180 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Body elongate, subcylindric, compressed toward the tail, its 

 greatest depth contained from five to six times in its length 

 without caudal; caudal peduncle slender, its least depth three 

 eighths of length of head; head moderate, obtusely conical, its 

 length four and one fourth to four and one half in total with- 

 out caudal, flattened above, with a broad, deep furrow between 

 the eyes; eye large, one fifth as long as the head; upper jaw 

 broad, rounded, entire, longer than the lower, which is received 

 into it, the maxillary reaching far behind eye, almost to hind 

 edge of preopercle; the gular plate three or four times as long 

 as broad. D. 20; A. 13; V. 15; B. 30. Scales 12-120-13. Length 

 3 feet. Tropical and temperate seas; common in America, 

 north to Virginia and the Gulf of California; occasional as far 

 north as Cape Cod. Color bright silvery, with a greenish tinge 

 along the back. Pupils black; iris golden; summit of the head 

 bronzed; opercles with golden metallic tints; all the fins more 

 or less punctate with black; dorsal and caudal light olive 

 brown; lower fins tinged with yellow. 



Mitchill found some individuals in the New York market in 

 September 1813, under the name of salmon trout. One which 

 he bought was 22 inches long and weighed 42 ounces. The fish 

 were sold at 75c each, a remarkably good price for a species 

 now generally considered unsalable because the flesh is dry and 

 bony. 



An adult was caught in Gravesend bay Oct. 5, 1896. Among 

 the fishermen there it is known as " seering " and " cisco ". 

 Several examples, each about 1 foot long, were taken at South- 

 ampton L. I. in October 1898, by A. P. Latto, and presented to 

 the State Museum. 



At Cape Cod, according to Dr Smith, it is " common in fall, 

 none appearing before October. Taken in traps in Vineyard 

 sound and in herring gill nets at Vineyard Haven. Average 

 length, 18 to 20 inches. No young observed." 



The fish does not breed on our coast. The young are known 

 to be ribbon-shaped and elongate and to pass through a remark- 

 able series of changes similar to those observed in the ladyfish, 

 Albula vulpes. 



