TOTING JACK CREVALLES 



517 



Brunswick, Ga., and Mayport, Fla.) (tables 2 

 and 23). Of the records of capture of hippos 

 shown on the chart, that at Mayport, Fla., is 

 composed of fish 248 to 432 mm. standard length 

 which may have been adult; and the others were 

 juveniles. 



In the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the 

 Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the United States, 

 I believe that hippos has an offshore larval exist- 

 ence that may be associated with offshore currents ; 

 it may migrate inshore during the early juvenile 

 stage; and it probably selectively inhabits inshore 

 waters during the late juvenile stage. The follow- 

 ing evidence supports this theory: 



1. Some or all of the "latus and/or hippos" 

 specimens taken offshore (fig. 95) may be hippos. 



2. An 18.7-mm. specimen and the 12.7-mm. 

 early juvenile reported by Nichols (1939: 7), BOC 

 3418, were taken from 11°15' N., 81°50' W., about 

 98 miles offshore east of Port Limon, Costa Rica. 



3. Three of the smaller juveniles examined 

 (15.3 mm., 16.3 mm., and 20.4 mm.) were taken 

 at two stations, about 39 miles and 51 miles off- 

 shore, east of Tampico, Mexico. 



4. Four small juveniles (18 to 21 mm.) were 

 taken about 52 miles offshore southeast of South 

 Pass, La. (Mississippi Delta). 



5. The foregoing records of early juveniles are 

 all from offshore waters (the small specimen from 

 the stomach of a barracuda taken in the Bahamas 

 is not conclusive in speculation on habitat). 



6. No records of larvae or of juveniles smaller 

 than 21 mm. standard length exist for inshore 

 waters, and no such small specimens other than 

 those previously listed were available from the 

 many collections canvassed. Absence of larval 

 hippos and of juveniles smaller than 21 mm. in 

 the many inshore collections that have been made 

 would seem to preclude their presence in inshore 

 waters. Collections of the Gill, were concentrated 

 in waters off the southeastern Atlantic States 

 from near the beaches to beyond the axis of the 

 Gulf Stream and furnished only one record of 

 hippos, an early juvenile taken inshore. SAFI 

 collections have been maintained biweekly in the 

 vicinity of Brunswick, Ga., at surf, marsh, and 

 river stations, and collections here yielded only 

 juvenile hippos 21 mm. and larger, although other 



10 



20 30 



STANDARD LENGTH IN MM 



40 



Figure 94. — Caranx hippos and Caranx sp. ("latus and/or hippos"): Relation of length of the preopercular-angle spine 



to standard length. Dotted line separates the two forms. 



