262 Percomorphi 



ately developed. It very much resembles the true mackerel, 

 but is of smaller size, less excellence as a food-fish, and keeps 

 nearer to the shore. It may be usually distinguished by the 

 presence of vague, dull-gray spots on the sides, where the true 

 mackerel is lustrous silvery. 



This fish is common in the Mediterranean, along our Atlantic 

 coast, on the coast of California, and everywhere in Japan. 



Scomber antarcticus is the familiar mackerel of Australia. 

 Scomber loo, silvery, with round black spots, is the common 

 mackerel of the South Seas, locally known as Ga. 



Scomber prisons is a fossil mackerel from the Eocene. 



Auxis thazard, the frigate mackerel, has the scales of the 

 shoulders enlarged and somewhat coalescent, forming what is 

 called a corselet. The species ranges widely through the seas 

 of the world in great numbers, but very erratic, sometimes 

 myriads reaching our Eastern coast, then none seen for years. 

 It is more constant in its visits to Japan and Hawaii. Fossil 

 species of Auxis are found in the Miocene. 



The genus Gymnosarda has the corselet as in Auxis, but the 

 first dorsal fin is long, extending backward to the base of the 

 second. Its two species, Gymnosarda pelamis, the Oceanic 

 bonito, and Gymnosarda alleterata, the little tunny, are found 

 in all warm seas, being especially abundant in the Mediterra- 

 nean, about Hawaii and Japan. These are plump fish of mod- 

 erate size, with very red and very oily flesh. 



Closely related to these is the great tunny, or Tuna (Thunnus 

 thynnus} found in all warm seas and reaching at times a weight 

 of 1500 pounds. These enormous fishes are much valued by 

 anglers, a popular "Tuna Club" devoted to the sport of catch- 

 ing them with a hook having its headquarters at Avalon, on 

 Santa Catalina Island, in California. They are good food, 

 although the flesh of the large ones is very oily. The name 

 horse-mackerel is often given to these monsters on the New 

 England coast. In California, the Spanish name of tuna has 

 become current among fisherman. 



Very similar to the tuna, but much smaller, is the Albacore 

 (Germo alalonga). This reaches a weight of fifteen to thirty 

 pounds, and is known by its very long, almost ribbon-like pec- 

 toral fins. This species is common in the Mediterranean, and 



