444 MEMOIRS OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM 



Family XII. ELOPID.E. 

 Tarpons. 

 Tarpon Jordan and Evermann. 

 Tarpon Jordan and Evermann, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 47, 1896, 409. 

 Type, Megalops atlanticus Cuvier and Valenciennes. 



Oblong, having large silvery scales; anal longer than the dorsal; last dorsal 

 ray produced. 



286. Tarpon atlanticus (Cuvier and Valenciennes). 

 Megalops atlanticus Cuvier and Valenciennes,. Hist. Nat. Poiss., XIX, 1846, 398 



(Guadeloupe; San Domingo; Martinique; Porto Rico). — Muller and Tros- 



chel, in Schomburgk, Reisen, III, 1848, 639 (coast). 

 Tarpon atlanticus Jordan and Evermann, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. No. 47, 1896, 409. 



— Eigenmann, Repts. Princeton Univ. Exp. Patagonia, III, 1910, 453. 

 Megalops elongatus Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1858, 224 (Long Island.) 

 Megalops thrissoides Gunther, Catalogue, VII, 1868, 472. 



This fish, which has gone under the name Megalops thrissoides in most liter- 

 ature, is found in the lower courses of the rivers. 



One specimen, 340 mm. Georgetown market. (C. M. Cat. No. 2427.) 



Head 4.33; depth 4; D. 12; A. 20; lateral line 44. Compressed; mouth very 

 large, the maxillary extending beyond the eye. Back bluish, elsewhere bright 

 silvery. 



Family XIII. CLUPEID.E. 



Herrings. 



Key to the Guiana Genera of Clupeid^e. 

 a. Ventrals present. Belly compressed to an edge, with strong serrae its entire length. 



b. Anal short, with fifteen rays; origin of dorsal and anal about equidistant from the tip of the snout; 

 scales adherent, their posterior margin strongly convex; last dorsal ray not produced; vertebras 

 thirty-nine. Nc adipose eyelid ; maxillary with a sharp spur on its upper margin . . Rhinosardinia. 

 bb. Anal long, with thirty-nine rays; dorsal inserted posterior to the ventrals; lower jaw with four or five 

 strong, conical, recurved teeth on each side in front; premaxillary with about fourteen graduate, 

 conical teeth. Maxillary with minute but strong teeth along its entire margin; vomer without 

 teeth; tongue with a broad patch of granular teeth. Origin of anal fin considerably behind base 

 of last dorsal ray. Scales thin, adherent. Ventral armature strong; adipose lid very strongly 



developed, leaving a narrow vertical slit. Caudal forked Ilisha. 



aa. No ventrals. Anal very long, with seventy or more rays; dorsal small, over the anal; teeth well-developed 

 in both jaws, about fourteen in the upper and ten in the lower. Maxillary with teeth along its entire 

 edge. Origin of anal fin near beginning of the second third of the length; scales caducous; abdominal 

 armature weak; thoracic region expanded, strongly armed. Pectorals large Odontognathus. 



