FISHES OF THE GULF OF MAINE 



317 



wandering northward as far as the Massachusetts 

 Bay region, and straying to Nova Scotia. 89 



Occurrence in the Gulf of Maine. — There are 

 only two records of the trumpetfish from the Gulf 

 of Maine: a specimen taken at Rockport, Mass. 

 (north side of Cape Ann) in September 1865, 

 preserved in the collection of the Essex Institute, 



where it was examined and identified by Goode and 

 Bean 90 and a second taken on the northern edge 

 of Georges Bank by the trawler Flying Cloud on 

 October 6, 1947, in a haul at 70 fathoms. 91 Like 

 other tropical fishes, however, it is not so rare 

 west of Cape Cod, and a few small ones are taken 

 at Woods Hole almost every year. 



THE MACKERELS. FAMILY SCOMBRIDAE 



The mackerels are a very homogeneous group, 

 all of them agreeing in having a spiny dorsal as 

 well as a soft dorsal fin, several small Unlets 

 behind the latter and behind the anal, a very 

 slender caudal peduncle, a deeply forked or lunate 

 caudal fin, a very shapely form tapering both to 

 snout and to tail, and velvety skin with very 

 small scales. All, too, are predaceous, swift 



swimmers, and powerfully muscled, while all are 

 fish of the open sea and more or less migratory. 



In the following key we mention all species so 

 far actually recorded from within the limits of the 

 Gulf of Maine, but it would not be astonishing if 

 still others were to stray in from the open Atlantic 

 from time to time. 92 



KEY TO GULF OF MAINE MACKERELS M 



1 . The two dorsal fins are separated by a space at least as long as the length of the first dorsal 2 



The two dorsal fins adjoin each other or are separated by a space much shorter than the length of the first dorsal.. 3 



2. The sides below the mid line are silvery, not spotted Mackerel, p. 188, 317 



The sides below the mid line are mottled with dusky blotches Chub Mackerel, p. 209, 333 



3. Body scaleless, except along the lateral line and in the region of the shoulders (the so-called "corselet")-- 4 



Entire body covered with scales •> 



4. The lower part of the sides, below the lateral line, is marked with dark longitudinal bands, but there are no definite 



dark markings on the back Striped Bonito, p. 335 



There are no dark markings on the lower side below the lateral line, but the back has dark markings 



False Albacore, p. 336 



5. The anal fin is about twice as high as long; the corselet of large scales is obvious Tuna, p. 338 



The anal fin only is about as high as long; there is no corselet of large scales 6 



6. Second dorsal fin noticeably lower than the first dorsal Common Bonito, p. 337 



Second dorsal fin at least as high as first dorsal 7 



7. Lateral line with an abrupt downward curve under second dorsal fin Ca valla p. 349 



Lateral line descending gradually 8 



8. Sides with a few rows of oval bronze or yellowish spots and with one or two longitudinal dark streaks 



King Mackerel p. 348 

 Sides with bronze spots but without longitudinal dark streaks Spanish Mackerel p. 347 



Mackerel Scomber scombrus Linnaeus 1758 

 Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 866 



Description. — The mackerel is fusiform in out- 

 line, tapering rearward to a very slim caudal 

 peduncle and forward to a pointed nose. Its body 

 is about four and one-half to five and one-half 

 times as long as it is deep, oval in section, thick 

 and firm-muscled as are all its tribe. Its head is 

 long (one-fourth of length to caudal) and its mouth 

 large, gaping back to the middle of the eye (the 

 premaxillaries are not protractile), while the jaws, 



" Dr. A. H. Leim reports the capture of a specimen at Port Mouton, Nova 

 Scotia, on September 10, 1931; the specimen was recorded later by Vladykov 

 (Proc. Nova Scotian Inst. Sci., vol. 19, 1935, p. 5) as Fistularia icrrata. 



which are of equal length, are armed with small, 

 sharp, slender teeth. The eye is large, and the 

 hollows in front of and behind it are filled with 

 the so-called "adipose eyelid," a transparent, 



>» Bull. Esses Inst., vol. XI, 1879, p. 4. 



•i This specimen is in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 



•i Fraser-Brunner, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. Ser. 12, vol. 3, No. 26, 1950, pp 

 131-163, has recently given a synopsis of the mackerels, with useful keys and 

 excellent illustrations for all known species. We follow him in uniting them 

 all in the old and inclusive family Scombrldae rather than Jordan, Evermann 

 and Clark (Rept. U. S. Comm. Fish. (1928) Pt. 2, 1930) who have distributed 

 them among four families, Cybiidae, Katsuwonidae, Scombridae, and 

 Thunnidae. 



•> The long finned Albacore (Thunnus alalunga Bonnaterre, 1788) has been 

 taken at Woods Hole, also on Banquereau Bank, off eastern Nova Scotia 

 (Ooode and Bean, Bull. Essex Inst., vol. XI, 1S79, p. 15), so is likely to showup 

 in the Gulf of Maine sooner or later. It is made easily recognizable among 

 North Atlantic mackerel fishes by its very long pectoral fins which reach back 

 past its second dorsal fin. 



