COLLETTE and RUSSO: SPANISH MACKERELS 



Size. — Maximum size 96.5 cm FL, 5.44 kg; of 271 

 sierra caught in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, 50 

 measured more than 63.5 cm and weighed more 

 than 5.4 kg (Erdman 1971). Size at first maturity 

 26-32 cm FL in Colombia (Artunduaga Pastrana 

 1976). A length- weight regression curve has been 

 published for 310 Colombian specimens 15-63 cm, 

 0.03-2.4 kg (Artunduaga Pastrana 1976:fig. 6). 



Color pattern. — Bluish above, silvery white ven- 

 trally, sides with numerous round brownish 

 (orange in life) spots, three rows below lateral line, 

 one above (Fig. 67). First dorsal fin black distally, 

 white at base. Second dorsal tinged with yellow, 

 margins black. Anal white. 



There is a color painting of S. sierra by Malm- 

 quist in Walford (1937:pl. 39), and there is a good 

 black and white underwater photograph of several 

 specimens in the Gulf of California in Thomson et 

 al. (1979:fig. 115). 



Biology. — Spawning probably takes place near 

 the coast over most of its range (Klawe 1966). 

 Spawning occurs off Mexico in July- September 

 (Klawe 1966). Ripe males and females were found 

 from late August to the end of November in the 

 Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica (Erdman 1971). The 

 maximum incidence of ripe females extends from 

 November to April in Colombia with a peak in 

 February-April (Artunduaga Pastrana 1976). 

 Larvae and juveniles, 4.5-139 mm FL, of S. sierra 

 have been taken from Baja California to Peru 

 during January-April and July-September (Klawe 

 1966:fig. 1, table 1). The smallest larvae were 

 taken off Baja California July-September: 4.5-9.5 

 mm FL, 13 September; 4.8 mm, 12 August; 8.4 mm, 

 9 July (Klawe 1966:table 1). Food of adults con- 

 sists of small fishes (Walford 1937). In Colombia 

 (Artunduaga Pastrana 1976), the commonest 

 fishes in stomach contents were anchovies (En- 

 graulidae, Anchoa and Cetengraulis) and clu- 

 peids (Odontognatus and Opisthonema). 



Interest to fisheries. — According to Walford (1937), 

 S. sierra seems to be the most abundant game fish 

 along the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Central 

 America. It is an excellent food fish frequently 

 taken by anglers and abundant enough to support 

 a commercial fishery (Eckles 1949). Statistics are 

 reported from Fishing Areas 77 and 87; the bulk of 

 the catch is reported for Mexico 4,028-11,999 t/yr 

 and for Peru 320-579 t/yr in 1979-82 (FAO 1984). 

 No specific commercial fishery exists for S. sierra 

 in Colombia, but it is taken by the shrimp fleet and 



by artisanal fishermen for a total catch in 1971 of 

 127 tons (Artunduaga Pastrana 1976). 



Distribution. — Eastern Pacific (Fig. 49) from La 

 Jolla, southern California (Collette et al. 1963) 

 south past Payta, Peru (Collette and Russo 1979: 

 fig. 8) to Antofagasta, Chile (lat. 23°24'S, long. 

 70°26'W, Kong 1978). Also found around the 

 Galapagos Islands. 



Geographic variation. — Comparisons were made 

 of morphometric data for three populations of S. 

 sierra by ANCOVA (Table 28): Mexico (n = 

 31-36), Panama (n = 18-21), Colombia (n = 9-14). 

 Null hypotheses that the 3 sets of regression lines 

 are coincident were accepted for 18 sets, rejected 

 for 8 sets: Sn-ID, Sn-P 2 , Head L, maximum body 

 depth, Ht 2D, Ht A, Snout (fleshy), and maxilla L. 

 The Newman-Keuls Multiple Range Test identi- 

 fied populations that were significantly different 

 for 6 sets of regressions. Five of these (Sn-ID, 

 Sn-P 2 , Head L, Ht A, and maxilla L) indicated that 

 the populations from Mexico and Panama were 

 significantly different, one (maximum depth) that 

 the Panama and Colombia populations were sig- 

 nificantly different. The samples from Panama 

 and Colombia were then combined and the com- 

 bined regressions were compared with those for 

 Mexico. Null hypotheses were rejected for 7 of the 

 26 sets of regression lines; the same ones as were 

 rejected in the first test except for maximum body 

 depth. No meristic differences were found between 

 populations. 



Material examined. —Total 123 (68-621 mm FL). 



meas.: 97 (68-621): California (1); Mexico (39, 

 *S. sierra); El Salvador (1); Costa Rica 

 (5); Panama (21); Colombia (14); Ecuador 

 (7); Peru (6); Galapagos Is. (3). 



counts: 123. 



diss.: 13 (368-590): Mexico (2); Panama (5); 

 Ecuador (5). 



Scomberomorus sinensis (Lacepede) 

 Chinese Seerfish 



Figure 68 



Scomber sinensis Lacepede 1800:599 (original 

 description). Lacepede 1802:23 (description 

 based on a Chinese drawing). Giinther 1860: 

 369 (footnoted as dubious species). 



Cybium chinense Cuvier in Cuvier and Valen- 

 ciennes 1831:180 (original description based on 



665 



