iS6 



AMERICAN FISHES. 



stant and he who chooses to do so may soon learn to discriminate between 

 the Spanish Mackerel and its allies. 



The Spotted Cero, or King Cero, Scombcromorus regalis, has seventeen 

 dorsal spines, and upon the front of the first dorsal, which is white, is a 

 spot of deep blue, which is prolonged far back upon the upper edge of the 

 \\w. The sides are marked with broken longitudinal bands of gold, inter- 

 lined with brown and golden spots. 



It differs from S. maculatus, which also has seventeen dorsal spines, in 

 the form of its teeth and in its coloration. In the Spanish Mackerel the 

 teeth are somewhat conical and very pointed, the first dorsal has a black 

 blotch, and the spots upon the sides are golden brown nearly circular and 

 not arranged in band like series. 



THE SPOTTED CERO. 



The King Cero is a magnificent fish which grows to be five or six feet in 

 length and attains a weight of twenty to thirty pounds. It is abundant in 

 the West Indies, and has been recorded from Cuba, Santo Domingo, Ja- 

 maica, Barbadoes, Key West, and Brazil. The Silver Cero, Scombcromo- 

 rus caballa, has fourteen spines in its full dorsal fins, which is immaculate 

 in color: The young fish have the sides of the body marked with indis- 

 tinct spots, circular in form, and tawny in color, which disappear with age ; 

 the lateral line is very sinuous upon the posterior portion of the body. 



It is a West Indian species, which has already been observed at Santo 

 Domingo, Jamaica, Cuba, Martinique, Porto Rico, and Brazil, and a few 

 specimens have been captured as far north as Wood's Holl, Mass. Prof. 

 Jordan states that they are caught with trolling hooks on nearly every 

 summer trip of the steamer from Savannah to New York. This is a mag- 

 nificent fish, which often attains the weight of twenty-five pounds. Its 

 habits are doubtless like those of the Spanish Mackerel. The name Cero 

 is commonly accepted in the United States ; it is a corruption of the 



