-
line of the back ; it runs nearly along the upper third of the body, to the anterior
part of the second dorsal, when it suddenly curves down to the median plane, and
thus is continued with slight flexures to the tail, where it terminates in a crest or
carina, which appears large and sub-triangular if seen from above, as its elevation
is one fourth of its length. Both above and below this crest is another, less promi-
nent, though nearly as long ; these begin on a line vertical with the middle of the
first, and run along the roots of the lobes of the caudal fin.

FlIX

A

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pTtntfd' iy Xa.pva,:n ^ Mra^farti Sos^'

CYBIUM MACULATUM. 69

Colour. This is a beautiful animal, with a bluish-green tint along the upper
part of the head and back, above the lateral line, and a white, satin-like appear-
ance below it ; the sides, both above and below the lateral line, are ornamented
with numerous sub-round, shining, cupreous spots ; the anterior dorsal is black,
with a narrow longitudinal line of white at its base ; the pectoral is semi-trans-
parent, with a dusky shade at its root ; the ventral is white, with a yellow tint in
front ; the second dorsal and anal fins are yellowish, with dusky lines ; the caudal
is dusky, with yellowish tints.

Dimensions. The head is one sixth of the total length ; the elevation of the
body without the dorsal fin is less than a head ; total length of the specimen here
described, twenty-two inches ; they are occasionally taken more than two feet in
length.

Splanchnology. The liver is of moderate size ; its centra! portion is thick and prolonged, to form
a middle lobe. The gall-bladder is oblong and narrow, but does not pass beyond the right lobe, to
which it is attached. The stomach is long, narrow, and reaches three fourths of the extent of the
abdomen ; its walls are of moderate thickness ; its pyloric portion is very small, short, narrow, and
departs from the stomach at an acute angle ; the small intestine runs nearly to the vent, then makes
a short convolution, and returns to end in the rectum.

Habits. ■ But little is known of the habits of this fish ; it seems, however,
more solitary than the fishes of its family generally are, as it seldom happens that
more than four or five are taken at the same tune. It appears on the coast of
Carolina in April and May, but is rarely seen during the summer months ; it feeds
on various species of small fish.

Geographical Distribution. The Cyhium maculatum is found on the Atlantic
shores of America, from Brazil to Massachusetts. Cuvier received specimens from
South America, and Dr. Storer from the waters near Boston.

General Eemarks. Dr. INIitchill gave the first account of this fish, and called
it by the appropriate specific name it still bears.

70 SERIOLA CAEOLINENSIS.

GENUS SEEIOLA.— Cuvier.

Characters. Body elongated, fusiform, sub-compressed : first dorsal fin with a
continuous membrane ; no finlets ; lateral line with scales not larger than those on
the rest of the body ; branchial rays seven.

SERIOLA CAROLINENSIS. — Holbrook.

Plate X. fg. 2.

Specific Characters. Head olive-brown above, with a dark band from each
orbit to the anterior dorsal ; body above bluish-slate colour ; sides yellow ; belly
white ; a yellow band from the oi:)ercle to the tail ; a dimple above and below the
root of the caudal fin. D. 7 - 1 - 36. P. 18. V. 1 - 5. A. 2 - 1 - 22. C. 20.

Synonyme. Jack-fish, Vulgo.

Description. This fish is of an elongated, slightly compressed, sub-fusiform
shape ; it is thin along the back, and almost carinated in front of the dorsal fin,
thicker and rounded along the belly, though thickest just below the lateral line.
The head is large, long, and very broad between the eyes, with orbits rather pro-
jecting ; the snout is narrow, though rounded. The eye is large, rather longest
horizontally, with its posterior border nearer the snout than the angle of the oper-
cle, and with its inferior margin above the median plane of the head ; the pupil
is nearly circular, and deep blue, with a golden iris, covered behind with a nictitat-
ing membrane. The nostrils are midway between the eye and the snout ; they are
elliptical in form, closely approximated, and nearly of the same size ; the anterior
is rather the lower, though both are above the median plane of the eye, and on a
line within the margin of the orbit.

SERIOLA CAROLINENSIS. 71

The mouth is large, the posterior extremity of the upper jaw reaching to the
middle of the orbit ; the lips are tolerably thick. The upper jaw is protractile,
and appears shorter than the lower when the mouth is open, but when shut, they
are of the same length ; both are armed with a large group, which is broadest
in front, of numerous small, pointed, card-like teeth ; there is an arrow-headed
group on the vomer, and an oblong patch of minute teeth on each palate-bone.
The tongue is broad, thick, rounded in front, and tolerably free, with its superior
surface anned with an oblong group of minute teeth along its centre. The pharyn-
geal bones are furnished with teeth similar to those of the jaws, but smaller. The
pre-opercle is nearly semicircular, and slightly prolonged at its angle. The opercle
is irregularly quadrilateral, with its anterior inferior angle prolonged and trun-
cated, to articulate with the inter-opercle. The sub-opercle is elongated, triangular,
with its base downwards, to unite with the concave margin of the inter-opercle,
which is broad. There are seven rather stout branchial rays.

There are two dorsal fins ; the anterior begins nearly opposite the anterior third
of the pectoral, and is preceded by a short, recumbent spine, directed forwards ;
it has seven spines, the sixth and seventh being very short, and all are placed in a
groove. The posterior dorsal is long, as it terminates only at the root of the cau-
dal, and has one spinous and thirty-six soft rays, of which the third, fourth, and
fifth are the longest. The pectoral fin is short and broad, though pomted behind ;
it begins behind the opercle, and has eighteen rays. The ventral is large, and
arises with the pectoral, though it extends farther back ; it has one spine and five
soft rays, of which the first and last are so joined to the body as to make a deep
cavity. The anal is in shape like the soft dorsal fin, and though shorter is co-
terminal with it behind ; it has one spinous and twenty soft rays, and is preceded
by two small spines, which are often concealed by the skin. The caudal is widely
forked, though at the junction of the forks it is crescentic; it has twenty rays.

The scales are minute, and mostly covered by the skin. The lateral line is at
first concurrent with the outline of the back, and runs along the superior third of
the body ; but at the beginning of the second dorsal it gradually descends to the

7-2 SERIOLA CAROLINENSIS.

median plane, and thus continues to the tail, where it is raised on a slightly ele-
vated carina, though the scales are not larger there than in other parts of the body.

Colour. The head above is olive-brown, and from each orbit runs backward
a broad black band, to meet at an acute angle in front of the dorsal fin ; the lower
jaw, the pre-opercle, and opercle are silvery, tinted yellow ; the back is bluish slate-
colour ; the sides are golden, and the belly white ; there is a broad yellow band
extending from the opercle to the root of the caudal fin ; the pectoral is transpar-
ent, of a yellowish tint in front, and white behind; the rays of the ventral fin
are white below, but above they have a bluish shade, though the membrane is
everywhere transparent ; the anal is semi-transparent, clouded with blue, and
having a strong yellow tint in front ; the tips of the two or three anterior rays are
white ; the caudal is olive-brown, with yellowish tints, especially near its tip.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the opercle to the tip of the tail, is equal
to three heads and one fourth ; the greatest elevation is seven eighths of the head ;
total length, two feet four inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is large, consisting of two lobes, and a middle or transverse portion ;
yet these divisions are only seen on its dorsal face ; the lobes are nearly of the same size, but the
left is rather longer, and pointed at its posterior extremity, vfhile the right is broader and lob-
ulated, and both send pointed lobules forward ; the central portion is thick, with a thin posterior
margin, irregular, and often subdivided into short, small lobules. The gall-bladder is long,
slender, and only slightly increased in size, near the right lobe of the liver, in which it is
partially imbedded. The stomach is cylindrical, pointed behind, with thick walls, and is very
long, extending to the posterior fourth of the abdominal cavity. The pyloric portion is very
short, not half an inch long, but very thick and firm ; it begins near the anterior fourth of the
stomach, and has a remarkable pyloric contraction. The small intestine runs to the posterior
fourth of the abdomen, when it makes a short convolution forward, and then returns to end in
the rectum ; its walls are very thick, hard, and firm, with its raucous coat minutely reticulated ;
the rectal valve is very small. The coecal appendages are very numerous, ranging from forty to
fifty in number ; but all do not come directly from the intestine, as one root is subdivided into
several branches. The spleen is rather thick and long, though it is concealed, in a great measure,
by the small intestine. The air-bladder is conical, large, and long, as it extends the whole length

P' V

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' eJ\AA>^(-v- V

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J^rin ted bt^ Tappan A- Tfi-adTord^Sorton

SERIOLA ZONATA. 73

of the abdominal cavity ; its apex is behind and pointed, its basis is before and has a minute horn on
each side, directed forwards and outwards ; these horns are so small as to resemble, at first sight,
ligamentous bands ; yet examination shows them to be pervious.

Habits. The Seriola CaroUnensis lives in deep water, and is taken along the
coast of South Carolina at all seasons of the year, but is never abundant. ,

Geographical Distribution. As yet, this fish has only been observed in the
waters of our State.

General Remarks. At first, I supposed the Jack-fish might be the Seriola
Boscii of Cuvier and Valenciennes ; but it does not agree with their description,
in many particulars, as in its colour, in the number of its dorsal fin rays, or
in size.

SERIOLA ZONATA. — MitchiU.

Plate X. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body above pale bluish slate-colour ; belly silvery ;
sides with vertical dusky bands, indistinct below the lateral line ; three anterior
dorsal rays, white at their tips ; a dimple above and below the root of the caudal
fin. D. 7-1-34. P. 19. V. 1-5. A. 2-19. C. 19.

Synonymes. Scomber zonatus, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 427, pi. 4, fig. 3.
Seriola zonata, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., tom. ix. p. 213.
Seriola zonata, BeKay, Zool. N, Y., part iii. p. 128, pi. 9, fig. 26.
Seriola zonata, Slorer, Synops., p. 105.
Banded Mackerel, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish is elongated, sub-fusiform, slightly com-
pressed, and moderately curved along the back, where it is thin, and even cari-
nated in front of the dorsal fin ; it is straighter and thicker at the belly, though

10

74 SERIOLA ZONATA.

the thickest part is just below the lateral line. The head is large, broad be-
tween the eyes, and the snout is rounded, though narrow. The eyes are of
moderate size, and placed nearer to the snout than to the posterior border of
the opercle ; the pupil is of the deepest blue, and nearly circular, only a little
angular in front ; the iris is light silvery-grey, with golden tints along its superior
half The nostrils are closely approximated, and midway between the eye and
snout; they are sub-elliptical in shape, nearly of the same size, rather above
the middle plane of the eye, and on a line within the orbit.

The mouth is rather large, as the superior maxillary bone extends nearly to the
middle of the orbit ; the lips are thin ; the upper jaw is slightly protractile, rather
longer than the lower, and both are armed with numerous small, pointed, card-like
teeth. There is an irregular, arrow-headed patch on the vomer ; and an oblong group
of minute teeth on each palate-bone. The tongue is broad, thin, white, and rough,
with minute teeth. The pre-opercle is large, thin, rounded, and rather prolonged
at its angle, with several slight, radiating depressions. The opercle is irregularly
quadrilateral, slightly notched at its posterior border, and with its anterior in-
ferior angle prolonged and pointed. The sub-opercle is long, narrow, triangular,
with its base below. The inter-opercle is rounded at its base. The gill-openings
are large ; there are seven branchial rays.

There are two dorsal fins ; the anterior begins behind the root of the pectoral,
and is preceded by a short recumbent spine ; it is but slightly elevated, and has
seven spines, of which the third and fourth are longest, and all are perfectly
concealed in a groove when the fin is closed ; the posterior dorsal is very long,
extending nearly to the root of the caudal fin, and has one spinous and thirty-
four soft rays, the anterior longest. The pectoral fin is short ; it begins just
behind the opercle, and terminates on a line with the middle of the ventral ; it
has nineteen rays. The ventral is large, broad, and has one spinous and five soft
rays ; the internal being connected, for some distance, to the body, by a fold of
skin. The anal is long ; it begins about the middle of the soft dorsal, and is
CO terminal with it behind ; it has one spinous and nineteen soft rays, and is

SERIOLA ZONATA. 75

preceded by two minute spines. The caudal is broadly forked, and is preceded
by a dimple, both above and below ; it has nineteen rays.

The scales are minute. The lateral line runs at first, Avith very slight undula-
tions, near the superior fourth of the body, and is concurrent with the outline
of the back; but at the second dorsal it gradually descends to the median plane,
and at the extremity of the dorsal it is slightly elevated into a carina.

Colour. The head above is dusky, with an olive tint ; below the eyes it is
silvery, with yelloAAash-brown shades ; from each orbit runs upwards and back-
wards a broad dusky band, to meet in front of the dorsal fin ; the body, above
the lateral line, is a very pale bluish slate-colour, and on each side it is marked
with vertical, dusky bands ; these are most remarkable above the lateral line,
indistinct below it, and are, in fact, not seen at all when the fish is just taken
from the water; the anterior band runs to the root of the pectoral fin, but
seldom below it; the second is longer, and touches the posterior extremity of
the pectoral fin ; the third is between the ventral and anal fins, and is most
distinct of all at the belly; the fourth is at the origin of the anal fin, and
the fifth about its middle ; and besides these bands, there is a dusky blotch at
the root of the caudal. A yellow, horizontal band extends from the opercle
to the tail, and a second band of similar colour, but less distinct, is often found
below it.

The anterior dorsal is bluish, dusky, interspersed with lighter tints, and is
light-coloured at its base ; the posterior dorsal is semi-transparent, dusky-bluish,
with lighter tints, especially near its superior border, and the three first rays
have their tips white ; the pectoral is transparent, with the slightest yellow
tint, and a dusky blotch on the inner face, at its origin ; the anal is dusky-olive,
with a yellowish tint at its anterior part, and with its lower margin white;
the rays of the ventral fin are white, but the membrane uniting them is bluish
below, and yellowish-brown above ; the caudal is yellowish-olive, darkest near
its root.

76 SERIOLA ZONATA.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the opercle to the tip of the caudal
fin, is equal to three heads and one sixteenth ; the elevation, without the dorsal
fin, is equal to one head; total length, fourteen inches.

Splanchnology. The liver has two lobes, and a transverse portion ; yet they are so joined on their
ventral face, as to show scarcely any mark of separation, unless the viscus be removed from them ;
both lobes are short, but the right is rather the longer, and has its posterior border thin and irreg-
ular, or even divided into small lobuli, where it conceals the ccEcal appendages ; both send forward
pointed lobes to the hypochondria ; the gall-bladder is placed mostly behind the right lobe, and is
long and slender. The stomach is elongated, cylindrical, and extends nearly to the vent ; it has
tolerably thick walls, with numerous folds on its inner face ; the pyloric portion goes off near the
diaphragm, and is very short. The small intestine runs two thirds the length of the stomach, and is
then reflected to the pylorus, whence it returns to end in the rectum ; it has very firm and thick
walls, and its mucous membrane is finely reticulated ; the rectal valve is circular, and very
prominent. The coscal appendages are numerous, clustered together, and bound about the py-
lorus ; they are all very slender, though they vary in length, some of them being an inch
and a half long. The air-bladder is long, extending the entire length of the abdomen ; it is
pointed behind, truncated, and broad before, with a minute short horn on each side, that runs
upward and outward, and appears at first like a ligamentous band, but it is pervious ; its
walls are very thin.

Habits. This fish is so rarely seen on our coast, that nothing can be said of
its habits.

Geographical Distribution. The Banded Mackerel inhabits the Atlantic
coast of America, from New York to Georgia ; and what may be its farther limit
north or south remains to be determined.

General Remarks. Dr. Mitchill first observed this animal, and described it as
a new species of Scomber, with the appropriate specific name zonatus, which has
been very justly retained by succeeding naturalists.

SERIOLA COSMOPOLITA. 77

SERIOLA COSMOPOLITA. — Cm. et Val.

Plate XT. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body compressed ; back slightly and belly much
arched ; pale green above, silver)^-white below, with pinkish-coloured reflections ;
a dark spot at the opercle, and another above the root of the caudal fin. D. 8 -
1-27. P. 18. V. 1-5. A. 2-1-27. C. 17.

Synonymes. Seriola cosmopolita, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ix. p. 219, pi. 259.
Seriola cosmopolita, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 129.
Seriola cosmopolita, Storer, Synops., p. 106.
Green Mackerel, Vulgo.

Description. This fish belongs to the section of the genus Seriola with very
short ventral fins, long, slender, falciform pectorals, and a compressed body. Its
form without the tail is elliptical, with the lower line of the ellipse most arched,
though both the lines of the back and belly meet at the snout under the same
angle ; the body is thin along the back, and almost carinate at the belly ; its thick-
est part is just below the lateral line, so that a transverse section appears as a nar-
row ellipse, broadest above. The head is short, elevated, uncovered with scales,
and the snout narrow, though rounded.

The eye is very large, and is placed midway between the posterior angle of the
opercle and the tip of the lower jaw, and is just its diameter from each, with its
lower margin above the median plane of the head. The pupil is dark, the iris
golden, intermixed with green, and has its posterior margin covered with a thin,
nictitating membrane, which, however, does not encroach upon the pupil. The
nostrils are midway between the eye and snout ; the posterior is large and oval ;
the anterior is a narrow fissure, and both are near the facial outline, and on a line

78 SERIOLA COSMOPOLITA.

within the orbit. The mouth is small, compressed, opens obliquely downwards and
backwards, and ascends above the lower margin of the eye ; the upper jaw is very
protractile ; the lower is thick in the vertical direction, and longer than the upper,
so as to make part of the facial outline when the mouth is closed ; and both are
armed with minute, card-like, and pointed teeth ; the vomer has a small patch in
front, and the palate-bones have a narrow group of similar asperities ; the tongue
is slightly roughened along its central portion ; the pharyngeal bones are closely
covered with minute teeth, similar to those in the jaws, but smaller.

The pre-opercle is round, and rather prolonged at its angle, with the skin beau-
tifully arranged in minute plaits or folds. The opercle is sub-rhomboidal, with
its anterior inferior angle prolonged and pointed, and its posterior border so emar-
ginate as to form two flattened points, from which the skin hangs. The sub-oper-
cle is an isosceles triangle, with its base below ; the inter-opercle is rounded and
broad, and does not join the opercle. The gUl-openings are large ; there are seven
branchial rays.

There are two dorsal fins ; the anterior is preceded by a minute recumbent spine,
and has eight erect spines, the first and last short, the third and fourth longest ;
it is completely received in a groove. The posterior dorsal is very long, low, and
has one spinous and twenty-seven soft rays, covered with a delicate skin at their
roots. The pectoral is falciform, slender, and very long, as it begins at the oper-
cle, and terminates with the origin of the tenth dorsal soft ray ; it has eighteen
rays. The ventrals are very short, near together, and placed in a depression, as is
also the vent ; each ventral has one spinous and five soft rays. The anal is pre-
ceded by two prominent spines, placed in a groove, and connected by a delicate
membrane ; it is almost as long as the soft dorsal, with which it terminates behind ;
it has one spinous and twenty-seven soft rays. The caudal is broad, widely forked,
and has seventeen rays.

The scales are minute, and mostly concealed by the skin. The lateral line is
arched, and concurrent with the outline of the back in its anterior half, with slight

SERIOLA COSMOPOLITA. 79

undulations in its course ; but at the sixth dorsal soft ray it descends to the
median plane, and then runs straight to the tail, where it is slightly elevated.

Colour. This is a beautiful fish ; when first taken from the water, the superior
half of the whole animal, except the dorsal fin, is of palest green ; the inferior half
is silvery, shining, iridescent, or with purple reflections ; but soon it assumes a
brassy tint above, and a pale golden tint below. The first dorsal fin is transparent,
its anterior half shaded yellow, and clouded with minute dusky points ; the poste-
rior dorsal is transparent along its root, within the wall of scales above mentioned,
and beyond this the three anterior fourths are clouded by numerous black points,
but its whole margin has a yellowish tint ; the pectoral is perfectly transparent,
with a faint yellow tint, and a dusky spot, more or less distinct, on the inner face
at its root ; the ventral is white ; the spines preceding the anal fin, as well as the
membrane that unites them, are white ; the anal is transparent at its origin, with
the three or four anterior rays yellowish, with a few minute dusky spots ; the rest
is yellowish, most distinct near the margin ; the caudal is dusky-olive at its root,
and yellowish towards its extremity ; there is a large black spot at the base of the
upper fork of the caudal fin.

Dimensions. The length between the opercle and tip of the tail is equal to
four heads; the greatest elevation, Avith the dorsal fin, is equal to two heads, and
to one head and two thirds without it ; total length, ten inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is of a silvery colour. The liver is but one mass, with a depression
in front and above for the cesophagus, and small, short lobuli on each side of it ; though there is no
distinct appearance of lobes below, yet the portion on the right side does not reach more than half
as far back as that on the left, and has an irregular margin, while the latter terminates in a point;
but the central portion is largest, and thickest ; it extends nearly to the vent, and then ends in a
small pointed lobule, that projects forward. The gall-bladder is rather large, sub-conical, elon-
gated, and situated almost entirely behind the right side of the liver. The stomach is of moderate
size, with tolerably thick walls, and numerous longitudinal folds of its mucous membrane, which
are not, however, permanent ; the pyloric portion springs from its posterior extremity, which turns
forward, and is nearly as long as the stomach itself, and has much firmer walls, with a well-marked

80 GENUS BOTHROLiEMUS.

pyloric contraction. The intestine runs nearly to the anus, whence it is reflected to the diaphragm,
and then returns to end in the rectum, with a small rectal valve. There are fifteen long, slender
coecal appendages. The spleen is sub-pyramidal, three-sided, and is placed far back on the right
side. The air-bladder is large and long, as it extends beyond the abdominal cavity ; its walls are
thin ; it is small and pointed before, but has two small horns behind. The kidney is large in front,
and has a long, slender ureter.

Habits. The Seriola cosmopolita is so great a stranger to Carolina, that not
much can be said of its habits. It visits our shores during the hottest season of
the year, in the months of July and August, but only occasionally, and often at
the interval of two or three years ; it is never abundant, as seldom more than half
a dozen are taken in a summer, and always in very deep water, and at a distance
from the shore. Parts of small fish are generally found in the stomach.

Geographical Distribution. According to Cuvier and Valenciennes, this
animal has the widest geographical range, it being common to the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, and hence the specific name cosmopolita. They furthermore ob-
serve, that " they have received it from Brazil and New York " ; yet it is not men-
tioned by Dr. Mitchill, in his Fishes of New York ; nor does Dr. DeKay, who is
later and much better authority, consider it as an inhabitant of that State.

GENUS BOTHROL^MUS.* — i7o/&rooA-.

Characters. Neither maxillary, inter-maxillary, palatine, nor vomerine teeth ;
pharyngeal bones large and massive, with numerous pits, like sockets, but with-
out teeth ; body elevated, compressed ; neither carina nor crest at the tail ; dorsal
and anal fins with three or four of their anterior rays prolonged, and preceded by
free spines ; branchial rays seven.

* From ^odpos, fovea, and Xai/idt, gula.

PIM.

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BOTHROL^MUS PAMPANUS. 81

Remarks. This genus is closely allied to Lichia and to Trachinotus, but it
may be known from either by the absence of teeth.

BOTHROL^MUS PAMPANUS. — Ctiv. et Val.

Plate XI. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body elevated, compressed ; anterior dorsal represented
by six short spines, each with a short membrane, and preceded by a recumbent
spine directed forward ; posterior dorsal and anal fins with their anterior rays
prolonged ; the facial outline descends abruptly before the eyes ; colour golden,
shaded with pale blue along the back. D. 6-1-2-4. P. 16. V. 1-5. A.
2-1-21. C. 20.

Synonymes. Trachinotus pampanus, Cuv. cl Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. viii. p. 415, pi. 237.
Lichia Carolina, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 114, pi. 10, fig. 30.
Trachinotus pampanus, Storer, Synops., p. 99.
Lichia Carolina, Storer, Synops., p. 96.
Cavalli, or Crevalle, Vulgo.

Description. The head is elevated and slightly carinated above, though broad
between the eyes ; the facial outline descends in a regular curve to the level of the
nostrils, when it is suddenly incurved to the inter-maxillary bone, which gives a
truncated appearance to the snout. The eye is very large, and about the median
plane of the head ; it is one diameter of the orbit from the snout, and two diam-
eters from the posterior margin of the bony opercle. The nostrils are large,
closely approximated, nearly of the same size, and about midway between the orbit
and snout ; the posterior is rather the larger, and is semilunar in form ; the ante-
rior is semi-oval, and both are above the median plane of the eye, and on a line
within the orbit.

11

82 BOTHROLiEMUS PAMPANUS.

The mouth is small ; the lips are tolerably thick and fleshy ; the jaws are with-
out teeth ; the tongue is large, thick, and smooth. The pharyngeal bones are very
remarkable ; the inferior, as well as the central superior, are very strong, massive,
and heavy, and have their grinding surfaces marked with numerous pits and depres-
sions, like sockets for teeth, which are never found either in the young or in
the adult animal ; but in the small posterior pharyngeals, very frequently a few
pointed, small, card-like teeth may be observed. The pre-opercle is rounded, some-
what prolonged at its angle, and without the least serrature, but with slight
depressions, that give a radiated or plicated appearance to the skin. The opercle
is quadrilateral, and rounded behind. The sub-opercle is large, sub-triangular, and
rounded behind, with its base below. The inter-opercle is semilunar, but straight
above where it joins the sub-opercle ; the gill-openings are large ; there are seven
branchial rays.

The anterior dorsal fin is represented by six very short spines, placed in a
groove, each of which has its membrane ; these are preceded by a short, recumbent
spine, directed forwards ; the second dorsal begins nearly midway between the
snout and the root of the caudal fin ; it is long, sub-falciforai in shape, and has one
short spinous ray and twenty-four soft rays ; the three anterior are very long and
firm ; they decrease in length to the seventh ; the others are short, but of equal
length to the last. The pectoral is large, and broad ; it begins behind the gill-
openings, and ends before the posterior dorsal fin ; it has sixteen rays.

