FAMILY ESOCID^;. 227 



GENUS BELONE. Cuvier. 



Head and body greatly elongated ; the latter covered with minute scales. Both jaws very 

 much produced, straight, narrow and pointed ; armed with numerous small teeth. Pharynx 

 paved. Scales not apparent, except a carinate row near the edge of the abdomen. 



THE BANDED GAR-FISH. 



Belone truncata. 

 plate xxxv. fig. 112 — (state collection.) 



Esox, Sea Pike, Sea Snipe at New-York. Schoefff, Beobacht. Vol. 8, p. 108. 

 The Bill-fish, Esox belone. Mitchill, Lit. and Philos. Soc. N. Y. Vol. 1, p. 443. 

 Esox longirostris, Long-jawed Fresh-ivater Pike. Mitchill, Am. Month. Mag. Vol. 2, p. 322. 

 Bciona truncata. Lesmedr, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil. Vol. 2, p. 126, plate. 

 The Gar-fish, Belone truncata. Storer, Massachusetts Report, p. 98. 



Characteristics. Green above ; silvery beneath. A dark green longitudinal band. Lower 

 mandible longest. Length one to two feet. 



Description. Body much elongated ; covered with small transparent orbicular scales. Over 

 and behind the end of the anal, on each side of the tail, is a row of carinated scales. The 

 lateral line arises from the lower angle of the opercles ; ascends gradually beneath the pecto- 

 rals, maintaining a direction near the abdomen ; passes over the base of the ventrals, and behind 

 the anal, rises up and follows the course of the carinated scales. The vertebral line marked 

 above by a slight depression from the dorsal fin to the nape. On each side of this line, at the 

 distance of 0-2, is a faint darker line concurrent with it. Head and opercles trigonal, flat 

 above. Eyes longitudinally oval, 0' 6 in their greatest diameter, and with the upper margin 

 of the orbits in the plane of the head ; their distance apart equal to the same diameter. A 

 triangular fossa in front of the eyes, extending forward into an acutely pointed furrow for the 

 nostrils. Branchial aperture very ample, extending forward beneath the orbits. Upper man- 

 dible flattened at its base, rounded forward, and terminating in an acute tip, its upper margin 

 with a medial and two lateral impressed lines : it is 0'3 shorter than the lower jaw, which is 

 elastic and flexible at its tip. Both mandibles furnished with long conic acute distant teeth, 

 with intermediate smaller ones, externally in confused series ; towards the angle of the jaws, 

 the smaller ones are exserted. The interior of the upper jaw with a longitudinal furrow, of 

 the lower, transversely rugous. Length of the mandibles to the whole length as one to five 

 nearly. 



The dorsal fin arises far back, commencing over the fourth ray of the anal ; it is elevated, 

 triangular in front, low and subequal behind, the second and third rays longest. This fin is 

 composed of one simple and fifteen branched rays. The pectorals on a line with the posterior 

 angle of the opercles, and 0'4 behind it ; composed of one flat, simple and scarcely ^.iiculated 

 ray, and eleven branched rays. Ventrals feeble ; their distance from the origin of the anal, 



