77. STROMATEID^E STROMATEUS. 451 



sharp spine, attached to the pubic bone, often occupying the place of 

 tlie ventrals; pectorals long and narrow. Caudal widely forked. Spe- 

 cies numerous, ((rrpw^arso^^ an ancient name of some brightly colored 

 fish in the Red Sea; from a-pw^a^ a bed- quilt.) 



o. Ventral fins obsolete ; pelvic spine present. 



b. Dorsal and anal fins falcate, their anterior rays much longer than the head ; 



body suborbicular. (Ifhombus* Lace~pede.) 



710. S. alepidotcis (L.) J. & G. Harvest FisJi. 



Greenish above, golden-yellow below. Body suborbicular, bounded 

 by even curves. Mouth very small, oblique, maxillary reaching front 

 of orbit. No pores along the sides of the back. Pectorals shorter than 

 head, reaching half way to caudal ; soft dorsal and anal fins falcate, the 

 longest rays of anal nearly half length of body; caudal lobes equal 

 Scales thin and deciduous, not very small. Head 3; depth 1. D. 45; 

 A. 40; Lat. 1. about 90. Vertebrae 15+ 15. Cape Cod to South Amer- 

 ica; commonest southward. 



(Chaitodon alepidotus L. Syst. Nat. : Strrnoptyx gardenii Bl. &, Schn. 1801, 494 : Rhombus 

 longipmnis Cuv. & Val. ix, 401 : Stromateus gardenii Giinther, ii, 399. ) 



bb. Dorsal and anal fins not falcate, their anterior rays shorter than the head ; form 

 ovate. 



c. No series of large pores along the sides of the back. 



711. S. SB BBS ii OB Swoons Ayres. California Pompano. 



Bluish above, brightly silvery below; fins punctulate; anterior lobes 

 of dorsal and anal dusky-edged. Body ovate, blunt anteriorly, with a 

 short, slender tail, the caudal fin widely forked. Mouth very small, 

 terminal, the maxillary extending to the eye. Teeth very feeble. Gill- 

 rakers short, slender, less than half diameter of eye. Eye small. One or 

 2 procumbent spines before the dorsal; longest rays of dorsal f of head ; 

 pubic spine small; pectorals longer than head; no pores along base of 

 dorsal. Spines of dorsal and anal very small or entirely obsolete. Scales 

 small, silvery, deciduous. Head 4; depth 2. D. Ill, 46; A.III, 40. L. 

 10 inches. Pacific coast of United States ; abundant in summer; highly 

 prized as a food-fish. 



(Poronottis simillimua Ayres, Proc. Cal. Acad. Nat. Sci. 1830, 84.) 



cc. A series of large pores along the base of the dorsal fin. (Poronotus^ Gill.) 



US. S. Jo'iacaBfltBams Peck. Dollar-fish; Harvest-fish; Suiter-fish; La Faydtc. 

 Bluish above, below silvery. Body oval, much compressed. Dorsal 



*Lac6pede, Hist. Nat. Poiss. ii, 321, 1800: type Chaitodon alepidotus L. (po/.i/3o?, 

 rhomb. ) 



tGill, Cat. Fish. East Coast N. Am. 1861, 35 (not characterized): type Stromateus 

 triacanthus Peck, (it op 6?, pore; v Syro?, back.) 