The ventrals are very short ; they begin just behind the origin of the pectoral,
but do not extend as far back ; they are near together, and have each one simple
and five branched rays, the last of which is bound to the belly by skin. The anal
is shaped like the soft dorsal fin, with its three anterior rays prolonged ; but from
the sixth they are short, and all of the same length ; it is preceded by two short
spines, and has one spinous and twenty-one soft rays. The caudal is very long,
has twenty rays, and is widely forked ; the upper branch being slightly the longer.

The scales are very small and deeply imbedded in the skin. The lateral line is

BOTHROL^MUS PAMPANUS. 83

not very distinct ; it runs at first about the upper third of the body, and then gen-
tly descends, so as to be near the median plane, at the extremity of the pectoral
fin ; it is slightly undulating in its course.

Colour. When first taken from the water, the entire animal is of a most bril-
liant silver-colour; but it soon becomes clouded with a pale blue above, and
assumes a bright golden colour below ; the dorsal fin is semi-transparent ; the anal
and caudal are yelloAV, more or less bright.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the opercle to the tip of the caudal fin,
is equal to four heads and a quarter ; the greatest elevation, which is opposite
the anal spines, is equal to two heads ; total length, twenty inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is large, of rather a pale colour, and consists of three lobes ; though bu
two appear at first sight, as the right lobe is placed so deeply, that it is entirely concealed by the
other viscera. The left and the central lobes are united in front by a thin portion, and are further-
more connected by bridles of the substance of the liver ; the margins of the central lobe are often
irregular. The gall-bladder is very large, oval in form, and placed far behind the right lobe, though
generally joined to it, and projects so far to the left as to be nearly in contact with the ovary of that
side. The stomach is small, not extending half the length of the abdominal cavity ; and the ad de
sac is very short. The pyloric portion is about one third as long as the stomach itself, and arises
near its posterior fifth ; its walls are thicker than the other parts of its stomach, with a remarkable
pyloric contraction. The small intestine is very capacious, and is at first directed forwards ; but
soon it runs nearly to the vent, whence it is reflected to the pylorus, and then it turns backward to
end in the rectum, with a well-marked rectal valve. There are twelve or fourteen coecal appenda-
ges ; all are slender, and some of them are very long, as they reach to the vent. The spleen is
dark purple, olive-shaped, but compressed, and is situated mostly on the left side. There is no air-
bladder ; the kidney is large and thick ; and the ureter is developed into a small urinary bladder.

Habits. The Crevalle, or Cavalli, makes its appearance in the waters near
Charleston in the month of April or INIay, and remains during the summer, or un-
til late in October, and even longer, if the season be warm. It feeds on various
kinds of molluscous, as well as crustaceous animals ; and takes the hook greedily
when baited with clams, shrimps, &c., &c.

84 GENUS CARANX.

Geographical Distribution. This animal is found along the Atlantic shores
of America, from Brazil to New York ; it abounds also in the Gulf of Mexico,
and is known at New Orleans as the Pompynose, probably a corruption of j;«m-
panus, or pampano.

General Remarks. The Cavalli, though certainly known to Dr. Garden, and
sent by him to Linnaeus, was, however, first accurately described by Cuvier and
Valenciennes as the Trachinotus pampanus.

Dr. DeKay's account of our animal is next in order, and is defective, as it was
taken from a dried specimen of more than twenty years' standing ; he placed it in
the genus Lichia, with the specific name Carolina. But the absence of maxillary
teeth, and the peculiar structure of the pharyngeal bones, would forbid its being
embraced in that genus. Nor can his specific name be retained, as that of Cuvier
and Valenciennes has the right of priority ; unless, indeed, it could be satisfactorily
proved that our Crevalle is identical with the Gasterosteus Carolina of Linnaeus,
and this cannot be done, as that animal must be a Caranx, it having a carina
along its tail. Yet it is almost certain that the Crevalle of Dr. Garden, which
LinnfEus quotes as a synonyme, is the animal noAV under consideration ; for the
name Crevalle, or Cavalli, was commonly applied to this fish, even in the time of
Dr. Garden, as I have been informed by his contemporaries; and if we consider
the great estimation in which this fish is held by epicures, and the price it com-
mands in market above all others, it is not probable that its name has been
changed.

GENUS CARANX. — CMmen

Characters. Body compressed, covered with minute scales ; two dorsal fins ;
lateral line furnished with large scales ; those on its posterior half have each an
elevated carina, terminating in a point behind, and thus making a continuous
ridge ; free spines before the anal fin ; teeth minute ; branchial rays seven.

CARANX DEFENSOR. - 85

CARANX BEFENSOn. — DeKai/.

Plate XII. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Head full, prominent ; body above, pale brown, with
a strong yellow tint ; below, white, with pinkish reflections ; opercle with a black
blotch ; pectoral fin with a dusky spot near its anterior fourth. D. 8-1-23.
P. 18. V. 1-5. A. 2-1-17. C. 17.

Synonymes. Caranx defensor, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 120, pi. 24, fig. 72.
Caranx defensor, Storer, Synops., p. 103.
Horse Crevalle, or Cavalli,' Vtilgo.

Description. This fish, without the tail, is of a sub-oval form, arched and
thicker along the back, nearly straight and thinner at the belly, so that a trans-
verse section appears elliptical, and broadest just above the median plane. The
head is large and thick, though carinated above ; and the profile descends in a
regular curve to the nostrils, where it is slightly incurved ; the snout is narrow,
though rounded. The eye is very large, its lower margin being near the median
plane of the head ; it is placed about one diameter of the orbit from the snout, and
two diameters from the posterior border of the opercle ; the pupil is dark, and the
iris is golden, with its posterior half covered by a nictitating membrane, which is
crescentic in front, tolerably thick, and perfectly transparent. The nostrils are
closely approximated, very near the eye, above its median plane, and on a line with-
in the orbit ; both are sub-oval, nearly of the same size, though the posterior is
rather higher up.

The mouth is large, the upper jaw extending to the posterior border of the or-
bit ; the lips are tolerably thick and fieshy. The upper jaw is armed with a series
of moderately large, conical, and pointed teeth ; those in front are largest ; behind
these are three or four rows of minute, card-like teeth; the lower jaw has but a
single row of teeth, and these are longer than those of the upper, especially two

86 CARANX DEFENSOR.

or three of the anterior. The vomer has a small patch of mmute teeth in front,
and the palate-bones a narrow group of similar teeth on each side. The tongue
has a triangular patch of like minute teeth. The pharyngeal bones have conical,
pointed, recurved teeth ; some of them are larger than those of the jaws. The
pre-opercle is rounded below and at its angle ; the ascending border is nearly per-
pendicular, and is smooth or without serratures, but the skin at the angle is beau-
tifully arranged in minute radiating folds. The opercle is short in the vertical
direction, and tevmmates behind in an obtuse angle, above which it is emar-
ginate. The sub-opercle is long, narrow, sub-triangular, wtih its base below.
The inter-opercle is broad and semilunar. The whole head is smooth, or un-
covered with scales. The gill-openings are of moderate size; there are seven
branchial rays.

There are two dorsal fins ; the anterior begins behind the root of the pectoral ;
it is preceded by a recumbent spine, and has eight erect spines, received in a groove ;
of these the anterior is minute, and the third is longest ; the posterior dorsal is long,
falciform, and has one spinous, with twenty-three soft rays, the second, third, and
fourth being very long, and all stand in a groove of scales, but without any ad-
hesion. The pectoral is long, falciform, and ends in a point beyond the origin of
the anal fin ; it has eighteen rays. The ventral is short ; it begins nearly in a line
vertical with the pectoral, but is not half as long, as it terminates just behind the
vent, and has one slender spinous and five soft rays. The anal fin is preceded by
two free spines, the first slender, the second stout, and both are retained by a fold
of skin in a groove ; the soft portion is shaped like the second dorsal, and though
shorter, yet it extends as far back, and has one spinous and seventeen soft rays,
which stand in a groove of scales. The caudal is long, forked from its root, and
has seventeen rays.

The scales are exceedingly minute ; the lateral line is at first much arched, to
correspond with the dorsal outline, and runs along the superior fourth of the
body to the anal fin, when it descends to the median plane, and thus continues ;
this straight portion is armed with about thirty-two plates ; they begin small, but

CARANX DEFENSOR. 87

increase in size, as well as in the elevation of their carina and in the length
of their spines, to the middle of the space existing between the posterior ex-
tremity of the dorsal and the root of the caudal fin, whence they decrease rap-
idly in size.

Colour. The head above is palest brown, often with an olive tint, or at times a
shade of green ; the upper, as well as the lower jaw, and throat, are silvery-white ;
the body above the lateral line is of the palest brown, with a strong golden tint ;
below, it is silvery-white or golden, with purple reflections, or iridescent in certain
lights. The opercle has at its posterior border, and above its angle, a dark blotch ;
the anterior dorsal fin is semi-transparent, with obscure dusky shades ; the pectoral
is transparent, with a faint yellomsh tint, and a dusky blotch on its inner face,
about its anterior fourth ; if the fin be stretched, it will be seen that the mem-
brane is not coloured, but the rays only, which then appear as seven short, black
lines ; the ventral is- white, semi-transparent, with its anterior rays and membrane
tinted yellow near the middle ; the anal has its nine anterior rays yellow, particu-
larly so in front ; the two spines before the anal are white, tinted yellow, and the
membrane of the posterior spine is yellow ; the caudal is yellow, more or less
clouded with light brown.

Splanchnology. The liver is large and trilobate behind, though there is no mark of separation
before, as all appears one mass, until it be removed from the body ; the left lobe is longest, as
the right does not extend beyond its middle ; both project into the hypochondria, especially
the left. The stomach is large, and extends three fourths the length of the abdomen ; its walls
are very thick, and its mucous surface is marked with numerous longitudinal folds ; the pyloric
portion begins about its posterior fourth, and is short, with its walls even thicker than the stomach
itself. There are numerous crecal appendages. The spleen is large, scaphoid in form, broad-
est behind, and placed far back. The air-bladder is large, with thin walls ; it is full and rounded
in front, but bifurcates in two small horns behind. The kidney is large, thick, and opens into a
urinary bladder.

Habits. The Horse CrevaUe abounds along the shores of Carolina during the
summer months, and is mostly found in deep water. Its food seems to be vari-

88 CARANX HIPPOS.

ous small fish, and portions of crustaceous animals have also been found in its
stomach.

Geographical Distribution. The known range of the Caranx defensor is
from New York to Florida.

General Remarks. This fish was first made known to naturalists by Dr.
DeKay, in his Zoology of New York.

CARANX HIPPOS. — iwHrPMs.

Plate XII. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body elongated, sub-compressed ; above greenish-olive ;
sides and belly golden^ a dusky spot at the superior and posterior part of the
opercle. D. 8-1-24. P. 19. V. 1-5. A. 2-1-20. C. 18.

Synonymes. Scomber hippos, Lin., Sys. Nat., torn. i. p. 494.

Scomber chrysos, Mitch., Lit. and Phil. Trans. N. Y., vol. i. p. 424.
Caranx chrysos, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ix. p. 98.
Caranx chrysos, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 121, pi. 27, fig. 85.
Caranx chrysos, Storer, Synops., p. 101.
Horse Crevalle, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish without the tail is elliptical, elongated, and
slightly more arched at the belly than the preceding species ; it is sharper along
the outline of the back, and thicker at the belly, so that a transverse section is ellip-
tical, and rather broadest just below the lateral line. The head is large, with the
snout narrow, though rounded, and the facial outline descends in a regular curve,
and is by no means as much arched at the forehead as it is in the Caranx defensor,
nor is it incurved at the nostrils. The eye is large, with its inferior margin about
the median plane of the head, rather more than its diameter from the snout, and

Fim

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Ct^X-l<..i.^y\^

CARANX HIPPOS. 89

two diameters from the angle of the opercle ; the pupil is deep blue, the iris
golden, intermixed with greenish-olive, and is covered behind with a nictitating
membrane. The nostrils are closely approximated; the posterior and larger is
oval, and more elevated than the anterior, which is semilunar ; they are midway
between the eye and snout, near the anterior extremity of the supra-orbital ridge,
and on a line within the orbit.

The mouth is large, with tolerably thick lips ; the lower jaw is apparently
longer than the upper Avhen the mouth is open, but is in fact shorter, as its teeth
are received within it Avhen the mouth is closed. The upper jaw is armed with a
series of small teeth, conical and pointed ; within this are several rows of minute,
card-like teeth ; the lower jaw has but a single series, similar to the external row
of the upper jaw, and a few scattered teeth. The vomer has a small patch of
minute teeth in front ; and each palate-bone has an oblong group, broadest near its
posterior part. The tongue is furnished with an elongated, quadrilateral patch of
similar minute teeth. The free margin of the pre-opercle is semilunar, and smooth,
or without spines or serratures. The opercle is irregularly four-sided, with its ante-
rior inferior angle prolonged and pointed, and it terminates in two flat points
behind, the inferior being the longer and angular. The sub-opercle is nearly tri-
angular, elongated, with its apex upwards and truncated. The inter-opercle is
very large, broad, and semicircular. The whole head is smooth, or without scales,
except a few on the cheeks, in front of the pre-opercle. The gill-openings are
large ; there are seven branchial rays.

There are two dorsal fins ; the anterior is elevated, and is preceded by a recum-
bent spine ; it has eight spines ; the first is minute, the third is longest, and the
eighth very short, and all are received in a groove when the fin is folded ; the
posterior dorsal is long, falciform, and has one spinous and twenty-four soft rays,
with a wall of scales at their root ; the first, second, and third rays are longest.
The pectoral is exceedingly long, slender, and beautifully falciform ; it begins at
the opercle, and ends pointedly, in a line with the fourth anal ray ; it has nineteen
rays. The ventral is short ; it arises in a line with the posterior margin of the

12

90 CARANX HIPPOS.

root of the pectoral tin, but does not extend as far back, and has one spinous and
five soft rays. The anal is shaped like the soft dorsal, but is shorter, though it
extends as far back, and has a similar wall of scales at its root ; it has one spinous
and twenty soft rays, and is preceded by two spines, placed in a groove, the
anterior of which is very small. The caudal is broadly forked, and has eighteen
rays.

The lateral line is, at first, near the superior fourth of the body, and concur-
rent Avith the dorsal outline ; but at the posterior third of the anterior dorsal
fin it curves gradually down, and is in the median plane of the body at the
posterior dorsal ; and thus it runs straight to the tail ; this straight portion is
covered with fifty plates, small at first, but increasing in size to the middle of
the space between the extremity of the dorsal and the root of the caudal fin,
when they gradually again decrease in size. These plates are broad vertically,
but narrow in the antero-posterior direction, and are armed with a carina, which
terminates behind in a spine or pointed extremity.

Colour. The head above is greenish-olive, with a strong yellow tint ; the
cheeks, pre-opercle, and opercle are golden, the latter with a black blotch at its
j)Osterior angle ; the back is bright greenish-olive, tinted with yellow ; the sides
and belly are golden ; the anterior dorsal is semi-transparent, with slight dusky
shades ; the posterior dorsal is also semi-transparent, with numerous minute
dusky spots, and some few of its posterior rays are dark ; the pectoral is perfectly
transparent, with a pale yellowish tint, most distinct near its root ; the ventral fin
has its rays of a light colour, shaded with blue ; the last ray is white, and the
membrane is transparent ; the anal is semi-transparent in front, with a yellowish
tint behind; the caudal is yellomsh-brown.

Dimensions. The length, from the opercle to the tip of the caudal fin, is equal
to three heads and a quarter ; the elevation, to a head and one eighth ; total
length, sixteen inches.

CARANX HIPPOS. 91

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is silvery ; the liver is large, firm, dark-coloured, and seems
as one mass, if observed from below, as there is no mark of fissures ; it is thick before and thin
behind, with an irregular margin ; and is slightly longest on the left side ; when the liver is re-
moved, three prominences appear on its anterior part ; a central very short, and a right and left
lateral, which are long, pointed, and project forward. The gall-bladder is an elongated tube, which
extends beyond the stomach, and is somewhat convoluted. The stomach is rather small, sub-
cylindrical, pointed behind, with tolerably thick walls, and numerous longitudinal folds on its
mucous membrane ; the pyloric portion is large and long ; it arises from behind the posterior
fourth of the stomach, and has thicker and firmer walls, with a very remarkable pyloric contrac-
tion. The small intestine has thick and firm walls, though the folds on its inner face are but
small ; it runs nearly to the vent, and is then reflected to the pylorus, whence it turns back,
to end after a short distance in the rectum, with a large rectal valve. There are numerous ccecal
appendages, small, delicate, but rather long ; they are firmly united together, and partially ar-
ranged into two or three great masses. The spleen is short, but broad and thick, and is placed
rather obliquely, from right to left. The testicles when filled are very large, broad, sub-triquetral,
and extend more than half their length behind the vent, and end in a point; they do not unite
in substance, but a short excretory duct goes from near the centre of each. The air-bladder
is large, and extends throughout the abdomen ; it is broad and truncated before, with a minute
horn on each side of its anterior part, which runs a short distance forwards and outwards ; behind,
it is subdivided into two horns. The kidney is large and broad.

Habits. This animal is so seldom seen in the waters of South Carolina, that
we are unacquainted with its habits.

Geographical Distribution. The Caranx hippos has a wide range along the
Atlantic coast. Dr. Storer found it in the waters of Massachusetts ; and I have
received specimens from Florida.

General Eemarks. This fish was undoubtedly first described by Linnaeus
as the Scomber hippos, and from specimens found in Carolina, which were sent
him by Dr. Garden.

Dr. Mitchill long after observed the animal at New York, and, supposing it
to be an undescribed species of Scomber, he applied to it the specific name
chrysos ; and in this he has been followed by most ichthyologists.

92 CAEANX FALCATUS.

Cuvier and Valenciennes, although they believe it identical with the Scomber
hippos of Linnaeus, have retamed the specific name of Dr. Mitchill, instead of
that applied to it by the celebrated Swedish naturalist, by Avhom it was first
described.

CARANX FALCATVS. — Holbrook.

Plate XIII. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body oval, compressed; yelloAvish, shaded with pale
blue, above the lateral line, yellow below it ; lateral line with fifty plates ; tail
yellow, widely forked, upper branch longest. D. 7-1-28. P. 16. V. 5. A.
2-1-25. C. 19.

Description. The form of this fish, without the tail, is nearly oval ; it is much
compressed, with the head short, and the facial outline descending in a gentle curve
to the snout, which is rounded, though narrow. The eye is large, and occupies the
middle third of the head, in the vertical direction ; with its posterior margin rather
nearer the snout than to the posterior margin of the opercle. The nostrils are
close together, nearly midway between the eye and snout, and on a line within
the orbit ; the posterior and larger is sub-round, but the anterior is ovoidal. The
mouth is small ; both jaws are armed with a single row of slender, conical teeth.
There is a small patch of minute teeth on the vomer, and a small, narrow group of
similar teeth on each palate-bone. The tongue is small, narrow, and furnished
with a few minute teeth near its root. The pharyngeal bones are armed with
numerous card-like teeth, which are longer than those of the jaws.

The pre-opercle has its angle rounded and short. The opercle is narrow, trape-
zoid in form, prolonged and pointed below, and slightly emarginate behind. The
sub-opercle is quadrilateral, long, and narrow. The inter-opercle is broad and
semicircular. The head is smooth, or with only a few scales behind the orbit.

FLUE.

T.S.Duval &■ Co'j Steam UA Press, ndadf

CARANX FALCATUS. 93

ITiere are two dorsal fins ; the anterior is placed in a groove, and has seven
spines ; it is preceded by a short, recumbent spine, slightly elevated and directed
forwards. The posterior dorsal has one spinous and twenty-eight soft rays ; it
is long and low, its three or four anterior rays excepted, and these are but moder-
ately elevated ; the rays are all protected by a sheath of scales, which is thin at
their roots, and ascends one fourth of their length, but without any adhesion. The
pectoral is falciform in shape, and very long, as it extends to the anterior third
of the soft dorsal fin ; it has sixteen rays. The ventral is small, and very short,
though it extends beyond the vent, and has five rays. The anal is shaped like
the soft dorsal, and has one spinous and twenty-five soft rays, protected in like
manner at their roots ; it is preceded by two short spines placed in a groove.
The caudal is very long and widely forked, the upper branch being more than
one third longer than the lower ; it has nineteen rays.

The lateral line is at first almost semicircular; but at the origin of the soft
dorsal it descends to the median plane, and is then straight ; it is covered with
about fifty plates, which begin with the soft dorsal, and increase in size to the
thirty-fifth, whence they decrease rapidly. The scales are minute ; those of the
lateral line are elongated quadrilateral, with one angle prolonged and rounded ; its
duct is large, begins far forward, and bifurcates near the posterior border.

Colour. The superior part of the head, and the body above the lateral line,
are palest brown, with a slight bluish tint ; the lower jaw, opercle, and sides are
yellow ; the belly is silvery, with a slight golden tint ; the anterior dorsal is
transparent; the posterior is transparent, but with a yellomsh tint; the caudal
is yellow.

Dimensions. The head is one sixth of the entire length of the animal ; the
greatest elevation without the fins is equal to one head and seven eighths ; total
length, nine inches.

Habits ?

94 CARANX EICHARDI.

Geographical Distribution. The only specimen of this animal that I have
seen was taken in deep water, about twenty miles from Charleston.

General Remarks. The Caranx falcatus bears a striking resemblance, in
many respects, to the figure of the Caranx amhlyrhynchus of Cuvier and Valen-
ciennes; but its shape is more elongated; the anterior part of the dorsal and
anal fins are more elevated ; and the upper fork of its tail is more than one third
longer than its lower. It is to be regretted that this animal was accidentally
destroyed before a complete description could be made of its splanchnology, &c.
Believing it to be undescribed, I have applied to it the specific name falcatus,
from the shape of the upper fork of the caudal fin.

CAEANX mCHARDI. — iZb/irooA-.

Plate XIII. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body sub-oval, compressed ; unspotted ; palest blue
above the lateral line ; silvery tinted with yellow below it ; lateral line with
thirty plates. D. 7-1-22. V. 1-5. A. 1 - 20. C. 20. Total length, eight
inches.

General Remarks. Only one specimen of this fish, and that taken near
Charleston, has as yet fallen under my observation ; and, like the last-described
animal, it was accidentally destroyed before it could be thoroughly examined; a
more ample description may be expected hereafter ; yet the from, the colouring,
the number of fin-rays, &c., can, I think, be relied on, as they were observed
by Mr. Richard, whose accuracy is well known. It resembles the Caranx fallax
of Cuvier and Valenciennes, but it wants the dark colour of the anterior rays
of the second dorsal fin.

ELACATE CANADA. 95

GENUS 'EL AC AT B.— Cuvier.

Characters. Head depressed ; body elongated ; no finlets ; tail without a
carina ; anal fin without free spines in front ; branchial rays seven.

ELACATE CANADA. — Litimeus.

Plate XIV. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Head large, depressed ; body sub-cylindrical, without
finlets ; dusky olive-brown, or black above ; a light olive-brown horizontal band
extends from the opercle to the tail, with a lighter band below, and a clouded
white one above it ; belly white ; tail without a carina. D. 8-2-30. P. 20.
V. 1-5. A. 2-23. C. 21.

Synonymes. Gasterosteus canadus, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 491.

Gasterosteus canadus, Gmel., ed. Syst. Nat., vol. i. pars iii. p. 1328.

Scomber niger. Block, Ichth., pars x. p. 148, pi. 337.

Centronote Gardenien, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iii. p. 357.

Centronotus spinosus, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 490, pi. 3,

fig. 9.
Elacate Atlantica, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. viii. p. 334, pi. 233.
Elacate Atlantica, BeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 113, pi. 25, fig. 77.
Elacate Atlantica, Storer, Synops., p. 111.
Cobia, Vulgo.

Description. The general form of this fish is elongated, sub-cylindrical,
tapering gradually to the tail, and flattened above from the first dorsal spine to
the snout ; which gives it the appearance of an Echeneis. The head is large, flat
above, but full at the sides ; the upper jaw is flat, broad, rounded, and nearly
semicircular at the snout ; the lower is narrower, thicker, terminates in a more

96 ELACATE CANADA.

pointed manner, and projects beyond the upper, so that some of its teeth are ex-
posed. The eyes are rather large, placed on the sides of the head, and very near
its superior plane; the pupil is dusky, the iris silvery-white. The nostrils are
small, on the same plane, nearer the orbit than the snout, and in a line Avith its
upper margin; the anterior is slightly oval, the posterior is round.

The mouth is large ; both the upper and lower jaws are furnished with several
series of short, conical, sharp-pointed, and deeply-set teeth ; there is, however, a
space in the mesial line, both in the upper and lower, where they do not exist ;
these teeth are all very stout at their roots, in proportion to their length and size.
The tongue is very large, and free for some distance, rounded in front, and cov-
ered to its tip with minute teeth, which make it rougli like sand-paper ; near the
centre of its base is an oblong group of large teeth ; and in the palate-bone is
another and extensive rhomboidal group of teeth, nearly as large as those in the
jaws. The pharyngeal bones are armed with teeth, which are rather larger than
the others, and slightly curved backwards. The pre-opercle is rounded at its
angle, slightly so at its posterior border, and is covered with small, round, entire
scales ; as are also the cheeks and temples. The opercle is large, with a smooth
border, but its surface is marked with several minute elevations, disposed in a radi-
ated manner. The gill-openings are large ; there are seven branchial rays.

