YOUNG JACK CREVALLES 



441 



DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES 



Numbers preceeding discussion of each meristic 

 character are the counts or ranges found in adult 

 fish, unless otherwise indicated. Body lengths 

 are given in standard length unless otherwise 

 noted. The development of all characters is 

 described as a continuous series as far as is 

 practical, following the "dynamic approach" used 

 by Ahlstrom and Ball (1954: 215). 



Caranx crysos (Mitchill) 



(Figures 17-24) 



Scomber crysos Mitchill, 1815, p. 424, pi. IV, fig. 2 (New- 

 York Bay). 

 Scomber chrysos, Cuvier, in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833, 



p. 98 (listed as synonymous with Scomber hippos 



Linnaeus; Xew York). 

 Caranx pisqusius Cuvier, in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833, 



p. 97 (Saint-Domingue; Cuba; Brazil). 

 Caranx crysos, DeKay, 1842, p. 121, pi. XVII, fig. 85 



(Xew York). 

 Trachurus squamosus Gronow, in Gray, 1854, p. 125 



(Carolina). 

 Caranx chrysos, Gill, 1857, p. 262 (Xew York market). 

 Caranx hippos (non Linnaeus), Holbrook, 1860, p. 90, 



pi. XII, fig. 2 (Massachusetts to Florida). 

 Paratractus pisquetus, Gill, 1863, p. 432 (eastern coast of 



United States). 

 Carangus chrysos, Gill, 1873, p. 803 (Cape Cod to Florida). 

 Paratractus pisquetos, Gill, 1873, p. 803 (Cape Cod to 



Florida). 

 Paratractus chrysos, Poey, 1875, p. 76 (Cuba). 

 Carangus chrysus, Jordan and Gilbert, 1879, p. 376 (Beau- 

 fort Harbor, X. C). 

 Carangus pisquetos, Jordan and Gilbert, 1879, p. 376 



(Beaufort, X. C). 

 Carangus pisquetus, Goode and Bean, 1880, p. 339 (West 



Florida). 

 Caranx caballus (non Gunther), Gunther, 1880, p. 10 



(Bermuda). 

 Caranx pisquetus, Goode and Bean, 1882, p. 237 (Gulf of 



Mexico). 

 Caranx chrysus, Jordan and Gilbert, 1882b, p. 970 (in 



key). 

 Carangus crysos, Kendall, 1908, p. 81 (Massachusetts, 



Rhode Island). 

 Paratractus crysos, Jordan, Evermann, and Clark, 1930, 



p. 272 (Cape Cod to Brazil). 

 Paratractos chrysos, Gunter, 1935, p. 40 (off Louisiana). 



Nomenclature 



Caranx crysos (Mitchill 1815) of the Western 



Atlantic should be recorded as distinct from the 



closely related, if not identical, C. caballus Gunther 



'l 869) of the Eastern Pacific and C.fusus Geoffroy- 



Saint-Hilaire (1809) of the Mediterranean until 

 the true relationships of the three forms become 

 known. This will distinguish the three popula- 

 tions and conform to more common usage until 

 adequate comparisons of the three have been 

 made. 



Conflicting opinions on the relationship of C. 

 caballus and C. crysos have been given by Nichols 

 (1920a: 29; 1921b: 45) and Nichols and Breder 

 (1927: 113), who considered the two forms con- 

 specific; by Evermann and Jenkins (1891: 138) 

 and Nichols and Murphy (1944: 243) who con- 

 sidered them to be subspecies; and by Jordan and 

 Evermann (1896) and Meek and Hildebrand 

 (1925: 348) who considered them to be distinct 

 species. 



Caranx fusus has been regarded as a distinct 

 species endemic to the Mediterranean. Recently, 

 Enrico Tortonese suggested (personal communi- 

 cation) that C. fusus and C. crysos might be the 

 same. Ben-Tuvia (1953: 19), whose specimens 

 from the Mediterranean off Israel were identified 

 by Dr. J. T. Nichols, placed C.fusus in the syn- 

 onymy of C. crysos. If they are the same, C. 

 crysos will become a synonym of C. fusus. C. 

 crysos, abundant in the Western Atlantic, has 

 also been recorded from the Eastern Atlantic and 

 West Africa (Steindachner 1894: 20; Metzelaar 

 1919: 265; Fowler 1936: 698; Nichols 1939: 4). 

 If these latter records are valid, the currently 

 enforced concept that C. fusus is distinct from 

 C. crysos and is endemic to the Mediterranean is 

 improbable. 



Material 



Measurements and counts were taken on a series 

 of 120 specimens from 5.4 to 267 mm. standard 

 length and meristic values were recorded for an 

 additional 122 specimens within this size range. 

 The 683 specimens identified are listed in table 6. 



A specimen, measuring 3.8 mm. from snout to 

 a vertical from the tip of the urostyle, tentatively 

 identified as Caranx sp., and illustrated in figure 

 16 may be this species. The specimen has a depth 

 at pelvic of 1.6 mm. and a preopercular-angle 

 spine length of 0.35 mm. It was taken with several 

 other specimens of crysos (USNM 164486) ranging 

 from 5.7 to 7.7 mm. standard length, 33 miles 

 south of Lookout Lightship in the Gulf Stream. 



Four specimens of dentex are included and dis- 

 tinguished on the graphs with crysos. 