The soft dorsal fin is preceded by eight short, strong, compressed, sub-triangular
spines ; these spines begin a little behind the gills, opposite the pectoral fin ; and
in the old animal they are so deeply notched near their roots in front, as to appear
at first sight double ; each has a thin, depressed membrane attached to its poste-
rior border, which often runs to be connected with the root of the anterior part of
the spine behind it ; they are all movable, and placed in a groove. The soft or
second portion of the dorsal is thick, falciform at first, and elevated, but soon it
becomes depressed, and so continues to the caudal fin ; it has its two or three pos-
terior rays slightly prolonged to end in a point ; there are two spinous and thirty
soft rays, which project a little beyond the membrane that unites them. The pec-
toral fin is large, falciform, and pointed behind; it begins near the opercle, and

ELACATE CANADA. 97

terminates with the last dorsal spine, and has a fold of skin that runs for some
distance above its superior margin. The ventral arises very near the root of the
pectoral, and is about half as long ; it is near its fellow, and has its internal margin
united for some distance to the belly. The anal fin is long, and very thick ; it
begins about the anterior third of the soft dorsal, and reaches so far back as to
terminate at the same point with it behind, where it is a little prolonged and
pointed ; it has twenty-three rays ; and the membrane that unites them is covered
Avith minute scales, clustered in different places. The caudal is large and strong,
nearly one fourth the whole length of the body, and deeply crescentic ; the upper
horn is the longer, and both are covered with small scales.

The scales are of an oblong shape, rounded before and behind, and so minute as
to give a granulated appearance to the skin when it is dried. The lateral line
runs at first very near the back, and has slight undulations in its course as far as
the eighth dorsal spine, when it curves down to the median plane, and thus con-
tinues ; its scales ^re destitute of a tube.

Colour. When first taken out of the water, the head above and the back are
dark olive-broAvn ; but they assume in a short time a bluish-black colour ; the
cheeks below the eye, and the lower jaw, are silvery, faintly tinted with red ; a
broad, olive-brown, horizontal band or stripe begins at the opercle, and runs over
the pectoral fin, to the tail ; both above and below this band is another of lighter
colour ; the one above is narrow and indistinct ; the one beloAV is broader and
paler ; a second horizontal olive bar, but of lighter tint, and shorter than the first,
begins behind the origin of the pectoral ; the abdomen is entirely white ; the dor-
sal, anal, and caudal fins are olive-brown above, and almost black at their base ;
the ventral is white, clouded in places with pale olive, and has its anterior border
tinted with red.

Dimensions. The head is one fifth the entire length ; the greatest elevation is
rather more than half a head. This fish sometimes attains a great size ; I have
seen a specimen more than four feet long.

13

98 ELACATE CANADA.

Splanchnology. The stomach is very large, and extends to the posterior third of the abdomen ; it
is rather rounded behind, and has large fasciculiof longitudinal and transverse muscular fibres, that
give to its mucous membrane a reticulated appearance ; this is, however, not permanent, but dis-
appears on distention. The pyloric portion of the stomach begins far back, about its pnsterio
third ; it is very short, and soon terminates in the duodenum, with a pyloric contraction well
marked externally. The duodenum has numerous and singular coscal appendages ; they are
placed on each side the intestine, and are about twenty-six in number, as principal trunks ; these
soon subdivide into branches, two or three each, and from these are given off others, so suddenly,
so numerous, and so minute, as to resemble a tassel ; or when they are bound to the trunk, from
which they arise, by peritoneum, they, with the trunk, resemble a common mushroom ; these
minute appendages are about a line in diameter, and from a quarter of an inch to an inch in
length ; and it is remarkable, that I have always found the entrance of most of them closed with a
very small, thread-like entozootic animal. The liver is very large, and in colour resembles that of
the ox ; it consists of a central or transverse portion, thick, large, and of two lobes, which are not
separated from it by fissures ; the lobes are full and round before, where they are in contact with
the diaphragm, and extend backwards to the anterior fourth of the abdomen, or a little more. The
gall-bladder is placed far back ; it is narrow, and seems only a slight development of the cystic
duct. The small intestine runs at first forwards, is then reflected backwards on the left of the
mesial line, nearly to the vent, whence it returns nearly to its point of departure, and then is re-
flected backward, to end in the large intestine, which is more capacious, but has thinner walls.
The spleen is large, flattened, sub-triquetral, of a dark purple colour, and situated far back. The
testicles are moderately long, obovate, large, and unite into one near the vent, to open by a com-
mon duct. The kidney is large, very thick, broader posteriorly, narrower anteriorl)', where it is
bilobed, each lobe running to the diaphragm, where it increases in size ; these lobes only come in
contact about the anterior third of the abdomen, where they unite into one ; yet the ureters remain
single to near their termination in the bladder, which is small, and seems only a slight development
of the conjoined ureters.

Habits. The Cobia is a solitary fish ; it prefers deep and clear water, and is
only taken singly, and with the hook. It arrives on the coast of Carolina late in
May, and is occasionally captured until September, when it is no longer seen in
our waters. It is exceedingly voracious, and destroys many smaller fish, which
make its ordinary food ; though it does not reject crustaceous animals, as Dr.
Mitchill found in the stomach of one individual the remains of more than twenty
crabs, which led him to call it Crab-eater.

ELACATE CANADA. 99

Geographical Distribution. The range of this animal is great, as it is com-
mon to the Atlantic shores of America ; its known southern limit on our conti-
nent is Brazil, and its northern, Massachusetts Bay, where it has been observed
by Dr. Storer.

General Remarks. This fish, it appears to me, is the Gasterostens canadus of
Linnseus, which he describes from a specimen sent him by Dr. Garden, of Charles-
ton, and I have, consequently, restored his specific name. His description in the
Systema Natura: agrees well enough in most respects with the animal now under
consideration, with the exception of the ventral fin; which, he says, has seven
rays, instead of six ; and to the pectoral he gives but tivo rays, which, as Cuvier
and Valenciennes well remark, is doubtless a typographical error, hvo for twenty
rays, which is the exact number.

Lacepede arranged this fish in his genus Centronotus, and described it under a
new specific name, " Gardmien," though his whole description is drawn from Lin-
naeus, and with the same remarkable typographical error, as to the number of rays
in the pectoral fin.

Bloch, in his great work on Ichthyology, describes this fish as the Scomber
niger, and, as he avers,* from the manuscript and drawing of Prince Maurice of
Nassau, who was Governor of Brazil from 1637 to 1664. He remarks, however,
that the manuscript does not state the number of branchial rays, but that it gives
P. 12, V. 6, A. 21, C. 17, and D. 23 rays, preceded by '■'■ huit aiyuillons
degages." Bloch's plate is, however, defective, for the head is represented as too
full, rounded, and too much elevated, like a Coryphsena, and the scales are too
large ; though in his description he properly observes they are '■'■ petites, minces,
et lisses."

Cuvier and Valenciennes, after an examination of the manuscript of Prince

* Bloch, Ichthyologie, pars x. p. 48.

100 ELACATE CANADA.

Maurice, declare that Bloch has added ventral fins to his plate, which are not
seen in the original drawing, and that he coloured them after the description of
Marcgrave, who was in Brazil with Prince Maurice, and published a work on the
natural history of that country.* In this work he gives a plate of our animal,
and describes it as a fish, sometimes nine feet in length, and thick as a man's
body, very dark above, chalky-white below, &c., &c., and called by the Brazilians
ceiocu ph'a.

Dr. Mitchill's description of the Cobia is the best up to his time, as it was
taken from a recent specimen, and is accompanied by a very good figure ; yet
some of his observations are incomprehensible. He says, for instance, " I have
been obliged to constitute a new family (genus) to receive and accommodate a
fish," &c., &c., and this he calls Centronotns, when a genus of the same name,
and for the same fish, had been established by Lacepede more than twenty
years before.

Cuvier and Valenciennes have arranged the Cobia in the genus Elacate, and
with the specific name Atlantica, although they observe, " II y a toute apparence
que cette Elacate est la Gasterosteus canadus" of Linnseus. Perhaps time will
prove that the specific name they have chosen is no more characteristic than that
of the great Swedish naturalist, as this fish may be found to inhabit the South
Seas, as well as the Atlantic Ocean, even if it has not been found there already,
in the Elacate Pondiceriana.

* Hist. Rer. Nat. Brasilia;.

«;

t

•^
S

i'

ECHENEIS LINEATA. 101

GENUS ECHENEIS. — Linnmis.

Characters. Head large, flat, and covered above with an oval disk formed
by numerous transverse bony plates, with their edges directed backwards and
serrated ; maxillary, inter-maxillary, and vomerine teeth small ; soft dorsal fin
opposite the anal ; body elongated, sub-fusiform ; scales minute, cycloid ; branchial
rays eight.

ECHENEIS LINEATA. — HolhrooJc.

Plate XIV. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body above olive-brown ; belly whitish ; a dark hori-
zontal band begins at the lower jaw, and runs to the tail ; above it is a pale band,
and below, one of bright sulphur-colour ; upper and lower margin of caudal white ;
adhesive disk with twenty-one plates. D. 37. P. 18. V. 1-5. A. 33. C. 18.

Synonyme. Suck Fish.

Description. The head is large, broad, concave above, Avhere it is occupied by
the oval adhesive disk, which extends from near the anterior margin of the vomer
in front to the middle of the pectoral fin behind ; its border is fleshy, thick, free,
movable, and elevated. It is divided in the mesial line; and on each side are
twenty-one transverse plates, their free margins directed backwards and serrated.
The snout is broad and rounded. The eyes occupy the median plane of the head,
and are midway between the tip of the lower jaw and the posterior margin of the
opercle. The nostrUs are small, closely approximated, and nearer to the orbit than
to the snout. The mouth is horizontal, broad, but short, as it extends only to the
anterior nostril ; the lower jaw is rather pointed in front, and is so prolonged be-
yond the upper that its teeth are exposed when the mouth is closed. Both jaws
are armed with numerous small, card-like teeth ; there are two broad groups in
the lower jaw; that of the upper is very narrow. The vomer is very large and

102 ECHENEIS LINEATA.

broad, and has an extensive group of minute teeth in front ; from this group run
back two bands of similar teeth for some distance on the sides of the vomer,
leaving the central portion naked. The tongue is covered with minute teeth ; the
pharyngeal bones are armed like the jaws.

The pre-opercle is narrow, rounded below and at the angle, which is entire.
The opercle is sub-triangular, rounded behind and below; thick, straight, and
with a foramen in front ; thin, and terminating in an obtuse point behind. The
sub-opercle is ensiform, thin, rounded below, and ending in a point beyond the
opercle behind. The inter-opercle is long and narrow, with its base behind.
There are nine branchial rays ; the posterior four are attached to the outer side of
the OS hyodes, and the anterior are joined to its inner margin.

The body of this fish is very similar in form to that of Elacate Canada ; elon-
gated, broad in front, sub-round in the middle, and gradually tapering and slightly
compressed at the tail. The soft dorsal fin is very long, not much elevated, and
with nearly a straight margin ; it begins rather nearer to the tip of the lower jaw
than to the extremity of the caudal fin, and has thirty-seven soft rays, of which the
third, fourth, and fifth are longest, and from this they decrease gradually in leMgth
to the last, which is slightly prolonged. The pectoral is large, broad, pointed be-
hind, and begins at the opercle, with its superior margin near the dorsal outline ;
it has nineteen rays. The ventral begins near the root of the pectoral, and ends,
with it behind ; it is narrow, placed in a depression, and has one spinous and five
soft rays. The anal is similar in shape to the dorsal ; it begins with it in front,
and is coterminal with it behind ; it has thirty-two rays. The caudal is large,
entire, or but slightly semi-lunate, and has sixteen rays.

The scales are lanceolate in form, and so very small as to give a granular ap-
pearance to the skin when dry. The lateral line begins near the disk above the
pectoral fin, but it soon descends to the median plane, and thus continues to the
end ; its scale has no tube.

Colour. When just taken from the water, the body above is dark, the belly

ECHENEIS LINE ATA. 103

and lower jaw are white, and from the tip of the latter runs a dark horizontal
band along the median plane to the tail, interrupted only at the eye and at the
pectoral fin ; above this is a narrow band of clouded yellow, which begins at the
upper jaw, and passes above the pectoral, and is of the same extent ; below the
dark band is another of sulphur-colour, which begins near the angle of the mouth,
and is continued to the root of the caudal fin, and beneath this latter band is still
another, very narrow, though of equal extent and of pale gray colour ; the abdo-
men is milky white, and this colour, though much clouded, is continued along the
root of the anal fin ; the dorsal, anal, and ventral fins have a bluish or purplish
tint ; the former has the tips of its six or seven anterior rays Avhite ; the caudal is
bluish, with the upper and lower margins white.

Dimensions. The head is nearly one fifth of the entire length ; the elevation is
half a head ; total length, two feet.

Splanchnology. The liver is large ; it consists of two lobes united below by a broad, thin portion, so
that the division into lobes is only seen on its dorsal surface ; it is thick in front, but its posterior
margin is thin and irregular. The gall-bladder is very long, olive-shaped, pale green, and with
very thick walls ; it is placed on the left of the right lobe, and is entirely detached from it. The
stomach is elongated, conical, pointed behind, and reaches to the posterior fourth of the abdomen ;
its muscular walls are rather thin, and there are numerous folds on its mucous surface ; its pyloric
portion is exceedingly short, and is very near the diaphragm. The small intestine runs nearly to
the vent, and then returns to the pylorus, whence it is reflected to end in the rectum, which is short
and has a rather prominent valve. All these organs are united by cellular tissue. There are
seven coscal appendages, varying in length from half an inch to an inch and a half, and all are
slender. The spleen is small, long, sub-triquetrous in form, and is placed on the right side of the
stomach. The testicles are long and slender, and open by a common duct behind the vent. The
kidneys are large in front, separated in the middle, and unite again behind by a thin layer ; the
urinary bladder is large.

Habits. The habits of this fish are very singular, for by means of its oval disk
it can produce a vacuum, and thus attach itself to other objects, and be carried
from place to place without any exertion of its own ; and it is often found adhering
to the bottoms of ships or boats, or to the bodies of sharks or other fishes. There
can be no doubt, however, that it also roams about by itself in search of food, as
it is not unfrequently taken with Black-fish, and is attracted by the same bait.

104 FAMILY SQUAMIPINNIDiE.

Geographical Distribution. The Echeneis lineata ranges along the coast,
from Carolina to Cape Florida.

General Remarks. There has been considerable difficulty in assigning to the
animals of this genus their proper position ; most ichthyologists have of late
placed them in a family by themselves, Echeneidce ; but the researches of Agassiz
have at last pointed out their true position. He has proved that the adhesive
disk is a modified anterior dorsal fin, produced by the development of several of
the anterior dorsal spines ; and in fact the inter-spinal apophyses are seen from
below, and the rudiments of spines on its superior surface along the mesial line.
They are thus, then, animals with two dorsal fins ; with the ventrals thoracic ;
and with cycloid scales ; or they belong to the family Scombrida; ; and in fact
they closely resemble an Elecate in form, teeth, &c., and like it their lateral line
scales have no duct. This animal bears some resemblance to the Echeneis alhi-
caucla of Mitchill, but it can readily be distinguished from it by its more attenu-
ated form, and by its colour ; in the latter the margins of all the fins are white,
while in the former the upper and lower borders of the caudal, and the tips of five
or six of the anterior rays of the dorsal, only are white ; and besides, the sulphur-
coloured lines on the sides make a distinctive character.

FAMILY SQUAMIPINNID.E.

Characters. Body compressed, much elevated or sub-orbicular, covered with
scales ; maxillary teeth bristly or trenchant ; vomer and palate-bones with or
without teeth ; pre-opercle spinous in some, in others smooth ; dorsal fin single or
double ; anal and soft portion of dorsal fin very thickly covered with scales at
their base.

Remarks. This family was established by Cuvier, principally from the genus
Cheetodon of Linnaeus, in which the vertical fins are so covered with scales as

EPHIPPUS GIGAS. 105

hardly to be distinguished from the trunk ; to these, however, he added some less
extensive genera, that are characterized by having a compressed body and scaly
fins ; as Brama, Schneider ; Pimelopterus, LacepMe ; &c. It is a very extensive
family, comprising eighteen genera and one hundred and fifty-one known species,
mostly inhabitants of the inter-tropical seas, though some few are found as far north
as New York, and as far south as Brazil.

GENUS EPHIPPUS.— CwrnVr.

Characters. Dorsal fin double, or deeply emarginate ; spinous portion with-
out scales, and received in a groove ; soft portion thickly covered with scales ; body
oval, or sub-round ; pectoral fin short ; anal, with three spines ; branchial rays six.

EPHIPPUS GIGAS. — Parkinson.
Plate XV. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body sub-round, compressed; head short, elevated;
crest of the cranium enlarged ; first inter-spinal bone of the anal fin large and
mallet-shaped ; body above, dusky, tinged with green, or lead colour ; below, dull
silver. D. 8-1-21. P. 17. V. 1-5. A. 3-17. C. 17.

Synonymes. Chsetodon gigas, Parkinson, MS.

Ephippus gigas, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. vii. p. 121.
Ephippus gigas, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 99, pi. 23, fig. 71.
Ephippus gigas, Slorer, Synops., p. 87.
Angel-fish, Vulgo.

Description. The fomi of this fish, without the tail, is sub-round, compressed
at the sides, the back much arched, and the belly nearly straight. The head is
moderate in length, elevated and sharp above, but thicker and rounded below, and
14

106 EPHIPPUS GIGAS.

remarkably prominent between the eyes, with the supra-orbital ridges well de-
veloped, which gives to the profile a peculiar appearance. The eyes are large and
prominent ; the pupil is dark, and the iris silvery. The posterior and larger nos-
trU is a narrow, elliptical fissure, directed downwards and forwards, and is situat-
ed on a plane below the centre of the eye, and very near the orbit ; the anterior
is round, much smaller, lower down, and nearer the mesial line.

The mouth is small, as it does not extend to the posterior nostril ; the lips are
tolerably thick, and fleshy ; the upper jaw is very protractile, a little longer than
the lower, and both are armed with several series of numerous slender, rather
long, setiform, or bristly, sharp-pointed teeth ; the pharyngeal bones have teeth of
a similar form, but somewhat larger at their base, and slightly shorter. The tongue
is small, rather thick, and rounded in front. The pre-opercle has its angle round-
ed, its ascending border nearly vertical, and both finely serrated. The opercle is
narrow, round below, and terminates behind in an obtuse angle. The whole head,
except the lips, is covered with scales, minute on the forehead and cheeks, larger
on the pre-opercle and opercle. The gill-openings are of moderate size ; there are
six branchial rays.

The dorsal fin is single, but deeply emarginate ; it begins opposite the middle
of the pectoral, a little in front of the most elevated part of the back, and has in
its anterior portion eight spines, placed in a groove ; all are short, except the third,
fourth, and fifth, and of these the third is greatly prolonged, and covered with skin,
so that its point is concealed ; the second portion has one spinous and twenty-one
soft rays, the five anterior very long ; the others become gradually shorter, and thus
they make the posterior margin of the fin almost vertical, rounded below, and fal-
ciform above. These rays, and the membrane that unites them, are covered with
scales to near their tips, and they are so collected at the base of the fin, as to give
it a very thick and strong appearance. The pectoral is short, broad, rather point-
ed, and begins as far forward as the root of the ventral, though it extends only
half as far back, and is covered with minute scales for more than half its length.
The ventral is long, terminates behind in a point, and has one spinous and five

EPHIPPUS GIGAS. 107

soft rays, of which the anterior is prolonged, and ends in a filament, and the
posterior is attached to the body by a fold of skin. The anal fin arises opposite
the origin of the soft dorsal, and has three spines, placed in a groove, the first
very short, the second and third more than twice as long, and eighteen soft rays,
covered with scales, arranged and shaped like those of the dorsal. The caudal is
large, strong, thick, crescentic, and has sixteen rays covered with scales.

The scales are small, sub-round, and finely ciliated behind ; the lateral line is
concurrent with the back, and consequently much arched ; the supra-scapular is
large and smooth.

Colour. The head above is dusky ; the cheeks and jaws are dull silver, or lead
colour; the back, along the margin of the dorsal fin, is dark, and tinged with green ;
the sides and belly are clouded silver, or lead colour ; the soft dorsal and the anal
fins are dark at their roots, but less so near their borders ; the pectoral fin is
transparent, slightly clouded at its base ; the ventral is light and transparent ;
the caudal is dark at its base, but less so at its tip.

Dimensions. The head is a little less than one fourth of the entire length, with
the tail included ; the greatest elevation without the dorsal fin is equal to two and
a half heads ; total length, eighteen inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is large ; the left lobe is very stout and long, extending to the posterior
extremity of the stomach, and is joined without a fissure to the transverse portion, which is also large
and thick, and from its centre projects backwards a middle lobe ; the right lobe is thick, but shorter
than the middle. The gall-bladder is large, sub-oval, and projects behind the right lobe, to which it
is attached. The stomach is of great size, nearly as long as the abdominal cavity, and has exceed-
ingly thick walls ; its posterior extremity is reflected forwards, to form the pyloric portion, which is
more slender, and has thinner walls, though it is nearly as long as the stomach itself, and terminates
in the duodenum, with a pyloric contraction very evident externally. There are six delicate coecal
appendages, nearly as long as the stomach. The small intestine is very long, more than five feet
in the adult, and with numerous convolutions, connected together by a loose mesentery. The testi-
cles are large, oblong, and unite in substance far back. The air-bladder is large, bifurcated in front,

108 EPHIPPUS FABER.

and with two slender horns behind, which are prolonged on the sides of the inter-spinal bones of the
anal fin. The urinary bladder is very large.

Habits. The Epkippiis gigas approaches our shores in the month of July,
and is then taken with the hook in deep water; abundantly in some seasons,
whUe at others very few or none are caught. It remains with us but a short time,
so that little is known of its habits ; it seems, however, to feed on a variety of
small marine animals, and parts of fish are sometimes found in its stomach.

Geogkaphical Distribution. The Angel-fish is abundant in the Gulf of
Mexico, and is found on the Atlantic coast of America, from Brazil to
New York.

General Remarks. This animal was first observed on the coast of Brazil,
in 1768, by James Parkinson, who made a drawing of it for Sir Joseph Banks,
and called it Chcetodon gigas, and his specific name has been retained by later
ichthyologists.

EPHIPPUS FABER. — Sloam.
Plate XV. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body sub-round, compressed, greatly arched; lightest
silver-grey, with six vertical, dusky bars. D. 8-1-22. P. 17. V. 1 - 5.
A. 3-18. C. 17.

Synonymes. Faber marinus, Sloane, Hist. Jam., vol. ii. p. 251, fig. 4.
Cheetodon triostegus, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 463.
Zeus quadratus, Gmel, Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1223.
Chsetodon triostegus, Gmel, Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1246.
Chetodon forgeron, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. pp. 283, 299.
Selene quadrangulaire, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. pp. 355, 357.
Chaetodon faber, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. iv. p. 340.

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EPHIPPUS FABER. 109

Chaetodon faber, Block, Ichth., p. 80, pi. 212, fig. 2.

Cha3todon oviformis, Milch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. pi. 5, fig. 4.

Ephippus faber, Ciw. el Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. vii. p. 213.

Ephippus faber, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 97, pi. 23, fig. 68.

Ephippus faber, Slorer, Synops., p. 87.

Angel-fish, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish, without the tail, is sub-orbicular ; the
head is short, elevated, prominent between the eyes, though much less so than in
Ephippus gigas.

The eye is placed rather above the median plane of the head, and nearer to the
posterior angle of the opercle than to the snout ; it is very large, with the pupil
dusky, and the iris silvery, clouded with grey. The nostrils are double; the
posterior and larger is an ellijitical fissure, near the orbit, and directed downwards
and forwards ; the anterior is much smaller, round, and lower down, though on
a line within the orbit.

The mouth is small, with the lips tolerably thick and fleshy ; the upper jaw is
slightly protractile ; the lower is rather shorter, and both are armed with several
closely approximated series of bristly teeth, rather largest at their roots ; the
pharyngeal teeth are of the same form, but slightly shorter. The tongue is
smootli, and tolerably thick. The pre-opercle is rounded and finely serrated,
both at its angle and ascending border, and is covered with scales, as is the
whole head, except the lips and the space between the eyes. The opercle is
narrow, and its scales are little less in size than those of the body. The gill-
openings are large, and almost vertical; there are six branchial rays, though
only three are evident without dissection.

The dorsal fin begins at the most elevated part of the back, nearly opposite
the middle of the pectoral ; its anterior portion has eight spines, united by a
transparent membrane, and received in a groove ; the first spine is minute, the
second larger ; the third is longest of all, and sustains a prolonged filament, which

110 EPHIPPUS FABER.

reaches the second dorsal fin ; the seventh and eighth are very short ; the pos-
terior portion has one spine closely united to its first ray, which is very long,
and, as the rest gradually decrease in length, the posterior border of the fin
appears nearly vertical, a little rounded below, and fiilciform above ; there are
twenty-two rays. The pectoral is small, rounded behind, and placed above the
inferior fourth of the body ; it has seventeen rays, with an elongated, sub-tri-
angular fold in the axilla above.

The ventral fin is very long ; it begins before the pectoral, and extends farther
back; it has one spinous and five soft rays, the anterior of which terminates in
a filament that reaches to the anal. The anal is very large, and like the posterior
dorsal in form ; it has three sjjines, the first short, the second very long and stout,
the third of equal length, but more slender, and eighteen soft rays. The dorsal,
anal, and caudal fins have their soft rays, as well as the membrane that unites
them, covered with scales for more than two thirds of their length.

The scales are rather small, sub-orbicular, crenated at their root, and ciliated
behind ; there are about fifty in the longitudinal, and thirty-eight in the vertical
direction. The lateral line is placed above the upper third of the body, and
follows the arch of the back ; each scale in it has a slight elevation, caused by
its duct.

Colour. The body is lightest silver-grey, marked with six dark, transverse
bars, constant in their position ; the first descends through the eye, the second
through the anterior part of the pectoral fin ; the third is incomplete ; the fourth
is broadest, and runs from the posterior border of the spinous portion of the
dorsal to the corresponding part of the anal fin ; the fifth runs from the middle
of the soft dorsal to the middle of the anal ; the sixth is found at the base of
the caudal fin. .

Dimensions. The entii'e length, from the opercle to the tip of the caudal
fin, is rather more than three heads ; total length, nine inches.

EPHIPPUS FABER. Ill

Splanchnology. The liver is large, of rather a dark colour, with its central or transverse portion
very thick and continuous, with the right and left lobes without a fissure ; both lobes are full
in front, and project equally into the hypochondria, though the left is larger and much longer.
The gall-bladder is oval and large, but does not extend beyond the right lobe. The stomach is
very large, as it extends almost the entire length of the abdominal cavity ; near the vent it turns
forward, and thus forms the pyloric portions, having scarcely any cul de sac. There are four
coBcal appendages, rather slender, and nearly as long as the stomach. The small intestine is
very long, more than two feet in a fish of six inches in length, and has numerous convolutions con-
nected by a loose mesentery. The testicles are large and sub-oval, elongated ; the ovaries, when .
full, are sub-triangular, with their bases towards the spine. The air-bladder is large, bifid in front,
and has two slender, prolonged horns behind, that bend downwards and follow the course of the
inter-spinal bones of the anal fin. The kidney is large before, less so in the middle, with a
small accessory lobe behind.

Habits. But little is kno'vvn of the habits of the Aiigel-fish ; it appears on
our shores in May or June, and is then taken in considerable numbers with
the seine.

Geographical Distribution. The Ephippus faber is found along the Atlantic
coast of America, from New York to Brazil.

*

General Remarks. This fish seems to have been first described by Sir Hans
Sloane, in his History of Jamaica ; but Broussonet * first arranged it with the
genus Chcetodon, and with the specific name faher, which he took from Sloane.
Later ichthyologists have introduced much confusion, as may be seen by a glance
at the list of sjTionymes; which has, however, been cleared up by Cuvier and
Valenciennes, who have given the best description of this animal hitherto
published.

• Ichth., Dec. i., n. iv., t. 4.

112 POGONIAS CROMIS.

FAMILY SCIJE'NI'DJE.— Cuvie):

Characters. Teeth in the maxillary and inter-maxillary bones; vomer and
palate bones without, smooth ; snout in general rounded ; cranial bones caver-
nous ; opercular bones with serratures or spines ; dorsal fin single or double ;
vertical fins more or less covered with scales at their bases ; most species have an
air-bladder, often very complicated in structure, but some few are without it ;
scales ctenoid ; the branchial rays vary in number.

General Remarks. This is a numerous and widely extended family of fishes,
being common to both continents, though the species belonging to one are never
found in the other. They are abundant along the shores of Carolina, Georgia,
and Florida, and constitute, perhaps, a majority of the fishes of those regions.
More than two hundred and fifty diff"erent species of Scieenidse are already known ;
which have been arranged by Cuvier and Valenciennes in thirty-one genera.

GENUS POGONIAS. — iac^^tV/e.

Characters. Numerous barbels at the chm and lower jaw ; pharpigeal bones
armed with large, sub-conical, rounded, and paved teeth ; dorsal fin deeply emar-
ginate; branchial rays seven.

POGONIAS CROMIS. — Linnaus.
Plate XVI. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body large, compressed, arched above ; dorsal fin deeply
emarginate; numerous barbels at the chin and lower jaw; dull silvery, or lead-

POGONIAS CROMIS. . 113

coloui'ed, with a bronzed tint ; a black spot behind the root of the pectoral fin.
B. 7. D. 10-1-22. P. 18. V. 1-5. A. 2-7. C. 17.

Synonymes. Labrus cromis, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 479.

Labrus cromis, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1292.
La Sciene chromis, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 184.

Labrus , Drum-fish, ScJiocpff, Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. viii. st. ii.

p. 158.
Sciasna gigas, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 412, pi. 5, fig. 10.
Scirona fusca, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 409.
Pogonias chromis, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 206.
Pogonias chromis, BeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 80.
Pogonias chromis, Slorer, Synops., p. 72.
Drum, or Drum-fish, Vulgo.

Description. This very large fish is oblong, sub-ovate, thick and nearly
straight at the belly, thin and much arched at the back. The head is large,
slightly prominent between the eyes, and swollen at the sides ; the snout is full,
rounded, and has a large, loose, pendent fold of skin, as in Umbrina, but uncleft ;
within this is a shorter, thinner, and narrower fold ; in the larger fold are five
pores ; the external on each side are elliptical, and much the largest ; above these
is a semicircular row of eight or ten minute pores.

The eye is large, the pupil deep sea-blue, and the iris of a light golden-grey
colour. The nostrils are double ; the posterior is oval, large, and directed down-
wards and forwards from the middle to the inferior plane of the orbit ; the anterior
is much smaller, round, midway between the orbit and snout, and about the lower
plane of the orbit.

The mouth is moderately large, with lips tolerably thick and fleshy ; the upper
jaw is very protractile, longer than the lower, which is received within it ; both
are armed with several series of short, small, conical, sharp-pointed, closely-set
teeth ; those of the lower jaw are rather smallest. The tongue is very large,
thick, fleshy, rounded in front, and tied down to its tip. The palate is smooth ;

15

114 POGONIAS CROMIS.

but the middle pharyngeal bones are armed with remarkably large teeth, which
bear a close resemblance to rounded and projecting paving-stones ; while the ante-
rior and posterior pharyngeal have small and card-like teeth. From the chin and
lower jaw descend numerous barbels ; those at the chin are smallest, and clus-
tered together, but a single row of larger barbels runs along the inferior face of
the lower jaw. There are five large pores near the chin ; the three internal are
placed among the barbels, the two external are without.

The pre-opercle is rounded at its angle, and slightly so at its posterior margin ;
it is covered with large scales in front, is smooth behind, and has neither spine
nor serrated margin. The opercle is large, and terminates posteriorly in two
rounded and flattened processes covered with skin, which projects backward in a
loose fold. The gill-openings are large ; there are seven branchial rays.

The dorsal fin is deeply emarginate, and but slightly elevated ; it begins a little
behind the origin of the pectoral, and has in its anterior portion ten large, com-
pressed, ensiform spines, of which the anterior is short, scarcely projecting above
the skin; the second and third are longest, and the two last are nearly horizontal;
these spines are partially received in a groove of scales ; the posterior portion of
the dorsal is longer, but less elevated, and has one spine and twenty-two soft rays.
The pectoral begins at the opercle, and is large, broad, semi-falciform, thick at its
root, pointed behind, and has seventeen rays.

The ventral fin is shorter than the pectoral, and begins rather behind its origin;
it is thick at its root, and has one strong spinous, and five soft rays. The anal is
large, and has two spines, partially received in a groove, the anterior very short,
and the posterior large and long ; it has seven soft rays, the first long, and the last
short, so as to make the extremity of the fin vertical. The caudal is large, strong,
nearly square, and has seventeen rays.

The scales are large, sub-quadrate, rounded behind, where the margin is soft
and ciliated, very thick in the middle, whence radiating stria; run to the rad-

POGONIAS CROMIS. 115

ical portion, and cross concentric and parallel lines ; between these diverging lines
are others that are shorter ; they are closely adherent. The lateral line is nearly
concurrent Avith the outline of the back, and its scales are smaller than those of the
body, and deeply emarginate behind ; each has a tube beginning about its anterior
third, and subdividing behind.

Colour. The body is dull silvery, or lead colour, more or less bright, and often
•with a coppery tint ; sometimes the body above is bluish-black, or very rarely
there are obscure dusky bars ; the barbels are always white ; the membrane of the
dorsal fin is dusky-olive, with numerous minute dots, and here and there lighter
shades of dirty white ; the pectoral is dirty white, with numerous dusky dots, espe-
cially on its membrane, which gives the whole a bluish-black tint, with a dusky
blotch at its base ; the anal is dusky, relieved with clouded white.

Dimensions. The head is one fourth the entire length of the animal ; its
greatest elevation without the dorsal fin is equal to nearly one head and a quarter ;
total length, four feet.

Splanchnology. The liver is very large, and in colour like that of the ox ; its transverse portion is
thin in the middle, but is thicker on the sides, and is again contracted at its place of union with the
'lobes; the left lobe is shorter, or about half as long as the right, and is partially subdivided above,
one portion going to the hypochondrium and the other to a depression between the first and second
ribs ; the right lobe is larger, and ertciius three fourths the length of the abdominal cavity, and is
greatly contracted behind the gall-bladder ; its inferior border is sharp, and its intercostal and hypo-
chondriac portions are mo.e developed than those of the left lobe. The gall-bladder is large, ob-
long, sub-pyriform, with thin walls, and is partially lodged in a fossa on the left face of the right
lobe. The cesophagjs is large, with numerous folds on its inner face, and strong, longitudinal
muscular fibres without. The stomach is not much broader than the oesophagus; it is elongated,
sub-cylindrical, ra'.her pointed behind, and extends about two thirds the length of the abdomen ; it
is folded within, find has its longitudinal fibres well developed ; the pyloric branch is broad, but ex-
ceedingly short, and begins near the cardia ; there is an evident pyloric contraction, and seven or
eight finger-like coscal appendages, all nearly of the same calibre, but varying somewhat in length.
The smnll intestine appears at first sight larger than the undistended stomach, but with thinner
walls ; it graduahy becomes smaller, and runs backwards, with numerous short convolutions, for

116 POGONIAS CROMIS.

two thirds the abdominal cavity, and is then reflected to the pylorus, where it is concealed by the
coEcal appendages, whence it returns to end in the rectum, which is more capacious, has thinner
walls, and no rectal valve. The spleen is large, and of a very dark purple colour.

The air-bladder is one of the most curious of its organs ; it is large and long, nearly the entire
length of the abdomen, rather sub-ovate, larger, rounded, and free behind, smaller and closely ad-
herent to the anterior part of the vertebral column before ; from each anterior corner, both right and
left, proceeds forwards to a pit in front of the first rib a short cornu, with its outer margin fes-
tooned ; if this be examined from within, it will be seen that there is but one canal by which it
communicates with the general cavity of the air-bladder, and that the festoons are but so many
tubes from this small horn ; behind this is placed a lateral horn, which is much more capacious; it
runs outwards and upwards through an opening between the first and second ribs, and is then
lodged in a large cavity, which extends on the outside of the ribs as far as the fourth ; this has also
a festooned border, and if opened there will be seen six or seven canals leading from the cavity of
the air-bladder to the cavity of this great horn, and that all along the festooned border are tubes of
greater or less extent. From the posterior of these tubes runs backwards along the side of the air-
bladder a tube, which is pervious for some distance only, and is then continued to its posterior ex-
tremity as a fibrous chord. The air-bladder both above and below has a white, satin-like appear-
ance, with transverse fibres ; below and on each side along its posterior half are thick, strong, trans-
verse muscular fibres ; these do not meet in the middle, but leave a space of two inches or more,
where the proper coats of the air-bladder are exposed ; internally, it exhibits a most beautiful satin-
like appearance, with numerous blotches of vascular spots, and with distinct longitudinal white
fibres. The testicles, when empty, are narrow, flattened, with sharp margins, and extend from the
third rib to near the vent before they unite. The kidneys are large in front, on each side the
spine, but gradually become smaller, and terminate at about the seventh rib ; behind this is an-
other separate and unconnected lobe, much thicker, shaped like a chestnut, and partially marked
with a median groove below, and of a much redder brown.

Habits. The Pogonias cromis, though an inhabitant of our waters throughout
the year, is only taken abundantly in April, which is its spawning season. At this
time the Drum enters the different bays and inlets of salt water along the shores
of South Carolina, to deposit its spawn, and then begins its drumming noise ; this
season passed, the sound is no longer heard, and the fish is then rarely taken.
Broad River or Port Royal Harbour, which is the deepest and most capacious bay
along our whole southern coast, is a chosen place of resort for these animals, and
great numbers are there annually taken. Mr. Elliot says as many as twelve thou-
sand have been captured in one season. The way in which the singular sound

POGONIAS CROMIS. 117

called drumming is produced has not hitherto been satisfactorily explained. Cu-
vier observes that it may depend upon the air-bladder, though he says it has no
communication with the external atmosphere. DeKay supposes it " to be occa-
sioned by the strong compression of the expanded pharyngeal teeth upon each
other."

Frequent examinations of the structure and arrangement of the air-bladder, as
well as observations on the living animal just taken from the water, when the
sound is at intervals still continued, have satisfied me that it is made in the air-
bladder itself; that the vibrations are produced by the air being forced by strong
muscular contractions through a narrow opening, from one large cavity, that of
the air-bladder, to another, the cavity of the lateral hom ; and if the hands be
placed on the sides of the animal, vibrations will be felt in the lateral horn, corre-
sponding with each sound.

Ichthyologists differ also as to the character of the sound ; Schoepff speaks of it
as "a hollow, rumbling sound under water"; Dr. Mitchill, as a "drumming
noise " ; Dr. DeKay says, when the fish is " freshly taken from the water, it sounds
as if two stones were rubbed together." It resembles most the tap of a drum, and
is so loud, that, when multitudes of them are collected together, it can be heard in
still weather several hundred yards from the water.

The Drum feeds on various molluscous and crustaceous animals ; during the
spawning season, in April, it takes the hook readily enough when baited with
prawns, which also appear at that period ; I have also always found the stomach
filled with fragments of Scutellae.

*ti'^

Geographical Distribution. The Pogonias cromis ranges along our coast
from New York to Cape Florida.

General Eemarks. Linnaeus first described this fish, from a specimen sent
him from Carolina by Dr. Garden, and probably a dried one, as no mention is

118 POGONIAS FASCIATUS.

made of the remarkable barbels at the chm. He placed it in his genus Labrus,
and gave it the specific name it still retains ; but he confounded with it two other
fishes of Marcgrave and of Brown, the first of which is, according to Cuvier and
Valenciennes, an Otolithus, and the other an Umbriua.

POGONIAS FASCIATUS. — LacepMe.

Plate XVI. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body silvery, with dusky vertical bars. D. 10-1-22.
P. 17. V. 1-5. A. 2-7. C. 17.

Synonymes. Pogonias fasciatus, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 445.

Labrus gruniens, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 405, pi. 3, fig. 3.
Pogonias fasciatus, Cuv. el Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 210, pi. 118.
Pogonias fasciatus, Wilson., Ency. Brit. (Ichth.), p. 176, pi. 296, fig. 13.
Pogonias fasciatus, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 81, pi. 14, fig. 40.
Pogonias fasciatus, Storer, Synops., p. 72.
Young Drum, Vulgo.

Description. This fish is so similar to the one last described, in form, as well
as in its individual parts, that I shall only mention those points iir which they
difi"er most.

Colour. The ground colour of the whole animal is silvery, more or less shaded
along the head and back above ; the sides are marked with several vertical dusky
bars, more or less distinct ; the belly is white ; the membrane of the dorsal fin is
semi-transparent, and is studded with minute points of dusky blue ; the spines are
white, with fewer dusky spots ; the soft portion is less transparent than the spi-
nous, and has a bluish appearance, from the number of minute bluish-black dots,
most so along its middle, as if marked with an indistinct band. The pectoral is
semi-transparent, dusky on the anterior part of its upper face, and at its root ; the

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POGONIAS FASCIATUS. 119

ventral rays are white, but the membrane is more or less clouded, both above and
below, with bluish-black ; the anal spines are dirty white ; the soft portion is white
at its root, and more or less bluish-black in other parts.

Dimensions. The length, from the opercle to the tip of the tail, is equal to three
heads and a half; the elevation without the dorsal fin, to one head and a half;
total length, two feet and a half.

Splanchnology. The liver is large ; the left lobe is of a sub-triquetral form, and extends nearly as far
back as the stomach ; the central or transverse portion is tolerably thick in its middle, and is well
bounded by a fissure between both right and left lobes ; the right lobe is as large in front as the
left, but behind the gall-bladder it becomes smaller, three-sided, and extends to near the vent. The
gall-bladder is large, olive-shaped, and extends to about the posterior half of the right lobe. The
stomach is small, and does not reach half the length of the abdomen ; its walls are thick ; its py-
loric branch goes off near the cardia, and has a well-marked pyloric contraction ; there are six cce-
cal appendages almost as long as the stomach. The spleen is large, sub-triquetral, rather flat, and
connected with the stomach, but not extending behind it. The air-bladder has its lateral horns less
developed than in the last species, and there is no fibrous chord pervious for a short distance
running backwards from the posterior channel between the body and lateral horns ; but there are
several small pits in its posterior part.

Habits. The Young Drum, though subsisting on the same animals as the
Pogonias cromis, differs from it considerably in its habits, as it is taken with the
hook at nearly all seasons of the year ; yet the largest are captured in November
and December.

Geographical Distribution. The Pogotiias fasciahis ranges along the Atlan-
tic coast from Rhode Island to Cape Florida.

General Remarks. Lacepede published the first account of this fish, but the
description was furnished by Bosc, who observed it in our State, where he was for
some time a resident, and who did much to elucidate its zoology.

120 H/EMULON CHRYSOPTERON.

GENUS H^MULO'N. — Cm

vier.

Characters. Head compressed ; profile lengthened ; lower jaw long, com-
pressed, and generally red at its posterior half; chin with an oval cavity and two
pores ; back arched ; dorsal fin single, slightly emarginate, soft portion scaly ; ven-
tral fins covered with scales ; branchial rays seven.

H^MULON CHRYSOPTERON. — Linnceus.

Plate XVII. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Head large ; snout prolonged, compressed ; mouth
large, narrow, red behind ; back arched, pale grey ; belly silvery ; ventral fin yel-
lowish. B. 7. D. 13-14. P. 17. V. 1-5. A. 3-10. C. 18.

Synonymes. Margate-fisli, Gates., Hist. Carol., &c., vol. ii. p. 2, pi. 1, fig. 1.
Perca chrysoptcra, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 488.
Perca chrysoptera, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1314.
Lutjan chrysoptere. Lace]}., torn. iv. p. 126.

Hoemulon chrysopteron, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 240.
Hemulon chrysopteron, DcKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 85, pi. 7, fig. 22.
Hsemulon chrysopteron, Storer, Synops., p. 74.
Red-mouth Grunt, Vulgo.

Description. The body is elongated, much' compressed, sharp and arched along
the back, broader and nearly straight below.

The head is very large, long, compressed at the sides, narrower below, broad
and fiat between the eyes, with the snout rather pointed. The eye is very large,
and midway between the extremities of the opercle and snout, but with its lower

HvEMULON CHRYSOPTERON. 121

margin above the median plane of the head. The nostrils are double, nearer to
the orbit than to the snout ; both are sub-oval, and the posterior is rather above
the median plane of the eye. The mouth is capacious in the longitudinal direc-
tion, but is much compressed and narrow in the transverse, "with lips tolerably
thick and fleshy. The upper jaw is longer than the lower, and receives its teeth
when the mouth is closed. Both are armed with a single row of pointed, rather
long, conical teeth ; those of the lower jaw are largest behind, those of the upper
are largest in front, and slightly incurved ; behind this row in each jaw is a broad
patch of minute, villiform teeth, closely crowded together, and extending about
one fourth the length of the lower jaw, and rather more than a fourth in the
upper. The pharyngeal teeth are small, conical, pointed, and directed backwards.
The tongue is small, pointed in front, and but slightly movable.

The pre-opercle is large, with its angle round, and its ascending border nearly
vertical, slightly emarginate, and beautifully serrated. The opercle is nearly
sub-triangular, rounded behind, with its base upwards, and is separated from
the pre-opercle below by the inter-opercle. The whole head, except the lips
and space between the nostrils and snout, is covered with scales. The gill-
openings are rather contracted ; there are seven branchial rays. The supra-
scapular is rounded behind, rather small, but strongly serrated, and from it ascend
two or three series of small scales, which mark the separation of the head from
the body.

The dorsal fin is single ; it begins with the root of the pectoral, and has thir-
teen spines, the first short, the fourth, fifth, and sixth more or less compressed
and curved ; the others are straight, and all are partially received in a groove of
scales ; there are fourteen soft rays, covered for some distance with scales. The
pectoral is thin, rather long, but it ends before the vent, and has seventeen rays.
The ventral fin arises back of the root of the pectoral, and terminates with it
behind ; it has one spine and five soft rays, the anterior ending in a short fila-
ment. The anal begins opposite the third dorsal soft ray, and has three spines
received in a groove ; the anterior is very short, and the others three times as long,

16

X22 H^MULON CHRYSOPTERON.

though they are not much thicker ; it has ten soft rays covered with scales, like
the dorsal fin. The caudal is very large, bifurcate, and has eighteen rays, more
or less covered with minute scales.

The scales are rather large, and nearly semicircular ; the diameter is in front,
and marked with ten radiating stria; ; the circumference is behind, beautifully
and finely ciliated. The lateral line runs nearly straight, and not quite concurrent
with the back, and at the posterior portion of the dorsal fin it descends to the
median plane.

Colour. The whole animal, when first taken from the water, is bright and
silvery ; but it soon becomes of a pale brown, with a slight brazen tint along the
back and sides, though the belly remains white ; the upper jaw within is white ;
the palate is salmon-colour ; the lower jaw and mouth below are also white in
their anterior third ; the posterior two thirds both within and without are red,
and the mouth below, tongue, and fauces, are of a similar colour ; the dorsal
fin at its anterior part is semi-transparent, the posterior is more dusky ; the
pectoral is transparent ; and the ventral yellowish on its anterior, and white on
its posterior half.

Dimensions. The length, from the opercle to the tip of the tail, is equal to two
heads and a fourth ; the elevation, to one head and a sixteenth ; total length,
twelve inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is black. The liver is small, and consists of two lobes, with an
exceedingly thin transverse portion ; the left lobe is twice as long, and more than twice as thick, as
the right, and both are irregularly three-sided. The gall-bladder is sub-pyriform, and attached to
the right lobe, though it extends behind it. The stomach is rather small, elongated, sub-conical,
pointed behind, and has tolerably thick walls ; the pyloric branch is short, though nearly as broad
as the stomach, from which it departs near its middle, and has a very remarkable contraction at the
pylorus. The small intestine runs at first about half the length of the abdomen ; it then returns to
the pylorus to be reflected and end in the rectum, which is more capacious, but has thinner
walls, and a well-developed rectal valve. There are ten delicate, slender ccecal appendages,

. HjEMULON arcuatum, 123

of variable length, some being nearly two inches long. The air-bladder is large, pointed behind,
with a cornu on each side in front, that runs forward near the oesophagus ; its lining mem-
brane is of a greyish colour. The kidneys are broad before, and terminate about the posterior
fifth of the abdomen; but the ureters are continued, and end in a small, short, sub-pyriform
bladder.

Habits. The Red-mouth Grunt is occasionally taken in our waters at all
seasons of the year, but is never abundant, as seldom more than two or three are
met with at a time in market ; it is not esteemed as food, as its flesh lacks both
firmness and flavour.

Geographical Distribution. The Hcemulon chri/sopteron is found along our
coast from New York to the Gulf of Mexico, but I am not aware of its existence
in the Gulf itself.

General Remarks, Catesby gave the first description and figure of this
animal ; the figure is one of the best in his work, so far as regards form, and
the red mouth is well marked. The description, too, though short, is charac-
teristic : — " This fish has a rounding back, making a curved line between the
head and tail ; the mouth is moderately wide and red within ; the upper mandible
hanging a little over the lower, and both of them have a single row of small,
sharp teeth."

H^MULON AECUATUM. — Valenciemies.

Plate XVII. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body elevated, compressed, brown above, with a pale
cupreous tint, sides lighter ; scales with a bright gilded spot ; head dusky above,
and marked at the sides with horizontal lines of ultramarine blue ; posterior half
of the lower lip red. D. 12 - 17. P. 16. V. 1 - 5. A. 3 - 9. C. 20.

124 HtEMULON arcuatum.

Syxonymes. Hcemulon arcuatum, Citv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ix. p. 481.
Hemulon arcuatum, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 87.
Hsemulon arcuatum, Storer, Synops., p. 76.
Black Grunt, Vulgo.

Description. The head is very large, compressed, elevated, with the facial out-
line incurved, and the snout projecting and rounded ; the body is sub-oval, com-
pressed, nearly straight at the belly, arched at the back, and thin. The eye is
large, the pupil dusky, and the iris golden, mixed with grey ; it is placed one
diameter and a half of the orbit from the posterior border of the opercle, and two
and a half from the snout, and is considerably above the median plane. The nos-
trils are double ; the posterior and larger is sub-round, and longest in the longitu-
dinal direction ; the anterior is round, nearer to the orbit than to the snout, and
both are above the median plane of the eye, and on a line within the orbit.

The mouth is very large, though compressed, and extending nearly to the orbits j
the lips are very thick and fleshy; the upper jaw is protractile, and the inter-max-
illary bone is of great size; the lower jaw is large, and rounded at the symphysis,
with three pores near the chin, of which the posterior is largest. Both jaws are
armed with numerous villiform teeth ; the outer row in each is much the larger ;
the teeth in this row are conical, pointed, and those in front are recurved. The
tongue is smooth, thin, rounded in front, free, movable, and short, as it does not
extend half the length of the lower jaw. The pharyngeal bones are armed with
teeth somewhat similar in form to those of the outer row of the jaws ; but
they are shorter, stouter, less pointed, and some have their apices much rounded,
especially in the lower pharyngeal bones.

The pre-opercle is rounded at its angle, with its ascending border nearly perpen-
dicular, slightly emarginate at its centre, and finely serrated. The opercle is
narrow, rounded behind, and terminates in two obtuse, flattened points, from which
a short fold of skin projects backwards. The sub-opercle is large. The opercle is
covered with large, and the pre-opercle with small scales, which extend to the an-
terior inferior part of the orbit ; the head above is covered with small scales to the

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H^MULON ARCUATUM. - 125

margin of the orbit, whence it is smooth to the snout. The gill-openings are
large ; there are seven branchial rays, of which the three last are delicate. The
supra-scapular is rather small, semicircular behind, and strongly serrated.

There is a single dorsal fin, large, emarginate, and beginning with the pectoral,
just behind the gill-openings ; it has in its anterior half twelve spines, the first
very short, the fourth, fifth, and sixth longest ; they are all more or less com-
pressed, and partially received in a groove ; the posterior half has one spine, and
seventeen soft rays, covered with large scales at their roots, and minute scales to
near their tips. The pectoral is rather broad and short, though it extends farther
back than the ventral ; it has sixteen rays, and a slight scaly fold in the axilla
above. The ventral is large, broad, and terminates in front of the vent ; it has one
spinous and five soft rays, with a large triangular fold in the axilla. The anal is
large, broad, and has three spines, the first minute, the second of great size, and
the third as long as the second, though not half as stout ; there are nine soft
rays, the first and second longest ; the spines are partially received in a groove,
and the soft portion is covered with scales, like the dorsal. The caudal is large,
strong, forked, and has twenty rays, covered with large scales at their roots, and
with smaller scales to near their tips.

The scales are large, finely ciliated behind ; there are fifteen in the vertical
direction, and fifty in the longitudinal. The lateral line corresponds with the
margin of the back to the posterior extremity of the dorsal fin, when it descends
to the median plane, and thus continues, and is marked by two or three radiating
striae on each scale.

Dimensions. The head is one third the length of the entire animal ; the
greatest elevation without the dorsal fin is one head ; total length, ten inches.

Colour. The head is dusky above, but the sides are marked with horizontal
lines of ultramarine blue ; there is a red blotch at the angle of the mouth, which
extends along the lower lip for some distance ; the body is olive-brown above, and

126 H^MULON ARCUATUM.

of paler colour at the sides, and each scale is marked with a gilded spot ; the dor-
sal fin is semi-transparent, with dusky shades ; the soft dorsal, ventral, pectoral,
and anal fins have a bluish tint, more or less evident.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is dusky, or even black in places. The liver is large, and may
almost be said to consist of but two lobes, so small is their transverse or communicating portion ;
the left lobe is large, broad, flat, extends two thirds the length of the abdomen, and has its upper
and lower margins thin and sharp ; it sends forward one large process, above and behind the
cornu of the air-bladder, and another small process or lobe extends into a small cavity in front of
the cornu ; the right lobe, though smaller and thinner than the left, is longer, and extends nearly
to the vent ; it is sub-triquetrous in form, its superior margin being rounded ; it has a small prolon-
gation in front of the cornu of the air-bladder, and one behind it, as in the right lobe, only it is less
developed ; ijear the posterior third of the belly the lobe becomes flattened, with sharp margins,
and has sometimes a fold, like an additional lobo. The gall-bladder is elongated, sub-pyriform,
with a long cystic duct, which is finely reticulated on its inner surface. The stomach is rather
small, nairow, sub-oval, less in size than the oesophagus, and pointed behind ; its walls are toler-
ably thick, and its mucous membrane has numerous longitudinal folds, which are, however, not
permanent ; its pyloric branch is short, and goes off near the cardia ; there is a remarkable pyloric
contraction. Tne small intestine is of rather large calibre, but has thin walls, and its mucous mem-
brane is beautifully reticulated ; it runs at first backwards for two thirds the length of the abdomen ;
it is then reflected to the base of the pylorus, whence it returns to end in the rectum, which is long,
and has a well-developed rectal valve ; its walls are thicker than those of the small intestine ; and
its mucous membrane is more reticulated than that of the large intestine generally. There are
seven slender concal appendages, but of unequal length, as some are short, and others are longer
than the stomach. The spleen is short, oblong, tolerably thick along its mesial line, but with its
margins compressed and thin. The air-bladder is large, oblong, broad in front, where there is a
short projection forwards in its middle, and two equally short horns on each side ; it is pointed be-
hind, and adheres firmly to the bodies of the vertebrae in front. The testicles are large, sub-trian-
gular, and long, extending even in the unfilled state more than half the length of the abdomen. The
kidneys are small, flat, and widely separated before to allow the air-bladder space to be in contact
with the vertebral column ; yet they unite and terminate about the posterior fourth of the abdomen ;
the urinary bladder is very large, oblong, and has thick walls.

Habits. But little more is known of the habits of the Black Grunt, than that
it lives in the deepest waters, and that fragments of shells and portions of smaller
fishes are often found in its stomach.

OTOLITHUS REGALIS. 127

Geographical Distribution. As yet this fish has been observed only on the
coast of South Carolina, and is even there but seldom seen.

General Hemarks. This animal was first described by Cuvier and Valen-
ciennes, and from specimens procured in South Carolina ; it is closely allied with
the Hcemiilon formosiim, but its facial outline is more incurved, and there are no
ultramarine lines on the occipital bones.

GENUS OTOLITHUS.— Cwwer.

Characters. Upper jaw armed with canine teeth ; lower jaw without barbels,
or x^ores, or with pores exceedingly minute ; dorsal fins two, separated ; anal
spines feeble ; air-bladder with a slender cornu projecting forwards on each side
of its anterior part.

Remarks. This genus was established by Cuvier, and is well characterized by
its canine teeth, which distinguish it from Sciaina, on the one hand, and from
Corvina and Leiostomus, on the other. It includes many species, inhabitants of
the Indian Ocean, as well as of the Atlantic shores of America ; and it is remark-
able that those of the Old World have canine teeth in both jaws, while those of
America have them only in the upper.

OTOLITHUS REGALIS. — Schneider.

Plate XVIII. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body above pale brown, with a strong greenish tint,
and marked with irregular dusky blotches ; belly silvery ; ventral and anal fins
yellowish ; upper jaw with a double series of small, conical, sharp-pointed teeth,

128 OTOLITHUS REGALIS.

and between these rows two canine teeth in front ; lower jaw with a single
row of similar small teeth behind, and a double series before. D. 9-1-29.
P. 16. V. 1-5. A. 1-13. C. 17.

Synonymes. Johnius regalis, Schncid., Ed. Bloch, Ichth., p. 75.

Weak-fish, Schoepff, Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. viii. st. 2, p. 169.

Eoccus comes, Mitch., Eeport in part, p. 26.

Labrus squeteague, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 396, pi. 2, fig. 6.

Otolithus regalis, Cuv. ct Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 67.

Scicena regalis, Rich., Faun. Bor. Amer. (Ichth.), p. 68.

Otolithus regalis, Storer, Report, &c., p. 33.

Otolithus regalis, BeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 71, pi. 8, fig. 24.

Otolithus regalis, Storer, Synops., p. 66.

Salt-water Trout, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish is elongated, slightly elevated, rather com-
pressed, thicker above than below. The head is rather broad behind, but narrow
at the snout. The eye is large, elongated, with a black pupil and golden-grey iris ;
it is placed one diameter and a quarter of the orbit from the snout, and with its
inferior margin at the median plane of the head. The nostrils are double ; the
posterior is a large, narrow, elliptical, vertical fissure ; the anterior is much smaller
and round, and both are in a sub-triangular depression below the supra-orbital
ridge.

The mouth is large, as the upper jaw extends to the middle of the orbit, and the
lips are thin. The upper jaw is rather short, rounded in front, protractile, and
armed with a double series of conical, sharp-pointed teeth, the anterior of which
are a little the largest ; in front and between these rows are two canine teeth,
large, pointed, directed backwards, and recurved; sometimes one or even both
of these teeth are broken off at their roots. The lower jaw is longer than the
upper, narrower in front, and armed behind with a single series of conical, sharp-
pointed teeth, and a double series of smaller teeth in front. The tongue is large,
broad, smooth, very free, and slightly emarginate at its tip.

OTOLITHUS REGALIS. 129

The pre-opercle is round and prolonged at its angle, with its ascending border
directed rather forward, and crenated or fringed, but without serratures. The
opercle terminates behind in two flat and pointed processes, hardly perceptible in
the recent specimens, but evident enough to the touch ; from the inferior of these
the skin is continued backward, and ends in a point. The sub-opercle is long and
narrow. The inter-opercle is broad, and with a rounded outline below. The
opercle and pre-opercle, as well as the head above, to near the extremity of the
snout, are covered with scales, but the jaws are smooth. The gill-openings are
large; there are seven branchial rays. The supra-scapular bone is large, semi-
circular, but not serrated.

The anterior dorsal fin begins behind the origin of the ventral ; it has nine
feeble spinous rays, the second and third longest, and the posterior very minute ;
the soft portion has one spinous and twenty-seven soft rays. The pectoral is
small and short ; it arises just behind the opercle, is furnished above with a
sub-triangular fold of scaly skin, and has seventeen rays, the anterior very stiff
or sub-spinous. The ventral fin is stout ; it arises behind the root of the pectoral,
extends as far back, and has one spinous and five soft rays. The anal is of
moderate size, and begins nearly opposite the fifteenth soft dorsal ray, and termi-
nates behind with that fin ; it has one large spinous and ten soft rays, the
second, third, and fourth longest, and the posterior very short. The caudal is
rather large, sub-crescentic, and has seventeen rays, and is covered with scales to
near its extremity.

The scales are transparent, slightly adherent, about sixty-six in the longitudinal
direction, and twenty-two in the vertical ; their shape is unguiform, with the
anterior margin straight, and with numerous mmute striae, the posterior rounded
and minutely ciliated. The lateral line runs nearly straight, along the superior
fourth of the back, to the ninth dorsal spine, and then gradually curves down to
the median plane, and is thus continued nearly to the tip of the caudal fin ; its
scale is small, sub-round, and with a large duct.
17

130 • OTOLITHUS REGALIS.

Colour. The ground colour of the whole animal is silvery, more or less clouded
above, and with a strong green tint along the top of the head and back ; the sides
of the head are silvery ; the back above the lateral line is marked with numerous
irregular dusky blotches, less distinct beneath, and which finally disappear and
leave the belly silver-white. The tongue above, and the inner and posterior part of
the lower lip, are yellow ; the roof of the mouth and fauces are of the same tint,
but paler. The dorsal fin is transparent, or occasionally slightly clouded. The
pectoral is semi-transparent, yellowish before and whitish behind. The ventral has
its four anterior rays yellow, the posterior are white ; the anterior half of the anal
is yellow, with occasional minute dusky spots ; its posterior half is pale yellow or
white. The caudal is pale brown.

Dimensions. The head, from the tip of the lower jaw, is one fourth of the
entire length ; the greatest elevation vdth the dorsal fin is one head ; total length,
twenty inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is large, the central portion rather narrow ; the two lobes are long, nar-
row, the left being the longer, as it extends half the length of the abdomen, and both project into
the hypochondria along with the horns of the air-bladder. The gall-bladder is elongated, conical,
and situated far behind the right lobe ; the cystic duct is long and slender, but is slightly enlarged
opposite the right lobe, though it receives no hepatic duct at that point, but farther forward it re-
ceives several, and then opens into the duodenum. The stomach is long, narrow, pointed behind,
and has thick walls ; the pyloric portion is exceedingly short, and begins as far forwards as the
transverse portion of the liver. The small intestine is nearly as large as the stomach, but with thin
walls ; it first turns backward nearly to the middle of the abdomen, where it makes a short convolu-
tion forward, and then is reflected to end in the rectum, which is much smaller. There are four
CGBcal appendages, conical, elongated, almost as large as the intestine, and some of them being
nearly two inches in length. The ovaries are flattened, oblong, and are united behind to open into
a common duct. The air-bladder is large, and extends the length of the abdomen ; it is pointed
behind, and terminates before in a small rounded extremity, with a conical pointed cornu on each
side that projects slightly beyond it. These cornua separate from the air-bladder at about its ante-
rior fourth, whence a groove is continued on its inner face nearly to its posterior extremity. The
air-bladder has very thick walls, though by no means strong ; they are of a white satin-colour
without, but within and below is a large mass of greyish vascular matter. The kidney is rather
broad, but thin along the spine ; there is no urinary bladder.

OTOLITHUS REGALIS. 131

Habits. The Otolithus regalis is found in the waters of South Carolina through-
out the year, but is most abundant and of the largest size in the autumnal months.
It lives always in salt water, never ascending fresh streams, and feeds on various
kinds of smaller fish, and is very voracious ; it is taken with the hook or with
the seine ; but, though abundant in our market, it is not held in much estimation
as food, its flesh being soft and without flavour.

Geographical Distribution. The range of this fish along the coast of the
United States is very extended, as Dr. Storer has observed it as far north as Massa-
chusetts, and Lesueur as far south and west as New Orleans.

General Remarks. Schoepff' gave the first description of this animal, and it
is a very good one ; he says it is called Weak-fish in New York, and Scup or
Scuppaug in Rhode Island ; yet he does not refer it to any of the genera estab-
lished at that period.

Schneider, in his edition of Bloch, arranged it in the genus Jolmius, and with
the specific name regalis ; but his description is less full and satisfactory than that
of Schoepff, from which it is taken.

Dr. Mitchill's account of our animal is next in order, and is very good ; but being
unacquainted with the works of Schoepff and Schneider, he considered it an un-
described species, and called it Labrus squeteague.

Cuvier and Valenciennes have given the fullest and most accurate account of
this animal that has hitherto appeared.

132 OTOLITHUS THALASSINUS.

OTOLITHUS THALASSINUS. — Holbrook.

Plate XVIII. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body elongated, slender, dusky, with a greenish tint
ahove ; sides and belly yellow. D. 10 - 1 - 26. P. 17. V. 1 - 5. A. 1 - 10. C. 17.

Synonyme. Sea Trout, or Deep-water Trout, Vulgo.

Remarks. Although this animal resembles greatly the one last described, yet
it differs from it in the following particulars. It is much longer and less elevated
in proportion ; it is always of a yellow colour at the sides and belly ; it has one
dorsal spine more, and three soft rays less ; the anal fin has three rays less ; the
fleshy appendix to the opercle is rounded ; the snout is more pointed ; the liver is
smaller, and of a paler colour ; the gall-bladder is cylindrical, with numerous con-
volutions, and in the specimen examined did not extend beyond the right lobe of
the liver. In the character and disposition of its teeth, in its splanchnology,
in its intestines, air-bladder, &c., it agrees perfectly with the Otolithus regalis.

Habits. The Otolithus thalasshms differs from the last-described animal en-
tirely in its habits, as it is only found in the ocean and in deep water, and never ap-
proaches the bays and inlets along the coast. It is also a larger animal.

Geographical Distribution. The few specimens that I have seen were all
taken off Charleston bar, at about twenty miles from land, and in fifteen or twenty
fathoms of water.

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OTOLITHUS CAROLINENSIS. 133

OTOLITHUS CAROLINENSIS. — Valenciennes.

Plate XIX. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body above palest blue, with silvery reflections; sides
silvery ; belly white ; caudal and dorsal fins, and sides above the lateral line, with
numerous round dark spots. D. 10-1-26. P. 15. V. 1-5. A. 1-11. C. 17.

Synonymes. Otolithus Carolinensis, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. ix. p. 475.
Otolithus Carolinensis, DeKay, Zooi. N. Y., part iv. p. 72.
Otolithus Carolinensis, Storer, Synops., p. 66.
Salmon Trout, Vulgo.

Description. This beautiful animal is at once distinguished from all others of
its genus by its colour, and the numerous dark spots with which it is ornamented.
These spots are found mostly above the lateral line, some few only are below it ;
black spots exist also in both dorsal fins and in the caudal, but they are not so
round and circumscribed as those on the body. Besides its colour, this Otolithus
diff"ers from the Otolithus regalis in having its head slightly less elevated, and its
dorsal outline a little more arched ; its snout, too, is narrower, though round, and
its lower jaw is rather more prolonged; its caudal fin is slightly longest in its
median plane, and is sub-crescentic both above and below it ; and its ventral fins
extend nearly half their length behind the pectorals.

Habits. This fish is of the same size with the Otolithus regalis, with which it is
always found, and is similar in its habits and is taken with the same bait.

Geographical Distribution. This animal is found along our Atlantic coast,
from Carolma to the Capes of the Delaware ; but I am ignorant of its extreme
limits, north or south.

134 OTOLITHUS NOTHUS.

General Remarks. This fish was first described by Valenciennes, and from
specimens taken in South Carolina.

OTOLITHUS l^OTiUJS. — HoIbrook

Plate XIX. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Head and body silvery-white, or but slightly shaded
above. D. 8-1-28. P. 16. V. 1-5. A. 1-9. C. 18.

Synonyme. Bastard Trout, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this Otolithus differs from that last described in
being shorter and thicker in proportion, and more arched along the back ; the head,
too, is smaller, the snout shorter, and the lower jaw more pointed. The eye is very
large, and is less than its diameter from the snout ; the pupil is deep blue, and the
iris golden-grey. The nostrils are double; the posterior and larger is oval,
elongated, nearly vertical, and on a plane rather below the upper margin of the
eye, and at the anterior extremity of the supra-orbital ridge ; the anterior is circu-
lar, small, and very near the posterior.

The mouth is large, with thin lips ; the upper jaw is very protractile, and
armed with a double series of small, conical, pointed teeth ; in front, and between
these rows, but belonging to neither, though nearest the posterior, are two large
canine teeth, conical, pointed, recurved, and directed backwards. The lower jaw
has a double series of minute, pointed teeth in front, AvhUe behind there is only a
single row, and the teeth are larger. The tongue is large, flat, free in front, and
rounded. The pre-opercle is rounded at its angle ; its ascending border runs rather
forwards, and both have a crenated margin. The opercle terminates in two minute,
flattened points, between which is extended backwards a rounded portion of skin.
There are seven branchial rays. The supra-scapular is large and semiciixular.

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OTOLITHUS NOTHUS. 135

The anterior dorsal fin begins behind the root of the pectoral, and has eight
spinous rays partially received in a sheath, the second and third being longest.
The posterior dorsal has one spinous and twenty-eight soft rays, the first very
short and closely joined to the second; the scales ascend high up on its roots, and
make a partial sheath. The pectoral is small ; it arises at the termination of
the opercle, extends almost as far back as the ventral, and has sixteen rays.
The ventral is short, but tolerably broad; it begins behind the root of the
pectoral, and has one spinous and five soft rays. The anal is short; it arises
nearly opposite the sixteenth dorsal ray, and has one delicate spinous and ten
soft rays, the first, second, and third longest. The caudal is moderately
broad, nearly straight behind, and has eighteen rays, those of the middle rather
longest.

The scales are soft, sub-quadrilateral, and slightly rounded behind, but are so
arranged on the body as to appear sub-rhomboidal. The lateral line runs along
the upper fourth of the body as far as the second dorsal, when it curves down
to the median plane, and thus continues to the end.

Colour. The whole animal is silvery-white externally, except the fins; the
pectoral being white, tinted with yelloAV on its outer margin ; the anal yellow
in front, and white or semi-transparent on its posterior half; the dorsal is trans-
parent. The tongue is yellowish above ; the roof of the mouth, and the inner
face of the upper and lower jaws, are also yellow, but of a paler tint.

Dimensions. The head is one fourth the entire length ; the elevation without
the dorsal fin is equal to one head ; total length, twelve inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is composed of two lobes, and a small central or transverse portion,
separated from the right lobe by a deep fissure ; the right lobe is narrow, thin, and pointed be-
hind, and extends about half the length of the abdomen ; the left is much longer, and of sub-
triangular form, and both project forwards into the hypochondria. The gall-bladder is cylin-
drical, and but little larger than the cystic duct, and is placed almost entirely behind the right
lobe. The stomach is small, less in size than the oesophagus ; it is cylindrical, rather pointed

136 UMBRINA ALBURNUS.

behind, and has thick muscular walls ; its pyloric branch is short, small, about half as broad as
the stomach, from which it departs nearly at a right angle ; there are four ccscal appendages,
rather small, and all nearly of the same size. The small intestine runs, with slight flexures,
to end in the rectum, which is less capacious. The ovaries are very long and slender, and
unite far back. The air-bladder is similar to that of Otolithus regalis, but is rather more pointed
behind.

Habits. It is an uncommon fish on our shores, and, of course, little is known
of its habits.

Geographical Distribution. As yet the Otolithus nothus has been observed
only on the coast of South Carolina.

GENUS UMBRINA. — Cwmer.

Characters. A single barbel at the lower jaw ; maxillary and inter-maxillary
teeth card-like, and arranged in broad bands ; dorsal fins contiguous ; branchial
rays seven.

Remarks. This genus was established by Cuvier, who at first referred to
it but few species, though it now includes many.

UMBRINA ALBURNUS.— iwrn^M*.

Plate XX. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body silvery, with several oblique, dusky bars above;
silvery-white below; outer series of upper maxillary teeth largest, and rather
distant from each other. D. 10 - 1 - 26. P. 20. V. 1-5. A. 1 - 8. C. 18.

UMBRINA ALBURNUS. 137

Synonymes. Alburnus Americanus, Gates., Carolina, &c., vol. ii. p. 12, pi. 12, fig. 2.
Perca alburnus, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 482.
Perca alburnus, Gmel, Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. iii. p. 1311.
Perca-Whiting, Schoepff, Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. viii. p. 162.
Perca alburnus, Shmv, Gen. Zool., vol. iv. p. 548.
Umbrina alburnus. Cup. el Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 180.
Umbrina alburnus, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 78, non pi. 7, fig. 20.
Umbrina alburnus, Storcr, Synops., p. 71.
Whiting, Vulgo.

Description. The fonn of this fish is very graceful ; elongated, with the back
slightly arched, and the belly nearly straight. The head is large, thick, promi-
nent above; the snout full, rounded, and prolonged beyond the upper jaw; on its
inferior margin is a broad, fleshy fold, thick, entire, adherent above, thin and sub-
divided into four smaller sub-quadrilateral, movable lobes below ; of these, the
two outer are rather longer, and each has a deep pore at its base ; another large
pore, of sub-rhomboidal form, exists near the middle of the extremity of the
snout.

The eye is large, longest horizontally, and placed two diameters of the orbit
from the snout, and three and three quarters from the posterior angle of the
opercle, with its inferior margin above the median plane of the head ; the pupil
is deep sea-blue, the iris golden or flame colour. The anterior nostril is small,
sub-round, with a movable curtain, and placed midway between the eye and
snout ; the posterior is very large, long, and elliptical ; it begins below the orbit,
and is directed upwards and backwards.

The mouth is inferior, of moderate size, and parabolic in front ; the upper jaw
is very protractile, and armed with several series of small, card-like, conical, sharp
teeth, Avhich are directed a little backwards. On the outer side of these, and at
some distance from each other, is a row of much larger teeth, about fourteen in
number, the largest of which are in front. The lower jaw is shorter than the up-
per, and received within it, so as to leave the outer and larger teeth of the latter

18

138 UMBRINA ALBURNUS.

exposed ; it is armed in like manner, but wants the external row of larger teeth.
The tongue is large, smooth, thick, fleshy, round, and free in front. The vomer
and palate-bones are without teeth ; but the phai-yngeals are studded at intervals
with rather stout, conical, sharp-pointed, recurved teeth. At the chin is a short,
stout, conical barbel, truncated at its apex ; it is moved by a delicate muscle on
each side, which arises from the lower jaw, and is inserted by a minute tendon
into the base of the barbel, and is supplied by twigs of the fifth pair of nerves.
On each side of the barbel are two pores.

The pre-opercle has its angle rounded, and is without denticulations ; the
opercle is rather broad, and terminates posteriorly in two flat points ; the whole
head, pre-opercle, and opercle are covered with scales, those on the latter bone
being largest. There are seven branchial rays, but the two upper are compressed
and concealed by the opercle, and the two inferior are so small that they can
only be well seen after dissection.

The dorsal fin begins opposite the origin of the ventral, and terminates before
the root of the caudal ; its anterior portion has ten spines, of which the anterior
is so short as to be seen only on close examination, while the second, third, and
fourth are very long, the third most so of all ; the second portion of the dorsal
has one delicate spine and twenty-six soft rays. The pectoral fin is large, strong,
broad, and rounded posteriorly ; it arises in front of the dorsal, and terminates
opposite its soft portion, and has twenty rays, with an elongated triangular fold
of skin covered with scales in the axilla. The ventral fin is short, broad, thin ;
it begins about the anterior fourth of the pectoral, but does not extend as far
back, and has one spine and five soft rays, with a small, loose fold of skin in the
axUla above. The anal is small, and arises o^jposite the twelfth dorsal soft ray,
and has but one spine and eight soft rays, of which the third, fourth, and fifth
are longest. The caudal fin is short, sub-crescentic, the upper horn thinner and
smaller, though of equal length.

The scales are sub-quadrilateral in form, a little longest in the antero-posterior

UMBRINA ALBURNUS. 139

direction ; they are ciliated at their posterior margin, and become rough when
dry. The lateral line is concurrent with the outline of the back, and is placed
at first about the upper third of the body, but towards the tail it descends to
the middle ; its scale is oblong, larger and ciliated behind, with its duct nearly
in the middle, and bifurcating posteriorly.

Colour. The colour is silvery, a little clouded on the back, and marked with
several oblique, irregular, dusky bars, running from the back to below the lateral
line, when they disappear and leave the belly silvery-white ; sometimes these
bars are interrupted, and they then appear as irregular blotches ; the fins are
all more or less translucent, and without spots.

Dimensions. The length from the opercle to the extremity of the tail is rather
more than three heads ; the elevation of the body is more than three fourths
of the head. Whitings are sometimes caught sixteen inches long.

Splanchnology. The stomach is large, and extends to within an inch of the vent ; it is sub-conical
in form, pointed behind, with thick walls, and numerous folds on its inner face, which are, how-
ever, removed by distention. The pyloric portion begins near its anterior fourth, is small and
very short, with the pyloric contraction well marked externally. The duodenum is at first larger
than the pyloric portion of the stomach, though with walls much thinner. There are seven
ccecal appendages, all about an inch long, and all nearly of the same size. The small intestine
runs to the posterior extremity of the stomach, is then reflected to the pylorus, whence it again
turns back to end in the rectum, which has thinner walls, though it is more capacious and with
an evident rectal valve. The liver is large, both lobes nearly of the same size in front, where
both project into the hypochondriac regions, but the left is longer, reaching to the extremity of the
stomach ; the central or transverse portion is also very thick, and is continuous with the left lobe
without a fissure. The gall-bladder is long, cylindrical, with thin walls, and extends more than
half its length behind the right lobe of the liver, to which it is attached by peritoneal folds. The
spleen is long, narrow, sub-triangular. The ovaries are bilobed, or double in front, but unite into
one far back, and open above and behind the rectum in a common canal. The ureters terminate
in a small, short bladder, which is placed far back, and a little to the right side. There is no air-
bladder.

140 UMBRINA ALBURNUS.

Habits. The ^Jliiting remains with us all the year round, and although few
are taken in December and January, yet they are sufficient to prove its constant
residence near Charleston. In the spring and summer months they are very
abundant; they enter the mouths of bays and rivers, and are captured in great
numbers. They take the hook readily; their favorite bait is the shrimp, and,
being a strong, lively, active animal, they afford much sport to the fisherman.
They prefer deep and running waters, and seldom approach so near the shore
as to be taken in seines. Their ordinary food seems to be various species of
smaller fish, shell-fish, &c.

Geographical Distribution. The Umhrina alburnus inhabits the Southern
waters, from Cape Fear in North Carolina to Cape Florida.

General Eemarks. The first notice of this animal occurs in Catesby's
Histoiy of Carolina, &c., where it is called Alburnus Americanus, or Carolina
IV/iiting ; his description is short, very imperfect, and the figure accompany-
ing it hardly to be recognized, as it represents a portion of the posterior
dorsal fin closed, so as to make it appear altogether wanting.

Linnaeus, in his Systema Natura, gives a much better description of it, from
recent specimens furnished him by Dr. Garden, an accurate naturalist, and at that
time a resident of Charleston. Linnaeus, however, does not mention the barbel at
the chin, one of its most important generic characters, but describes it as a Perch,
Perca alburnus, which specific name has ever since been applied to it by suc-
ceeding ichthyologists.

The history of this fish, really so simple, has been made a little complicated by
some naturalists, who have confounded it with a Northern animal, a different
species, the Umbrina nebulosa of Mitchill.

SchoepfF, a German naturalist, and surgeon to one of the Hessian regiments
during the war of the Revolution, resided for some time on Long Island and in

UMBRINA ALBURNUS. 141

New York, and published an excellent memoir on the fishes of that neighbourhood
in a Berlin journal.* He described a fish under the name of Whiting, and his
description is good, even to the barbel at the chin ; but he errs in supposing it to
be more abundant along the shores of Carolina and Florida, and still more in
supposing it to be identical with the Perca aVownus of Linnseus.

Dr. Mitchill's account of Schoepff's animal is next in order, and may be seen in
the Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New York. His
description, at least so far as regards the external forms, is accurate, and is accom-
panied by a tolerably good figure ; but unacquainted with the memoir of SchoepfF,
which is exceedingly rare in this country, he supposed it to be an undescribed
species, and called it Scicena nehulosa, which specific name has the right of
priority.

Some years subsequently, Cuvier and Valenciennes, in their great work, Histoire
Nafurelle des Poissons, gave so full and accurate an account of this animal, as to
leave nothing to be desired ; but they committed the same mistake as Schoepfi", in
describing it as identical with the Poxa (Umbrina) alhiirnus of Linnseus, or
"VMiiting of Carolina. That their description was taken from the Umbrina
nehulosa, and not our animal, is evident from the description itself; thus they
say, — "The first dorsal has its third ray prolonged in a long point, which
surpasses by one third the elevation of the body beneath it " ; f which is never
the case in the Carolina Wliitin^.

'a'

Dr. Storcr, in his excellent Report on the Fishes of Massachusetts, receives at
first the King-fish as a distinct species, Umbrina nehulosa of Mitchill, or Whiting
of Schoepfi" ; but in his Sjaiopsis of North American Fishes, he follows the exam-
ple of Cuvier and Valenciennes in supposing the Umbrina nebulosa and Umbrina
alburnus to be identical.

• Schriften von der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde, zu Berlin.

f "La premiere dorsale a son troisieme rayon prolonge en une pointe qui surpasse d'un tiers la hauteur
du corps au-dessous d'elle."

142 UMBRINA LITTORALIS.

Dr. DeKay, in the ichthyological part of his Fauna of New York, gives a good
figure of the animal, in which the long ray of the dorsal fin is well marked ; but
he also adopts the opinion of Cuvier and Valenciennes. Nor is this so remark-
able ; for neither Dr. Storer nor Dr. DeKay had ever seen the Southern animal,
or Umbrina alburnus, at the time their works were published.

It seems, then, that these two fishes, the Umbrina alburnus and Umbrina
nebulosa, though nearly allied, and closely resembling each other at first sight,
are really not only specifically distinct, but have an entirely diff"erent geograph-
ical distribution; the one is a Southern animal, the other is peculiar to the
North ; the one is never found north of Cape Hatteras, nor the other, so far
as I know, south of it.

UMBRINA LITTOUALIS. — Holbrook.

Plate XX. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body silvery-white, immaculate ; outer row of large
separated teeth in the upper jaw wanting. D. 10-1-27. V. 1-5. A. 1-9.
P. 18.

Synonyme. Surf Whiting.

Description. The general forms of this fish are so precisely the same as those
of the Umbrina alburnus as to need no description, the snout only being a little
more full and rounded in front. It is, therefore, only necessary to notice the
particular characters in which it diff"ers from the other, or those that constitute it a
distinct species.

I. The Umbrina littoralis has teeth similar to those of the Umbrina alburnus,
but the outer, larger, and separated row is wanting.

i/1/VwWvwc-' CJUru/vvvA*^

rixx.

m

^ ■' ^ ^-c i:^

,:ru.h^ //l/^^^^-^i^

Frtnied hy Tapp eCTh AcBrad/hrA SostcrV-

UMBRINA LITTORALIS. 143

II. The tongue is about half the size, placed far back, and is slightly movable
at the tip.

III. The stomach is smaller, cylindrical, pointed behind, and shorter, not
extending more than half the length of the abdominal cavity.

IV. There are ten coecal appendages, which are longer than those in the
Umbrina alburnus.

V. The gall-bladder is pyiiform, and placed entirely behind the right lobe of
the liver, without being attached to it.

VI. The urinary bladder is a long tube, placed on the right side of the rectum.

VII. The colour is silvery-white, iridescent along the back when first taken
out of the water.

VIII. The dimensions are the same, except in the ventral fin, which terminates
with the pectoral.

Habits. This species of Umbrina makes its appearance on the coast of Carolina
in the month of April, and continues with us during the entire summer, though
very few are taken in July and August. It is only found in shoal water, where
the bottom is hard or sandy, often forming, when the tide is out, an extensive
beach. Its favourite resort is in the neighbourhood of the shore, where the surf
can roll over it from the ocean, and bring with it, doubtless, the animals on which
it feeds. In such localities many are captured with the seine, and are sold in
market under the name of Surf Wliiting, in contradistinction to the Umbrina
alburnus, which is called the Deep-water Whiting. Its food seems to be similar
to that of the Umbrina alburnus, judging from the contents of the stomach, and
yet it is seldom taken with the hook.

144 GENUS MICROPOGON.

Geographical Distribution. Hitherto I have only seen this fish in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of Charleston.

General Remarks. This fish is very commonly supposed to be the adult
female of the Umbrina alhurnus, or common ITliitinff, approaching shoal water to
deposit its spawn, and from common report I believed it to be such, until frequent
dissections proved to me that there are both males and females among them. The
flesh of this species is good, but by no means as finely fiavoured as that of the
Umbrina alhurnus.

GENUS MICROPOGON.— Cwmer.

Characters. General form of an Umbrina; several minute barbels at the
chin ; pre-opercle dentated, with teeth smaller above, and long, separated, pointed
teeth, almost spinous, at the angle ; membrane at the snout above the upper jaw
with four lobes ; mouth inferior ; jaws armed with small, equal, villiform teeth ;
five pores at the chin ; branchial rays seven.

General Remarks. This is another genus established by Cuvier, and is closely
allied on one side with Pogonias, and on the other with Corvina ; it may, however,
be readily distinguished from the former by the exceeding minuteness of its
barbels, and from the latter by their actual presence, however minute. This genus
includes at present but three well-determined species, which are limited to the
Atlantic coast of America, and of these only one has been observed in the Avaters
of South Carolina, though it doubtless ranges along the coast of Georgia and
North Carolina, south of Cape Fear.

MICROPOGON UNDULATUS. 145

MICROPOGON UNDULATUS. —im??«M5.

Plate XXI. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Head large ; snout rounded, full, prominent, and from
its inferior part, over the upper jaw, hangs a fold, as in Umbrina, which is partially-
subdivided into lobes, the external longest and pointed ; mouth inferior ; barbels
at the cliin minute ; three large and two small pores near the extremity of the
lower jaw; body silvery, slightly shaded above, and marked with numerous
minute dusky spots. D. 10-1-27. P. 14. V. 1 - 5. A. 2-8. C. 17.

Synonymes. Perca undulata, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 483.

Croker, Gates., Carolina, vol. ii. p. 3, tab. 3, fig. 1.

Perca undulata, Gmel., Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1312.

Le Sciene Croker, Lacep., Hist. Nut. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 184.

Micropogon undulatus, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 219.

Micropogon undulatus, BeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 84.

Micropogon undulatus, Slorer, Synops., p. 73.

Croker, Vulgo.

Description. This fish has almost the precise form of an Umbrina, though
rather more arched in the back. The head is long, elevated posteriorly, Avith the
snout full and rounded. The eyes are large, longest horizontally, near the facial
outline, with the superciliary margin prominent, and covered with two or three
series of small scales; the posterior margin of the orbit is equidistant between
the snout and the posterior angle of the opercle ; the pupil is very dark, the iris
silvery, mixed with reddish-grey. The nostrils are double, the posterior very
large, sub-oval, rather pointed behind, and directed downwards and forwards,
to below the plane of the eye ; the anterior is ^^ery small, round, and midway
between the orbit and the snout.

The mouth is inferior, small, and does not open beyond the posterior nostril ;
19

146 MICROPOGON UNDULATUS.

the lips are thin ; the upper jaw is long and protractile ; the lower is shorter, and
received Avithin the upper when the mouth is closed, so as to leave some of its
teeth exposed. Both jaws are armed with rather broad bands of small, equal, villi-
form teeth. The middle pharyngeal bones are armed with larger teeth, sub-conical,
rounded at their apices, and paved ; in the others they are conical and pointed.
The tongue is short, thick, narrow, and placed far back ; the chin is furnished
with four pairs of minute barbels, and is indented with five water-pores. The pre-
opercle is serrated ; the serratures are small above, but are separated, and so long
at the angles as to resemble spines. The opercle terminates posteriorly in two
long and flat points, and is covered with scales. The sub-opercle is long, narrow,
and with a membranous prolongation behind. The inter-opercle is also long and
narrow, but is rounded below. The gill-openings are large, and have seven bran-
chial rays.

The dorsal fin is single, though deeply emarginate, as the membrane that unites
the two portions is but slightly elevated ; it arises behind the root of the ventral,
and has in its anterior portion ten spines, the first of which is so short as to be
seen Avith difficulty; the second part has one spine and twenty-seven soft rays,
and is partially received in a groove of scales. The pectoral is broad, long, and
ends in a point opposite the fifth dorsal ray. The ventral is broad, but short ; it
begins behind the root of the pectoral, and ends about its posterior fifth, and has
one strong spine and five soft rays, the anterior of Avhich ends in a short delicate
filament. The anal is broad, and has two spines, the anterior minute, the poste-
rior large and strong, with eight soft rays, the second and third longest ; the other
rays gradually decrease in length, and thus make the posterior extremity of the fin
vertical. The caudal is rather long, and has seventeen rays.

The scales represent the half of a circle, the diameter before, the circumference
behind, and finely ciliated ; the radical margin with twelve rather long strife, the
outer on each side largest. The lateral line is concvirrent with the back, and its
scales are smaller than those of the body, and marked with a tube that bifurcates
behind.

MICROPOGON UNDULATUS. 147

Colour. The head is rather dusky above ; the lower jaw and cheeks are white ;
the entire body is silvery, slightly shaded above, and marked with numerous and
irregular dusky spots, in general disposed without order, though rarely they are
confluent and represent interrupted lines ; these dusky spots disappear below the
plane of the pectoral fin, and leave the belly white. The spinous portion of the
dorsal is semi-transparent above, while below there are two or three irregular
series of dusky blotches in the membrane that unites the spines ; the soft portion
is semi-transparent above, but with several rows of dusky blotches below ; that
near the roots of the rays is very regular ; the pectoral is transparent, being only
dark at its root ; the ventral is yellow on its outer part, and white on its inner ;
the spine of the anal is white ; the four rays next to it are yellow, most so at their
tips ; the others are white or transparent.

Dimensions. The distance between the opercle and the tip of the tail is equal
to two heads and three quarters; the elevation is not quite a head in any one
part ; total length, fourteen inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is very small, though the transverse portion is thick and projecting ; the
left lobe is longest, and extends back about two thirds the length of the abdomen ; the right is
swollen in front, and is about half as long as the left ; and both project into the hypochondria.
Tile gall-bladder is large, elongated, cylindrical, and runs farther back than the lobe to which it is
attached. The stomach is of moderate size, conical, with thick walls, and ends behind with the
left lobe of the liver. The pyloric portion is small, short, separating from the stomach far forward
and at right angles. There are six delicate ccecal appendages, nearly all of the same calibre, but
varying much in length ; some being nearly half as long as the stomach. The small intestine is
large ; it runs to the vent, thence returns to the beginning of the pyloric portion of the stomach,
whence it is reflected to end in the rectum, which is smaller, but with much thicker walls and a
very well developed rectal valve. The spleen is small, but elongated, flattened, and does not ex-
tend behind the stomach. The testicles are oblong, narrow, pointed in front, and unite in substance
far behind. The air-bladder is large, broad, sub-round ; it is largest in front, and tapers to a point
behind ; on each side, and a little anterior to its middle, arises a delicate, slender horn, which runs
forward, and, having passed its anterior extremity, curves inward, so as nearly to meet its fellow at
a considerable distance in front of the organ itself; there are muscular fibres on the inferior and
posterior portion of the air-bladder. The kidney is broad before, but narrow along the middle of

148 GENUS CORVINA.

the spine ; the ureters enlarge a little before their termination, but not enough to make a urinary
bladder.

Habits. The Croker first makes its appearance in deep water off Charleston in
the month of May, but it only becomes common in shallow water in June and
July, and is most abundant and of the largest size in October and November. It
is not much esteemed as food, and is only used as a pan-fish.

Geographical Distribution. The Micmpogon undulatus is known to inhabit
the waters of the United States, from Virginia to Lake Pontchartrain, near New
Orleans.

General Remarks. Catesby published the first figure of this fish in his Nat-
ural History of Carolina, as the Croker, and accompanied it by a very short and
imperfect description. Linnaeus afterwards described it more fully and accurately
as Perca undtdata, from a specimen sent him by Dr. Garden.

GENUS CORVINA. — Cwmer.

Characters. Head large, with the snout round and full ; no barbels at the
chin ; teeth in both jaws numerous, small, villiform ; upper jaw with an outer row
of large, conical, sharp-pointed teeth ; two dorsal fins, or one deeply emarginate ;
anal spines, in some, moderate ; ia others, robust ; pre-opercle serrated ; branchial
rays seven.

Remarks. This genus of Sciaenidae was established by Cuvier, and is closely
allied to Umbrina and Pogonias, though he says it may be distinguished from
either of them by its want of barbels at the chin ; and from Sciaena by the size
and extent of its anal spines, or from Otolithus by its want of canine teeth ; yet
one of the characters that he assigns to Corvina, " an external row of larger.

Pl.UV.

//

\k*^Sf*0- A

ip^.

s«.

«

^---.

VK-^

;',j^(»a^--^

-isi-

V

■^^v r .^^

->» ai^fc^W'^'^"

TSSaral & Co's SuamUA. Frus.Tlulf-

CORVINA OCELLATA. 149

pointed, equal teeth," does not exist in the only species that I have examined, the
Corvina ocellata ; for the teeth of this row are always largest in front, and decrease
gradually in size towards the commissure of the mouth. This genus contains more
than thirty-five known species, which are widely extended in both hemispheres,
and are mostly inhabitants of salt water, though some few are found in fresh.

COEVINA OCELLATA. — imw<p/<s.

Plate XXI. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Head large, snout round and projectmg beyond the
mouth ; body elongated, slightly arched above, nearly straight below ; silvery white,
with a bluish tint along the back, and an oval or sub-round black spot, bordered
with white, near the superior margin of the base of the caudal fin. D. 10 - 1 - 25.
P. 17. V. 1-5. A. 2-7. C. 17.

Synonymes. Perca ocellata, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 483.

Perca ocellata, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1313.

Centropome ceille, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 156.

Lutjan triangle, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 121.

Perca ocellata, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. iv. p. 550.

Sciaena imberbis, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 411.

Corvina ocellata, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 134, pi. 108.

Corvina ocellata, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 75, pi. 21, fig. 61.

Corvina ocellata, Storer, Synops., p. 67.

Bass, or Spotted Bass, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish is elongated, sub-round, slightly arched
above, straight below, thicker along the back, and thinner at the belly. The head
is large, and flattened above ; the snout is rounded, full, and with a dependent
fold of skin, partially subdivided into four lobes. The eyes are large, longest hori-
zontally, and placed two diameters of the orbit from the snout, and nearly four
diameters from the posterior angle of the opercle, with their lower margin above

150 CORVINA OCELLATA.

the median plane of the head ; the pupil is dusky, the iris silvery, mixed with red-
dish-grey. The nostrils are double, nearly on the same plane, and below the
median plane of the eye; the posterior is larger, and both are round.

The mouth is inferior, large, and opens on a line vertical with the middle of the
orbit; the upper lip is tolerably fleshy, and protractile; the lower is shorter
than the upper, and received within it. The tongue is broad, flat, thick, placed far
forward, rounded in front, with a very thin margin, and movable, as it has an exten-
sive fraenum. Both jaws are armed with a broad band of small, villiform, card-
like teeth ; but the upper has an additional external row of much larger teeth,
which are conical, sharp-pointed, and curved backwards at their tips ; they are
about sixteen in number, and those in front are largest. The middle pharyngeal
teeth are stout, rather short, conical, some with obtuse or rounded points, others
almost flat ; the marginal teeth of these bones are small and sharp-pointed.

The pre-opercle is rounded, and dentated at its angle, and finely serrated at its
ascending border, which is nearly vertical. The opercle is rather short, and termi-
nates posteriorly in two flat points. The gill-openings are large, and there are
seven branchial rays.

The dorsal fln begins in a line with the origin of the pectoral, and terminates
before the root of the caudal ; it has ten spines ; the anterior is very short, the
second, third, and fourth are longest, and all are partially received in a groove
formed of scales ; the soft portion has twenty-six rays. The pectoral is small,
narrow, with fourteen rays, and terminates in front of the ventral. The ventral
begins behind the root of the pectoral, extends farther back, and has five rays.
The anal fin is rather large, but does not reach as far back as the dorsal ; it has
two spines, the anterior exceedingly small and soft, the posterior large, long, and
strong, with eight soft rays, which are covered nearly half way with scales. The
caudal is large, nearly square, and has seventeen rays.

The lateral line is concurrent with the back, and is continued along tlie middle

COR VINA OCELLATA. 151

of the caudal; the tube in its scale bifurcates in front, and radiates behind.
The scales are very large, and are ciliated behind, and arranged in oblique
rows.

Colour. The Bass is of a beautiful silvery colour and iridescent when first
taken from the water, but soon becomes rather clouded along the back ; there
is a sub-round dark spot, margined with white or orange, at the superior part
of the base of the caudal fin ; sometimes there are several of these spots, as
many as four or five, disposed in a horizontal row, but the spot at the root of
the caudal is always present ; the dorsal in its anterior half is semi-transparent,
and made dusky by numerous minute dark points ; its posterior half is still darker ;
the superior half of the pectoral is white, the inferior is tinted with yellow or
orange ; the ventral is white below, with its second or third anterior rays pale orange
above ; the anal spine is white, and the four or five rays next it are yellowish.

Dimensions. There are three heads and a quarter from the opercle to the tip
of the tail ; its greatest elevation is equal to one head ; the Bass is sometimes
taken four feet in length.

Splanchnology, The liver is large, especially the transverse portion ; both lobes are of nearly the
same size in front, and full in the hypochondriac regions ; but the right extends twice as far back,
or about one half the abdomen. The gall-bladder is cylindrical, with very thin walls, and very long,
as it extends far behind the right lobe, even nearly to the vent. The stomach is long and large, sub-
oval when distended, with thin walls, and without folds in its mucous membrane; the pyloric portion
is exceedingly short ; it begins near the diaphragm, and has walls thicker than the stomach, and
arches forward to terminate in the duodenum ; there are eight ccecal appendages around the duo-
denum, all nearly of the same size at their roots, though they vary in length. The small intestine
is large, and has very thin walls ; it runs at first towards the diaphragm, then turns backwards for
about three fourths of the abdominal cavity, whence it returns to the root of the pylorus, to be again
reflected and terminate in the rectum. The spleen is large, sub-triquetrous, thickest in the middle,
and is placed between the stomach and the first portion of the small intestine as it runs backwards.
The air-bladder is long, large, full, rounded in front, pointed behind, and ends near the anal spine,
and has a small slender horn on each side, that begins near its anterior extremity, and extends be-
yond it, to be reflected on itself for a short distance. Behind this horn is a large lateral sac, placed

152 CORVINA OCELLATA.

in a deep depression between the four and five ribs that communicate with the general cavity by
three or four small and short tubes. The testicles, when empty, are slender, very long, and unite
far back into one. The urinary bladder is large, sub-pyriform, and placed rather on the left of the
mesial line.

Habits. The Bass appears with us early in March, and is then small, seldom
exceeding twelve or fourteen inches in length ; but as the season advances it is
caught of much greater dimensions, especially in November and December, when
it is most abundant and of largest size. It feeds on various other fish and on
crustaceous animals, as shrimps, &c., and it is taken with the hook, seine, or
spear ; it is held in much estimation as food, though I think its flesh wants
firmness and flavour.

Geographical Distribution. This fish inhabits the Atlantic waters from New
York to Cape Florida, and thence it ranges along the northern shores of the
Gulf of ]\Iexico, and is even found as far west, according to Lesueur, as Lake Pont-
chartrain, near New Orleans.

General Remarks. The Bass was first described by Linnseus, and from a
specimen furnished him by Dr. Garden ; he regarded it as a Perch, and applied to
it the specific name ocellata, from the black spot surrounded with a light ring on
the tail ; a name so appropriate that it has been preserved by all succeeding natu-
ralists. Lacepede alone described it under a different specific name, as the Lut-
jan triangle ; but then he was not aware that it was the same fish as his Centro-
pome oeille, or Perca ocellata of Linnasus, but he regarded it as an undescribed
species, and placed it in another genus ; and, by some mistake, he says he found it
among the drawings of Commerson, when in fact, according to Cuvier and ^Valen-
ciennes, his description was taken from a drawmg of Bosc, done in Carolina, and
from a young Bass.

LARIMUS FASCIATUS. 153

GENUS LARIMUS. — CwrnVr.

Characters. Snout very short and blunt ; pre-opercle with minute serratures ;
jaws armed Avith small, villiform teeth ; no barbels at the chin ; branchial rays
seven.

LARIMUS FASCIATUS. — Holbrook.

Plate XXII. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body above light grey; sides and belly silvery; sides
marked with vertical dusky bars ; snout very short and truncated. D. 10 - 1 - 24,
P. 12. V. 1-5; A. 2-6. C. 16.

Synonyme. Bull-head, Vulgo.

Description. This fish bears considerable resemblance to the Leiostomus ohli-
quus, though its back is less arched, and it is much thicker in the transverse direc-
tion. The head is small, and the snout short and truncated, though round ; it is
broad between the eyes, and is everywhere covered with scales, except along the
lower jaw. The eye is very large, prominent, near the facial outline, with its infe-
rior margin above the median plane of the head ; it is about half its diameter from
the snout, and two diameters from the posterior border of the opercle ; the pupil
is dusky, rather longest in the vertical direction ; the iris is pale silver-grey.
The nostrils are placed in a depression very near the eye; both are sub-oval,
though the anterior is rather smaller and more elevated.

The mouth is of moderate size, and opens downwards and backwards ; the
upper jaw is not protractile, or but slightly so ; and the lower is pointed in front,
though thick in the vertical direction, and appears, when the mouth is open, much
20

154 LARIMUS FASCIATUS.

longer than the upper, though in fact they are nearly of the same length when
the mouth is shut. Both jaws are armed with small, villiform teeth. The tongue
is very short, rounded in front, tolerably thick and smooth. The pre-opercle is
rounded at its angle, with its ascending border nearly perpendiciJar, and without
spines or serratures. The opercle is sub-rhomboidal, prolonged below, and with
its posterior margin ending in two flattened points, from which hangs a slight fold
of skin. The inter-opercle is thin, narrow, and semicircular. The gill-openings
are large ; there are seven branchial rays ; the superior are flat, and the inferior
small.

There are two dorsal flns ; the anterior begins behind the origin of the pectoral,
and has ten delicate spinous rays, the anterior minute ; they are partially received
in a groove ; the posterior dorsal has one spinous and twenty-four soft rays, nearly
of the same length, except the two or three last ; its membrane is covered for some
distance with minute scales, and the whole fin stands in a groove of scales. The
pectoral is broad, though pointed behind ; it arises rather before the fleshy tenni-
nation of the opercle, and has twelve rays. The ventral begins behind the root of
the pectoral fin, and extends nearly as far back ; it has one spinous and five soft
rays. The anal is short, and has two spines ; the anterior is minute, and the pos-
terior stout ; it has six soft rays. The caudal is short, but rather broad and
rounded behind, with sixteen rays.

The scales are nearly semicircular, straight before, rounded and finely ciliated be-
hind. The lateral line is placed at first about the upper third of the body, and is
concurrent with the outline of the back to the fourteenth ray of the soft dorsal,
when it descends to the median plane, and thus continues to the tip of the caudal
fin ; its scales are irregularly quadrilateral, straight before, with twelve radiating
strise, finely ciliated, and slightly cordate behind.

Colour. The superior part of the head is silver-grey, more or less clouded ; the
cheeks, lower jaw, opercle, and pre-opercle are silvery; the body above the lateral
line is pale silver-grey ; below it is silvery ; the sides are marked with seven ver-

LARIMUS FASCIATUS. 155

tical dusky bars, more or less distinct, and with margins more or less regular ;
these bars are most observable above the lateral line, though some of them descend
nearly to the belly; the spinous portion of the dorsal fin is transparent, with the
margin of its membrane a little clouded ; the soft portion is more or less clouded ;
the pectoral is semi-transparent ; its rays are of a light colour, and its membrane is
slightly clouded ; the ventral is clouded with dirty yellow at its anterior half, but
its two last rays are white ; the large spine of the anal is light-coloured ; its four
anterior soft rays are tinted witli yellow, and its two posterior are white ; the cau-
dal is semi-transparent, slightly dusky with faint tints of yellow near its tip.

Dimensions. Tlie head is less than one fourth of the entire length of the
animal ; the greatest elevation, without the dorsal fin, is equal to one head and a
half; total length, twelve inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is of a silvery colour. The liver is small, very pale, and consists
of two lobes, and a thin transverse or central portion ; of the two lobes, the left is rather the larger
and longer. The stomach is very small, scarcely an inch in length ; it is sub-conical in shape, pointed
behind, and has tolerably thick walls ; the pyloric portion is small, short, and branches off from the
stomach at its anterior fourth. The small intestine runs half way to the vent, and is then reflected
nearly to the pylorus, whence it turns backwards to end in the rectum. There are twelve small,
pointed coecal appendages. The spleen is long, slender, though thicker in its middle than at its
extremities. The air-bladder is very large, sub-pyriform, smallest and rather pointed behind.

Habits. The Larimus fasciatus, though a very rare fish, is sometimes found in
company with the OtoUthus regalis, and is caught with the same bait.

Geographical Distribution, This fish has as yet been observed only in the
waters of South Carolina.

General Remarks. This animal bears a great resemblance to the Larimus bre-
viceps of Cuvier and Valenciennes; but can always be distinguished from it by the
broad, dusky vertical bars on the sides.

156 HEMULON FULVO-MACULATUM.

HEMULON FULVO-MACULATUM. — MitcUll

Plate XXII. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body above pale brown ; belly silvery ; sides marked
with numerous orange-coloured or yellow spots, those above the lateral line dis-
posed in irregular oblique lines, those below it in horizontal rows ; dorsal, anal, and
caudal fins with similar spots; sides of the head pale bluish, with a silvery tint,
and marked with yellow spots ; lower jaw orange at the angle of the mouth ; in-
ternal surface of the gill-membrane bright orange. D. 11-15. P. 18. V.
1-5. A. 3-12. C. 17.

Synonymes. Labrus fulvo-maculatus, Milch., Lit. and Phil. Trans. N. Y., vol. i. p. 406.

Hemulon fulvo-maculatum, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 84, pi. 7, fig. 21.
Hemulon fulvo-maculatum, Storer, Synops., p. 76.
Sailor's Choice, Hog-fish, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish is elongated, compressed, thin, and almost
carinated at the back, which is much arched ; thicker and nearly straight at the
belly. The head is large, with the facial outline long and straight, or but slightly
incurved above the eyes. The eye is of moderate size, longest in the horizontal
direction, and is placed near the facial outline, with its inferior margin rather be-
low the superior third of the head ; it is nearly equidistant from the snout and
the posterior margin of the opercle ; the pupil is black, and the iris golden. The
posterior nostril is round and small; the anterior is oblong, much the larger,
and nearer to the orbit than to the snout ; both are on a line within the orbit.

The mouth is sub-compressed and small, the posterior extremity of the upper jaw
not reaching half way between the snout and nostrils. Both jaws are armed with
a group of minute, rasp-like teeth. The pharyngeal bones have similar teeth, but
slightly larger. The tongue is thin, flattened, sub-spatulate in form, and so short

FIXXU

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HEMULON FULVO-MACULATUM. 157

as to extend only half the length of the movith. The pre-opercle is very broad,
smooth, with its angle slightly rounded, and its ascending border as slightly in-
curved just above the angle. The opercle is short, with its posterior angle ob-
tuse, and has the sub-opercle intimately joined with it. The inter-opercle is semi-
circular, broad, with two facets above for the opercle and sub-opercle. The gUl-
openings are large ; there are seven branchial rays, with a loose fold of skin hang-
ing from them behind.

The dorsal fin is single and long ; its spinous portion begins rather before the
end of the opercle, and has twelve spines received in a groove ; its anterior spine
is short, and the third is longest ; the soft portion is elevated, with its base in
a groove of scales ; it has sixteen rays, of which the eleventh, twelfth, and
thirteenth are longest. The pectoral is rather long and broad, though pointed
behind ; it begins near the opercle, ends at the vent, and has sixteen rays, with a
fold of skin in the axilla above. The ventral arises behind the root of the pecto-
ral, and does not extend as far back ; it has one spinous and five soft rays. The
anal is large, and has three spines placed in a groove, of which the anterior is
smallest, and thirteen soft rays, situated in a groove, as in the dorsal. The cau-
dal is large, crescentic, and has sixteen rays.

The scales are thin, four-sided, with ten radiating striae, and a scalloped margin
in front ; round and finely ciliated behind. The lateral line follows nearly the
outline of the back to the posterior extremity of the dorsal fin, when it descends
to the median plane ; its scales are small, sub-round, ciliated behind, and with
their tube near the middle.

Colour. See Specific Characters,

Dimensions. The head is rather more than one fourth of the entire length of
the animal ; the greatest elevation of the body, without the dorsal fin, is equal to
one head and one fourth ; total length, eleven inches.

158 HEMULON FULVO-MACULATUM.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum lining the walls of the abdomen is very dusky. The liver consists
of two lobes united by a very thin transverse portion ; the right lobe is more than twice as thick in
front as the left, and extends about half the length of the abdomen ; the left lobe is slender, and
terminates in a point beyond the right. The stomach is long, narrow, cylindrical, and about three
fourths as long as the abdominal cavity; its walls are not very thick, and there are numerous
longitudinal folds on its mucous surface when it is undistended. The pyloric branch is very short,
and departs from the stomach near its anterior extremity ; there is a well-marked contraction at
the pylorus. The small intestine runs half way to the vent, and is there reflected to the pylorus,
whence it turns backwards to end in the rectum ; which is long, though less capacious, and
with thicker walls ; the rectal valve is tolerably well marked. The inner face of the small intes-
tine is beautifully reticulated in its whole extent; the same is true of the rectum, yet less evident-
ly. There are six coecal appendages, delicate and long ; some of them are more than two inches
in length. The spleen is long, narrow, flattened, though thick in the middle and thin at its extremi-
ties ; it is of a very dark colour. The testicles are thin and sub-prismatic in form, resting on the
air-bladder, and when empty extend half the length of the abdomen. The air-bladder is large,
with tolerably thick walls, and extends the entire length of the abdomen ; it is pointed behind, but
broad before, and from its anterior extremity proceed forwards three slender horns, each about
half an inch long, though the central one may be slightly the longest. The kidney is large and
thick, but short ; the urinary bladder is large.

Habits. The Sailo/s Choice makes its appearance in our waters about the
month of April, and continues with us until November, when the largest are
taken. I have found in the stomach of this animal only the fragments of small-
er fish, and yet it takes the hook readily when baited with shrimps or clams.

Geographical Distribution. The Hemulon fulvo-maculahim is found along
the coast from Georgia to Virginia, where it is called Hog-Fish, and is held in
great estimation by epicures.

General Remarks. This animal was first made known to naturalists by Dr.
Mitchill.

LOBOTES SURINAMENSIS. 159

GENUS LOBOTES. — Cuvier.

Characters. Snout short, profile incurved, lower jaw prolonged, with several
groups of minute pores near its extremity ; pre-opercle with strong serratures ;
dorsal and anal fins prolonged, and rounded behind; dorsal spines partially
received in a furrow ; branchial rays six.

LOBOTES SURINAMENSIS. — Block.

Plate XXIII. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Head short, profile incurved ; pre-opercle strongly
serrated, almost spinous at its angle ; body elliptical, compressed, elevated, dusky
or black above, with shades of yellow; dark silver-grey below. D. 12-16.
P. 15. V. 1-5. A. 3-12. C. 17.

Synonymes. Holocentrus Surinamensis, Block, Ichth., pars vii. p. 78, pi. 243.

Bodianus triurus, Milch., Lit. and Phil. Trans. N. Y., vol. i. p. 418, pi. 3, fig. 10.
Lobotes Surinamensis, Cuv. el Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 319.
Lobotes Surinamensis, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 88, pi. 18, fig. 49.
Lobotes Surinamensis, Storer, Synops., p. 78. ;
Black Perch, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish is sub-oval, elevated, compressed, a little
thicker at the belly than along the margin of the back. The head is rather short
and compressed, the snout rounded, and the profile incurved. The eye is of
moderate size, the pupil is black, and the iris grey, intermixed with yellow ; it is
placed about its diameter from the snout, and four diameters and a quarter from
the posterior angle of the opercle, with its inferior margin near the superior third
of the head. The nostrils are near together ; the posterior is rather the larger,

160 LOBOTES SURINAMENSIS.

sub-round, and situated on a plane above the orbit, and behind its anterior border ;
the anterior is round, nearer the mesial line, and is vertical with the front of the
orbit. The mouth is of moderate size ; the lips are tolerably thick and fleshy, and
the upper is very protractile; the lower jaw projects considerably beyond the
upper, and both are armed with several series of villiform teeth, and with an ex-
ternal row of conical, pointed teeth of much larger size, and directed backwards ;
of these there are about thirty in the upper, and thirty-four in the lower jaw.
The vomer and palatine bones are smooth and unarmed. The tongue is large,
broad, thick, flat, fleshy, and tolerably free and rounded in front. There are six
branchial rays, the inferior of which is small.

The pre-opercle is round at its angle, the ascending border nearly perpendicular,
and with serratures so strongly marked below as to resemble spines. The opercle
is rather large, and terminates posteriorly in two broad points, not readily seen in
the recent specimen, as they are concealed by a loose fold of skin. The inter-
opercle is broad, and covered with a row of eleven scales, which are not ciliated
behind. The snout and lips are smooth, but the head above the nostrils is covered
with small scales, and the opercle and pre-opercle with larger ones, those of the
former being largest of all, though less in size than the scales of the body.

The dorsal fin is single, large and long; the anterior portion has twelve spines,
the first of which is short ; all are flattened at the sides, convex before and concave
behind ; and each has one.flftli of its latero-anterior border covered with a row of
scales, though the membrane that unites them is smooth ; these spines are all
partially received in a furrow. The posterior portion has sixteen rays, rather stout
at their roots, but they soon subdivide, and are partially covered with scales, as is
their connecting membrane ; of these rays, the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth
are so prolonged as to make the posterior extremity of the fin round. The
pectoral fin is small, short, rather broad, rounded behind, and extends to the poste-
rior third of the ventral ; it has fifteen rays that are covered with minute scales
for about one third of their length. The ventral arises a little behind the base of
the pectoral, terminates at the root of the ninth dorsal spine, and has one long,

LOBOTES SURINAMENSIS. 161

stout spine and five soft rays. The anal fin is long, with three large spines ; the
anterior is short, and all are slightly convex before, and compressed laterally, and
more or less received in a groove when the fin is closed ; it has twelve soft rays,
covered with scales, as well as the membrane that unites them ; the sixth, seventh,
eighth, and ninth rays are prolonged, as in the dorsal fin. The caudal is short
but strong, with seventeen large rays, Avhich soon subdivide, and are covered
with scales nearly to their extremity.

The scales are large, sub-round, ciliated behind ; there are fifty-two in the length
and twenty-five in the elevation of the body. The supra-scapular is large and
serrated, as is also the humeral. The lateral line at first runs nearly parallel with
the arch of the back, though a little more convex in front, and a little more
depressed opposite the soft portion of the dorsal fin.

Colour. This fish when first taken from the water is light silver-grey, but it
soon becomes darker, and almost black above ; the lower jaw and cheeks near the
eyes are strongly tinted with yellow, and occasional blotches of a similar tint are
seen along the back and shoulders ; the spinous portion of the dorsal fin is olive,
more or less clouded, and interspersed with yellowish shades, and dusky near
its border; the lower half of the soft portion is clouded olive, with mdistinct
shades of yellow ; its upper half and margin are nearly black ; the pectoral fin is
semi-transparent, with a slight yellow shade ; the ventral is white, with dusky
shades, and here and there yellow tints ; the anal is coloured like the dorsal ; and
so is the caudal, but the latter is darker and without yellow tints.

Dimensions. The head is one fourth the entire length ; the greatest ele-
vation without the dorsal fin is equal to one head and a half ; total length, six-
teen inches.

Splanchnology. The liver is large, and the central portion thin ; the left lobe is long and slender,
its anterior margin is sharp, with a deep fissure ; the right lobe is the shorter, with its anterior border
rounded. The gall-bladder is long, very narrow, and rests on the right lobe. The cystic duct is

21

162 LOBOTES SURINAMENSIS.

long, and receives several hepatic ducts before it empties into the intestine. The stomach is
oblong, large, extending through three fourths of the abdominal cavity ; its pyloric portion is very
short and thick, with the pyloric contraction evident from without. There are four large, but very
short, ctEcal appendages. The small intestine at first runs towards the diaphragm, and thence to the
posterior extremity of the stomach, whence it returns to the pylorus, to be again reflected, and ter-
minate in the large intestine, after making a short convolution behind the stomach. The spleen is
very large, almost round, and of a dark colour. The air-bladder is large, oblong, with its walls
very thick below and thin above. The kidneys are large before, smaller behind, and the ureters
open into a large bladder.

Habits. This fish appears in the waters near Charleston in June, and remains
with us until September; its food would seem to be various species of smaller
fish, though portions of shells are sometimes found in its stomach, and it takes the
hook readily, when baited either with clams or shrimps.

Geographical Distribution. The Black Perch inhabits the Atlantic coast of
the United States, from New York to Florida.

General Eemarks. This fish bears so close a resemblance to the Lohotes
somnolentus of Cuvier and Valenciennes, as at first sight to lead one to regard it as
that species ; but a more minute examination proves it to be a difiierent animal,
the Lohotes Surinamensis of Bloch. These two species, although they are closely
allied and nearly alike in form, can yet be easily distinguished from each other : —
in the former, the serratures at the pre-opercle are strong and sepai'ated, those at
the angle are large, with their apices truncated, and the truncated margins are
serrated ; in the latter, the serratures of the pre-opercle are pointed, and those
at its angle are so long as to resemble spines ; — in the former, the scales of the
lateral line have many arborescent tubes ; in the latter, the tube is large and
single, or only bifurcates at the posterior fourth of the scale.

The Black Perch was first described by Bloch, in his great work on Ichthyology,
from a specimen taken at Surinam, and it needs but a glance at his figure to be
convinced of the identity of his animal with ours, though the profile is not quite

LOBOTES SURINAMENSIS. 163

SO much incurved, and the colour is different, as it was done from a preserved
specimen.

Dr. Mitchill's account of this fish was derived from a recent specimen caught
in the harbour of New York, and it agrees well enough with the Lobotes
Surinamensis, especially as regards the pre-opercle, which he says is " strongly
aculeated, almost spinous." Yet he gives only eleven spines to the dorsal fin,
and does not speak of the incurved profile, though it is slightly represented
in his figure. He considered it an undescribed Bodianus, and applied to it the
specific name triurus, from the form of the prolonged and rounded dorsal and
anal fins, which, with the caudal, have, he says, " somewhat the appearance of
three tails."

Dr. DeKay's description of the Lobotes Surinamensis agrees in the main with
that of Dr. Mitchill, though it is more minute and extended. He gives twelve
spines to the anterior dorsal, which is the exact number, and speaks of the " nape
as rather prominent and somewhat concave behind the eyes," though this is not
represented in his figure. In fact, neither Dr. Mitchill's nor Dr. DeKay's plates
can be considered as good representations of this fish, as it appears in our waters,
for in Dr. Mitchill's the profile is but slightly incurved, while in Dr. DeKay's it is
straight, and both represent the anterior portion of the dorsal fin as nearly of the
same elevation throughout its whole extent. If these characters and forms be
constant, and are truly represented in their plates, then it is possible that their
drawings may have been done from a fish dift'erent from ours, for which must be
retained the specific name triurus of Dr. Mitchill, though I think it is most likely
their draughtsmen were at fault.

164 LEIOSTOMUS OBLIQUUS.

GENUS LEIOSTOMUS. — irtce^^e^e.

Characters. Snout convex, arched; pre-opercle smooth, or without serra-
tures ; inter-maxillary teeth minute ; posterior pharyngeal teeth paved ; two
dorsal fins ; anal spines minute ; scales ciliated ; branchial rays seven.

Remarks. This genus was established by Lacepede to receive at first a single
species found by Bosc in Carolina, and he applied to it the name Leiostomus,*
from an erroneous opinion that the mouth was without teeth. Cuvier adopted the
genus, though he adds to it three new characters : " minute denticulations at the
pre-opercle ; posterior pharj-ngeals paved ; and an air-bladder, with slender cornua,
as in Otolithus."

LEIOSTOMUS OBLIQUUS. — Mitchill

Plate XXIV. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Body above lightest silver-grey, with a golden tint;
fourteen or more dusky bars descend obliquely on the sides from the margin of
the back, and disappear below the lateral line ; a sub-oval black spot behind the
opercle, above the pectoral fin; sides and belly yellow. D. 10-1-30. P. 18.
V. 1-5. A. 2-12. C. 18.

SrNONYMES. Mugil obliquus, Mitch., Report in part, p. 16.

Labrus obliquus, Milch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 405.
Sciaena multifasciata, Lesueur, Mem. Acad. Nat. Scien. Phil., vol. ii. p. 225.
Leiostomus humeralis, Cuv. et Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., tom. v. p. 141, pi. 116.
Leiostomus obliquus, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 69, pi. 60, fig. 195.
Leiostomus obliquus, Slorer, Synops., p. 69.
Chub, Vulgo.

• From Xfiof, smooth, and (rrofia, mouth.

LEIOSTOMUS OBLIQUUS. 165 '

Description. The shape of the Chub is sub-oval, compressed, gibbous or much
arched above, and nearly straight below. The head is large, compressed at the
sides, full, rounded above and in front, and covered with scales. The eye is very
large, and placed about its diameter from the snout, and two diameters from the
posterior angle of the opercle, with its inferior border near the median plane of the
head ; the pupil is dusky, the iris golden, intennixed with grey. The nostrils are
near together ; the posterior, which is rather the larger, is oval, very near the orbit,
and extends obliquely downward and forward, to its inferior plane ; the anterior is
placed a little loAver down.

The mouth is inferior, small, scarcely opening to the orbit, and has tolerably
thick lips ; the lower is shorter, and received within the upper. The upper
jaw is protractile, and has several series of closely-set, minute, conical teeth ;
while the lower is smooth, unarmed, and received within the upper. The tongue
is small, narrow, smooth, round before, and but slightly movable. The anterior
pharyngeal bones are armed with numerous conical, pointed, card-like teeth ; the
posterior are furnished on their outer half with similar teeth, though rather
longer; but their internal half is covered with short, broad teeth, rounded at
their surfaces, and arranged like paving-stones. The pre-opercle is rounded at
its angle, with its ascending border smooth or without serratures, and directed a
little forward. The opercle ends behind in an obtuse angle. The gill-openings
are of very moderate size ; there are seven branchial rays.

There are two dorsal fins, though they are connected by a membrane slightly
elevated ; the anterior has ten delicate spinous rays, the first very short, the fourth
and fifth longest ; these are partially received in a groove ; the posterior has one
short spine and thirty soft rays, connected by a semi-transparent membrane, and
covered with scales at their roots. The pectoral fin is broad at its origin, but
terminates in a point anterior to the vent, and has eighteen rays, with a fold of skin
in the axilla above. The ventral is short ; it begins behind the root of the pec-
toral fin, and terminates before it in a short, delicate filament, and has five rays.
The anal fin arises opposite the tenth dorsal soft ray, and has two spines, the

166 LEIOSTOMUS OBLIQUUS.

anterior very minute, and twelve soft rays, the first and second longest. The
caudal is short, broad, slightly lunated, and has eighteen rays covered with small
scales for half their extent.

The scales are nearly quadrilateral, a little rounded posteriorly, though they are
so disposed on the body as to appear sub-rhomboidal. The lateral line follows
nearly the arch of the back to the anterior fourth of the second dorsal fin, whence
it descends to the middle, and is thus continued.

Colour. The head is dusky above ; the cheeks are yellowish, with exceedingly
minute dusky points ; the body is of the lightest silver-grey, with a golden tint
along the back ; the sides and belly are yellow ; fourteen or more dusky bars
descend obliquely forwards from above, and become effaced on the sides below the
lateral Ime ; a sub-round dark spot behind the opercle and above the pectoral fin
is always present ; the anterior portion of the dorsal is transparent, with numerous
minute dusky points ; the soft portion is nearly the same, but with the spots
arranged below in lines more or less distinct ; the pectoral fin is transparent, with
minute dusky spots only on its posterior part ; the ventral is yellow before and
white behind ; the anal fin has its posterior half perfectly transparent or white,
but in front it is semi-transparent, tinted with yellow, and marked with dusky
points ; the caudal fin is dusky at its root, with a yellow tint on its posteri-
or half.

Dimensions. The length, from the opercle to the tip of the tail, is rather more
than three heads. The greatest elevation is equal to seven eighths of a head,
excluding the dorsal fin, and one head and a half with it.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is very duslcy within, and silvery without. The liver is large, the
central portion thin ; the left lobe is thick, and extends through three fourths of the abdominal cavity ;
the right is also thick, but not more than half as long, and both are marked with fissures. The gall-
bladder is large, conical, and very long, as it extends to the vent ; its greater portion is behind the
right lobe of the liver, and a small part only is lodged on its superior face. The stomach is an
elongated, conical sac, smaller than the ossophagus, resembling one of the ccBcal appendages, but

LEIOSTOMUS OBLIQUUS. 167

of larger size. The pyloric portion is even larger than the stomach itself, from which it departs at a
right angle. There are eight ccecal appendages, not as large, but about as long, as the stomach.
The small intestine runs nearly to the vent ; it then returns to the ccEcal appendages, whence it is
reflected backwards to terminate in the rectum, with a very distinct valve. The spleen is dark
purple in colour, and of small size ; its posterior extremity being on a line with the rectal valve.
The testes are oblong, narrow, extend about half the length of the abdomen, and unite far behind
into one. The air-bladder is small, narrow, lanceolate, and extends throughout the whole length of
the abdominal cavity. The kidneys are small and narrow ; there is no urinary bladder.

Habits. This fish appears on our shores in April, and remains until Decem-
ber, and still later in mild seasons. It feeds on smaller fish, and various other
marine animals, as fragments of shells are frequently found in its stomach. Great
numbers are brought to our market during the summer months, though its flesh
has but little flavour ; yet in New York, where its food may be of a better quality
or more abundant, it is held in good estimation.

Geographical Distribution. The Leiostomus obliquus is known to inhabit the
Atlantic coast from Cape Florida to Rhode Island, but I have no evidence of its
existence beyond these limits, either north or south.

General Remarks. Dr. INIitchill, who first described this fish, considered it a
mullet (3Iu(fil obliquus) ; but he afterwards changed this opinion, and placed
it in the genus Labrus, retaining, however, his specific name obliqmis, from its
dusky bars. Cuvier and Valenciennes arranged it in the genus Leiostomus,
Avith the specific name humeralis, from the oval dusky spot on the shoulder,
though they were aware of that previously applied to it by MitchUl ; Dr. DeKay
has, however, restored his prior and appropriate specific name.

168 HOMOPRION LANCEOLATUS.

GENUS HOMOPRION.* — Hb/6rooA-.

Characters. Small, villifoiin, card-like teeth in both jaws ; upper jaw with
an external row of larger, conical and pointed teeth; pharyngeal teeth not
paved; preopercle with large, radiating serratures. or spines at its angle; bran-
chial rays seven.

HOMOPEION LANCEOLATUS. — Holbrook.

Plate XXIII. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Tail lanceolate ; body above silvery, with a pale bluish
tint ; a series of dark spots along the back, near the root of the dorsal fin ; tail
yellow. D. 11-1-21. P. 16. V. 1 - 5. A. 2 - 7. C. 16.

Synonymes.

Description. The head is large, broad above, and the snout is very full and
rounded. The eye is of moderate size, and is placed one diameter of the orbit
from the snout, and two diameters and a quarter from the posterior border of the
opercle, with its inferior margin about the median plane of the head. The nostrils
are closely approximated, and very near the orbit ; the posterior and larger is sub-
oval, the anterior is round, and in a line with the border of the orbit, and on a
plane with the superior margin of the eye.

The mouth opens downwards and backwards, and is large, though the posterior
extremity of the upper jaw extends only to the middle of the orbit. The upper
jaw is armed with a row of rather stout, conical, recurved teeth, and within this
are numerous small, card-like teeth ; the lower jaw has one group of small, card-

* From ojios, similis, and npiav, serra.

T^.xxm

& Cos Steam St/t/Trai ralaS"

170 HOMOPRION XANTHUUUS.

the air-bladder, and extends nearly as far back as the left lobe. The stomach is rather large, sub-
conical, and pointed behind ; its pyloric branch arises near the anterior extremity, and has a well-
marked valve. The small intestine proceeds half the length of the abdomen, whence it is reflect-
ed forwards for a short distance, and then returns to end in the rectum ; which is less capacious,
but has thicker walls. The ovaries are large, oblong, and unite together far forward.

Habits. We know nothing of the habits of this fish, except that it is always
found in very deep water.

Geographical Distribution. The Homoprion lanceolatum has been hitherto
observed only at the entrance of Port Royal Sound.

HOMOPRION XANTHURUS. — Ladpede.

Plate XXIV. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body above palest golden-brown ; below silvery-white,
without spots or bars ; tail yellow. D. 11 - 1 - 32. P. 21. V. 1 - 5. A. 2 - 13.
C. 17.

Synonymes. Leiostomus xanthurus, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 439, pi. 10, fig. 1.
Leiostomus xanthurus, Cuv. el Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 142.
Leiostomus xanthurus, DeKay, Zocil. N. Y., part iv. p. 70.
Leiostomus xanthurus, Slorer, Synops., p. 69.
Yellow-tail, Vulgo.

Description. The body is ovoid, elongated, and compressed, but much less
arched at the back than in Leiostomus obliquus ; it is straighter near the belly, and
a transverse section is regularly oval. The head is of moderate size, and is covered
with scales to the lips, which are exceedingly thin ; the snout is rounded and full.
The eye is large, longest horizontally, and placed near the facial outline, and
about its diameter from the tip of the snout, and two diameters from the posterior
border of the opercle ; the pupil is dark, and the iris golden, with dusky blotches ;

Fi.r^/K

1^

S^

'^,

r.SStwtU&C^ySr^^atnlUh Pr&s.Ffuhd'^

HOMOPRION XANTHURUS. 171

the nostrils are near together ; the posterior and slightly larger is oval in shape,
and very near the eye ; the anterior is round.

The mouth is of moderate size, the upper jaw extending to the middle of the
orbit ; the lower is shorter than the upper jaw, and both are armed with two or
three series of small, pointed, recurved, card-like teeth, with an outer row of larger,
conical, pointed teeth, about fifteen in number ; the largest teeth of this row are
in front. The tongue is rather thick, narrow, and round in front. The pharyngeal
bones are armed with numerous villiform and pointed teeth. The pre-opercle is
slightly rounded at its angle, with its ascending border directed rather back-
ward and finely serrated above, but it has large and radiating serratures at its an-
gle. The opercle is emarginate behind, and terminates in two flat points, from
wliich a fleshy fold is extended. The inter-opercle is short, broad, and semi-
circular. The gill-openings are large ; there are seven branchial rays.

There are two dorsal fins, contiguous, and of considerable elevation ; the ante-
rior begins behind the root of the pectoral, and has eleven spines partially received
in a groove ; the posterior has one spine and twenty-one soft rays, standing in a
groove, and partially covered near their roots with minute scales. The pectoral
begins near the opercle, is short, and has fourteen rays. The ventral is rather
large ; it arises behind the root of the pectoral, and extends beyond it, and has
one spinous and five soft rays. The anal is large, and begins on a line with the
middle of the posterior dorsal fin, and terminates with it behind ; it has two spines,
the first short, and the second long and very stout ; it has nine soft rays, the
three or four last very short. The caudal is full, entire, or slightly longest in
the middle, with minute scales on its membrane ; it has seventeen rays.

The scales are nearly semicircular, straight before, with fifteen radiating striae,
slightly undulating in their course ; round and finely ciliated behind. The lateral
line is at first concurrent with the outline of the back, and runs about the superior
third of the body, to the middle of the soft dorsal, when it descends to the median
plane, and thus continues to the tip of the tail ; its scale is sub-quadrilateral,
rounded behind, where it is ciliated and very slightly emarginate.

172 HOMOPRION XANTHURUS.

Colour. The head and the body above the lateral line are of a pale golden-
brown ; the cheeks, opercle, and body below the lateral line are silvery ; the dorsal
spines are white where they are covered with skin ; the membrane uniting them is
transparent, but has numerous dusky points in different places ; the second dorsal
is semi-transparent; the ventral is pale yellow in front, with its posterior half
white ; the pectoral is transparent ; the anal spines are white ; the anterior half
of the fin is yellow, with a few black dots ; its posterior is transparent and white ;
the caudal is yellow.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the opercle to the tip of the caudal fin,
is equal to three heads and one eighth, and the greatest elevation without the
dorsal to one head; total length, ten inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is of a silvery colour. The liver is large, and of a pale colour ; it
has two lobes, and a thin, flattened, narrow, transverse portion ; the right and left lobes are nearly
of the same size ; the latter is rather the longer ; both are flattened, narrow, with a sharp margin
behind, and both project into the hypochondria along the horns of the air-bladder. The gall-blad-
der is small, sub-oval, and is in part lodged in a depression near the posterior part of the right lobe,
though most of it is found behind the lobe. The stomach is very large, oblong, and extends to the
posterior fourth of the abdominal cavity ; its walls are tolerably thick, but not firm. The pyloric
branch goes off very near the diaphragm, and is not half an inch long ; the contraction at the
pylorus is well marked externally. The small intestine is capacious, and runs backwards half the
length of the abdomen, and is then reflected forwards nearly to the middle of the stomach, whence
it turns backwards to end in the rectum, which is small. There are eight delicate, slender ccEcal
appendages, pointed at their tips, and of unequal length, varying from three lines to half an inch.
The spleen is long and very slender. The air-bladder is large, and extends the entire length of the
abdomen ; it is pointed behind, and is so contracted in front as to appear almost double ; from the
anterior part goes off" on each side a short, conical, capacious horn, towards the occipital bone ;
the walls are very thick, and the inner face has a satin-like whiteness, without any appearance of
glandular masses. The kidney is long and narrow ; there is no urinary bladder.

Habits. The habits of the Yellow-tail are very similar to those of the
Leiostomus ohliquus ; it is found in the same waters, and is taken with the
same bait.

0 irrCy^

/ ^

rurv

^

^

PS'-D, wain- Cos StJUwi UiA.Presj,PAu.'f

SERRANUS NIGRITUS. 173

Geographical Distribution. This fish is found along the coast, from Cape
Hatteras to Florida; its extreme northern limit remains yet to be deter-
mined.

General Remarks. The Yellow-tail of Carolina is certainly the fish for
which Lacepede established his genus Leiostomus, supposing it to be with-
out teeth. His description was taken, according to Cuvier and Valenciennes,
from notes and a drawing furnished him by Bosc. I have removed it from
the genus Leiostomus because its jaws are not smooth, but are well armed with
teeth; its pharyngeal teeth are not paved; its pre-opercle is not smooth, but
strongly serrated at its angle ; and its anal spine is of great size.

SEREANUS * NIGRITUS. — Holbrook.

Plate XXV. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Bluish-black above, vidth a few light-coloured spots ;
belly obscure white, with a bluish tint. D. 10-1-15, P. 18, V. 1-5.
A. 3-10. C. 18.

Synonyme. Black Grouper, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish is an elongated oval ; it is thickest along
the median plane, and thinner at the dorsal than at the ventral outline. The
head is very large, and the snout rounded. The eyes are of moderate size, very
near the facial outline, and about two diameters of the orbit from the snout, and
three diameters from the spine of the opercle. The anterior nostril is the smaller ;
both are round, and on a line withm the orbit, and on a plane near its superior
third.

• Family Percidffi.

174 SERRANUS NIGRITUS.

The mouth is very large ; the lips, and especially the lower, is fleshy and thick ;
the inferior jaw is the longer, and makes a part of the facial outline when the
mouth is closed. The upper jaw is armed with a broad group of conical, pointed,
recurved teeth, those in front being the longest ; on the outside of this group is a
single row of larger teeth of the same form, but less recurved at their points ; in
front are four strong, stout, canine teeth. The lower jaw is armed like the upper,
but it wants the outer larger row of teeth. The vomer has an angular patch,
and the palate-bones have an oblong group of similar conical, pointed, recurved
teeth. The pharyngeal bones are furnished with teeth similar in form and size
to the smaller teeth of the upper jaw.

The pre-opercle is rounded slightly at its angle, and has its ascending border
directed rather forwards ; its angle and its border for some distance are serrated.
The opercle is large, and terminates behind in three naked spines, from which a
pointed fold of skin is continued backwards. The sub-opercle is intimately joined
to the opercle. The inter-opercle is broad, and semicircular. The head above from
the posterior margin of the orbits is smooth ; the cheeks, jaws, and pre-opercle are
covered with small scales, and the opercle with scales of larger size. The gill-
openings are very large ; there are seven branchial rays.

The dorsal fin begins in front of the termination of the opercle, and has ten
spines, the anterior short, and fifteen branched rays. The pectoral is broad, and
rounded ; it begins nearly with the dorsal, and has eighteen rays. The ventral
arises with the pectoral, but is shorter, and has one spine and five soft rays, the
internal of which is joined to the belly. The anal has three spines, the ante-
rior very short, and ten soft rays. The caudal is broad and rounded,* and has
eighteen rays.

The scales are very small, closely adherent, quadrilateral, longest in the hori-
zontal direction, and rounded and ciliated behind. The lateral line is concurrent

* It so appeared in the only specimen that I ever saw, wliich was somewhat mutilated.

PAGRUS ARGYROPS. 175

with the dorsal outline, and runs above the middle third of the body ; its scale
is larger before, and is irregularly pointed behind ; its duct is large and near the
middle.

Colour. See Specific Characters for colour.

Dimensions. The length from the opercle to the tip of the tail is equal to two
heads and a half; the elevation opposite the pectoral, without the dorsal fin, is
one head ; total length, two feet.

Habits. This animal is so seldom seen on our shores, that nothing can as yet
be said of its habits.

Geographical Distribution. The Black Grouper has been observed, as far
as I know, only in the waters of South Carolina.

GENUS PAGRUS.* — OM^/er.

Characters. Both jaws armed at their anterior part with four or six stout,
conical incisor teeth, and with a double series of rounded molar teeth. Dorsal
fin single. Branchial rays six.

PAGRUS ARGYROPS. — Linnceus.

Plate XXV. Fig. 1,

Specific Characters. Body much compressed, arched or gibbous above ; the
second and third dorsal rays prolonged ; colour silvery below ; iridescent, and

* Family Sparidse.

176 PAGRUS ARGYROPS.

often with a greenish or bluish tint above. D. 13-12. P. 16. V. 1-5.
A. 3-12. C. 17.

Stnonymes. Sparus argyrops, Lin., Sys. Nat., torn. i. p. 471.

Sparus argyrops, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1277.

Sparus , Poki, or Porgee, Schoepff, Schrift. der Gesells. Nat. Freund., b. viii. st. ii.

p. 153.
Sparus xanthurus, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. iv. p. 120.
Sparus argyrops, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. iv. p. 426.

Labrus versicolor, Milch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 404, pi. 3, fig. 7.
Pagrus argyrops, Cm. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. vi. p. 164.
Pagrus argyrops, Slorer, Report, &c., p. 38.

Pagrus argyrops, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 95, pi. 9, fig. 25.
Pagrus argyrops, Ayers, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. iv. p. 260.
Pagrus argyrops, Slorer, Synops., p. 82.
Porgy, Vulgo.

Description. The form of this fish witliout the tail is nearly oval ; much
compressed and arched or gibbous along the dorsal outline, and thin or almost
carinate in front of the dorsal fin ; thicker and nearly straight at the belly. The
head is short, but much elevated, and the facial outline slopes gradually to the
snout, being only a little prominent at the orbits, where it is broadest ; and the
snout is very narrow, and long. The eye is large, near the facial outline; and is
one diameter and a quarter of the orbit from the posterior margin of the opercle,
two diameters from the snout, and two diameters from the angle of the pre-opercle.
The nostrils are approximated and very near the orbit, and rather below its median
plane ; the posterior and much the larger is elliptical in form, the anterior is round.

The mouth is small, the posterior extremity of the upper jaw not reaching to
the anterior nostril ; the lips are tolerably thick, and the upper is very protrac-
tile ; both jaws are armed with six incisor teeth, large, slightly compressed in
the antero-posterior direction, and of these teeth the four internal are truncated ;
behind the incisors is a group of minute teeth. Each jaw has two rows of molar
teeth, with their tips rounded or flattened ; the teeth of the inner row are largest.

PAGRUS ARGYROPS. 177

The pharyngeal bones are thickly studded with slender, conical, pointed, and
recurved, card-like teeth. The pre-opercle is round at its angle, and crenated, or
with radiating depressions and elevations, but is not serrated. The opercle is
elevated, but narrow in the longitudinal direction, and terminates behind in an
obtuse angle. The sub-opercle is oblong, and narrow. The inter-opercle is
rounded below, and very broad. The whole head is naked above ; but the cheeks
nearly to the commissure of the mouth, and the sides of the head, are covered with
scales.

There is a single dorsal fin, placed in a groove of scales, and preceded by a short,
recumbent spine ; it begins nearly with the origin of the pectoral, and has thirteen
spines and twelve branched rays ; of the spines the anterior is short, the second
and third are very long, and are still further prolonged by filaments, which are,
however, so fragile, as to be seldom seen except in fish recently caught. The pec-
toral is narrow, long, terminates behind the beginning of the anal, and has sixteen
rays, with a supplementary scale above, which is half as long as the fin. The ven-
tral begins behind the origin of the pectoral, and terminates at the root of the anal ;
it has one spine and five soft rays, the first and second slightly prolonged. The anal
arises rather behind the root of the first dorsal soft ray, and has three spines received
in a groove of scales ; the first spine is short, the second and third are long ; it
has twelve soft rays. The caudal is rather large, forked, and has seventeen rays.

The lateral line follows nearly the dorsal outline, and is above the middle third
of the body ; its scale is longest vertically, and has a short, large tube near its
middle.

Colour. See Specific Characters for colour.

Dimensions. The length, from the opercle to the tip of the caudal fin, is equal
to three heads ; the greatest elevation without the dorsal fin, to one head and a
half; total length, fourteen inches.
23

178 PAGRUS ARGYROPS.

Splanchnology. The liver is large, and consists of two lobes, with a transverse portion ; the left
lobe is long, reaching nearly to the vent ; the right lobe, and the central or transverse portion, are
about half as long. The gall-bladder is an elongated cone, and extends nearly as far back as the left
lobe. The stomach is long, broad, conical ; its pyloric branch arises far forwards, and is thick and
stout. The small intestine runs nearly to the vent, and is then reflected forwards to the pylorus,
whence it returns to end in the rectum, which is more capacious, and has much thicker walls.
There are four stout, but rather short, coecal appendages, and the intestine is somewhat dilated after
their entrance. The air-bladder is large, oblong, and extends throughout the abdomen ; from each
anterior corner arises a horn, that runs upwards, outwards, and then backwards on the outer sur-
face of several of the anterior ribs. There is no urinary bladder.

Habits. The Porgy prefers deep and clear Avaters, with rocky bottoms,
though it is often found in waters of a very diiferent character ; it feeds on
various kinds of shell-fish, and parts of smaller fish are also not unfrequently
found in its stomach.

Geographical Distribution. The Porgy is found along our coast at all
seasons of the year, though it is most abundant in June and July ; its southern
limit on the Atlantic border is Cape Florida, and its northern is in the neigh-
bourhood of Cape Cod, it being very abundant in the Vineyard Sound. Dr. Storer
says, attempts have been made to introduce this animal into Massachusetts Bay,
near Boston, but with little success. But it is possible that it may in time become
accustomed to those waters ; for he observes, — " Within a few years small num-
bers have appeared north of the Cape, and are now yearly captured at Wellfleet
and Sandwich."

General Remarks. This animal was first described by Linnaeus as the Sparus
argyrops, and his specific name has been retained by all the best ichthyologists
since his time.

ELOPS SAURUS. 179

FAMILY ELOPID^.— Valenciennes.

Characters. A sub-lingual bone, as in Amia, placed between the branches of
the inferior maxillary ; branchial rays very numerous ; inter-maxillaries small ;
superior maxillaries long and free ; minute teeth on the inter-maxillary, maxillary,
palate, pterygoid, vomer, sphenoid, hyoid, and pharyngeal bones ; ccecal appenda-
ges numerous ; air-bladder large, and communicating with the stomach. This
family was established by Valenciennes, and embraces at this time but two genera,
Elops and Megalops.

GENUS ELOPS. — Linnceus.

Characters. Head covered with a thick skin, without scales ; a double
nictitating membrane descending over the cheeks; body elongated, sub-round;
dorsal fin nearly in the middle, -with its last ray prolonged ; dorsal and anal fins
covered with scales at their base ; caudal deeply forked, and with a large scale or
spine both above and below its root ; branchial rays thirty.

ELOPS SAURUS. — Linnceus.

Plate XXn. Fig. 2.

Specific Characters. Body elongated, sub-cylmdrical, compressed towards
the tail, palest blue above, silvery at the sides and belly; head pale greenish
above, white at the sides, with a roseate tint ; upper jaw longer than the lower;
caudal widely forked, with a large scale or spine above and below its root. D. 24
P. 18. V. 15. A. 17. C. 28.

180 ELOPS SAURUS.

Synonymes, Elops saurus, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 518.

Argentina Carolina, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 518.

Elops saurus, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1394.

Argentina Carolina, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1395.

Mugilomore Anne-Caroline, Lacip., Nat. Hist. Poiss., torn. v. p. 398.

Argentina Carolina, Lacip., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 369.

Elops saurus, Shau^, Gen. Zool., vol. v. p. 125.

Elops inermis, Mitch., Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y., vol. i. p. 445.

Elops saurus, Cuv. el Vol., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. xix. p. 365.

Elops saurus, DeKay, Zool. N. Y., part iv. p. 267, pi. 41, fig. 131.

Elops saurus, Storer, Synops., p. 211.

Description. The body is very much elongated, sub-cylindrical, round at the
back, slightly flattened at the belly, and as slightly compressed at the sides. The
head is long and thick, with the snout full and rounded ; the supra-orbital ridges
are elevated, and leave a deep, broad, oblong depression on the vertex, which is
broadest between the eyes, and very narrow behind ; the orbit of the eye is marked
above with parallel ridges and depressions, directed from within outwards.

The eye is very large, and placed near the facial outline, with its inferior margin
near the median plane of the head, and about its diameter from the snout, and two
diameters and a quarter from the posterior border of the opercle ; the jiupil is
deepest blue; the iris is silvery, with a nictitating membrane both before and
behind, which leaves a vertical, elliptical opening ; this membrane extends for
a considerable distance over the cheeks. The nostrils are closely approximated,
and rather nearer to the eye than to the snout ; the posterior is semilunar in
shape, and much the larger ; the anterior is round, and both are at the anterior
extremity of the svipra-orbital ridge.

The mouth is very large, as the posterior extremity of the upper jaw extends
behind the orbit; the lower jaw seems longer than the upper when the mouth is
open, but is in fact received within it when the mouth is closed; the upper
jaw has no lip, but the lower has a loose fold of skin on its posterior half; both
are armed with numerous series of minute, rasp-like teeth ; the band in the

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ELOPS SAURUS. 181

inter-maxillary is narrow ; that of the superior maxillary is broader, and extends
on the outer as well as the inner margin of the bone ; the band of the lower jaw
is narrow behind, and broad before ; the vomer, the palate, the sphenoidal and the
pharjTigeal bones, are all furnished with similar teeth. The tongue is short,
round in front, and rough on its posterior part with minute teeth. The lower jaw
has an elongated sub-lingual bone attached in front between its branches.

The pre-opercle is narrow, and ascends high up ; it is rounded behind, and
prolonged at its angle, which descends as low as the sub-opercle. The opercle is
sub-quadrilateral, with its inferior and posterior angle prolonged. The sub-opercle
is ensiform in shape, but broad, with its point turned upwards and backwards.
The gill-openings are large ; there are thirty-three branchial rays.

The dorsal fin is single, semi-falcate, and is near the middle of the back ; it has
twenty-two rays, the first very short, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth longest;
they are placed in a sheath of the integuments which ascends for some distance,
but without any adhesion. The pectoral begins under and in front of the termi-
nation of the opercle, and has eighteen rays, with an elongated scale in the axilla
above. The ventral is stout, and begins rather before the origin of the dorsal ; it
has fifteen rays, with a supplementary plate above, three fourths as long as the fin
itself The anal is short, sub-falciform, and has fourteen rays, the two anterior
short, and all have their roots in a sheath, like those of the dorsal fin. The
caudal is long, deeply forked, and has twenty-eight rays, with a lanceolate scale
both above and below its root.

The scales are caducous, exceedingly thin, sub-quadrilateral, round, and ciliated
behind, slightly scalloped before, and marked with nine radiating striae. The
lateral line at its anterior part is straight, and runs nearly along the upper third of
the body, but it descends to the median plane between the pectoral and ventral
fins. Its scales are sm^ll, sub-quadrilateral, and the posterior margin is least
extensive and ciliated, with both the superior and inferior borders incurved ; the
tube is near the middle of the scale.

182 ELOPS SAURUS.

Colour. The head is pale green above, and white with often a roseate tint at
the sides ; the body is palest blue above, or with a faint greenish tint, and silvery
at the sides and belly. The dorsal fin is semi-transparent, of light olive-colour, with
minute dark spots ; its three or four anterior rays are alone clouded and dusky ;
the pectoral is semi-transparent, white below, of a yellowish tint above, and with
minute dusky points ; the ventral is also white, with a pale yellow tint above, and
numerous minute dusky points ; the anal is white in front, and pale yellow be-
hind ; the caudal is light olive-brown, especially near its tip.

Dimensions. The entire length, from the opercle to the tip of the caudal fin, is
equal to four heads and a quarter ; the greatest elevation without the dorsal fin is
rather more than two thirds of the head ; total length, thirty inches.

Splanchnology. The peritoneum is very thin, delicate, and of a silvery colour. The liver is large,
dark reddish-brown, and very firm ; it is simple, or undivided into lobes, at least on its ventral
surface, though imperfect marks of separation may be seen on its dorsal ; it is situated mostly on
the left side, and does not extend beyond the anterior fourth of the abdomen ; there is, however, a
depression in front, which makes it appear slightly heart-shaped, and a small nipple-like process
extends from the right side above, towards the oesophagus. The gall-bladder is large, though
concealed by the right portion of the liver ; the bile is remarkably green. The stomach is long,
conical, broadest in front, and so slender behind its pyloric branch as to resemble a lumbrical
worm ; its muscular walls are thick, and its mucous membrane has numerous longitudinal folds,
some of which extend its whole length, even to the pointed extremity behind ; the pyloric portion
is short ; it departs in front of the middle of the stomach, and runs nearly to the diaphragm, where
it ends in the small intestine ; its walls are thicker and firmer than those of the body of the stomach,
though its mucous membrane has similar folds ; the pyloric valve is well marked. The small in-
testine runs nearly straight towards the vent ; its anterior portion is largest where it receives the
openings of the coecal appendages, which are numerous, slender, and collected together in a mass.
The rectum is short, but more capacious than the small intestine ; its mucous membrane is finely
reticulated, and the rectal valve is moderately developed. The testicles when empty are long and
thin ; they are placed on the air-bladder, and in contact with each other on the mesial line behind ;
in the female, the oviducts unite near the cloaca. The air-bladder is very long, as it extends not
only throughout the whole length of the cavity of the abdomen, bufr terminates in two small, con-
ical horns in front, on each side of the first dorsal vertebra, near the occipital bone ; its walls
are fibrous, silvery, and white ; it communicates with the stomach by a very short canal on its
dorsal aspect.

GENUS SAURUS. 183

Habits. The EIojjs saurus approaches the shores of Carolina in the months
of June and July, and remains until November ; it feeds on smaller fish, whole
skeletons of which are sometimes found in its stomach.

Geographical Distribution. This animal is found on our coast only from
New Orleans to New York ; though its range, according to Valenciennes, is much
more extensive, it being common not only to the American and European shores
of the Atlantic, but to the Pacific and Indian Seas.

General Remarks. This fish was first accurately described by Linnaeus, from
specimens furnished him by Dr. Garden.

FAMILY SALMONID^.— Cimer.

Characters. Body more or less scaly ; two dorsal fins, the anterior with articu-
lated rays ; posterior small, adipose, and without rays ; ccecal appendages numer-
ous ; air-bladder more or less developed ; great variation in the armature of the
jaws ; branchial rays vary much in number.

GENUS SAVRVS. — Cuvier.

Characters. Body elongated; mouth large; inter-maxiUary long, rounded,
and ending in a point; superior maxillary small, concealed, or confounded with
the inter-maxiUary; teeth numerous, conical, pointed, more or less recurved, or
sometimes lanceolate in both jaws; palate-bones, tongue, hyoid and pharyngeal
bones aimed with smaller teeth ; branchial rays eighteen.

184 SAURUS FCETENS.

SAUEUS FCETENS. — Linnceus.

Plate XXVI. Fig. 1.

Specific Characters. Head short, broad behind, vertex canaliculated, snout
pomted ; mouth large ; fauces and branchial rays sulphur-coloured ; body elon-
gated, sub-cylindrical, mottled, olive-brown above, belly white. D. 11. P. 18.
V. 1-5. A. 10. C. 24.

Synontmes. Salmo fcEtens, Lin., Syst. Nat., torn. i. p. 513.

Saurus ex cinereo nigrescens, Cates., Carol., &c., vol. ii. pi.' 2, fig. 2.
Salmo fastens, Gmel., Ed. Syst. Nat., torn. i. pars iii. p. 1385.
Salmo fcBtens, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. v. part i. p. 67.
Osmerus albidus, Lacep., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. v. p. 235.
Saurus fcEtens, Cuv. et Val., Hist. Nat. Poiss., torn. xx. p. 471.
Providence Whiting, Vulgo.

Description. The head is broad, and triangular if seen from above, with the
snout pointed ; the vertex is depressed, and even concave between the orbits, which
are very prominent. The eye is of moderate size, and is placed one diameter and
a half of the orbit from the snout, and three diameters and a half from the opercle ;
it is midway between the anterior and posterior extremities of the upper jaw, with
its lower border rather above the median plane of the head. The nostrils are near
the orbit ; the posterior and larger is sub-round.

The mouth is of great size, the extremity of the upper jaw extending more than
half the distance between the snout and posterior border of the opercle ; the lower
jaw is shorter than the upper, and smaller, so that it is everywhere received within
it, when the mouth is shut, so as to leave the teeth of the latter exposed. The
upper jaw is armed with numerous strong, pointed, conical teeth, placed in two or
three rows ; the lower is furnished with a broad group of similar teeth, placed in
several series, and of these teeth those of the internal row are largest. The palate-

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