Table 1.— Fin-ray counts of the longbill spearfish, Tetrapturus pfluegeri. ' 



1 



1 11 19* 



1 



11 13 



'Data from Robins and de Sylva (1963: Table 5, supplemented by counts from specimens reported 

 on here). 

 'Indicates count of holotype of T. pfluegeri. 



Holotype.—USNM 202818, formerly UMML 2231 

 (spec. 5), an adult, 1,530 mm, caught by R. E. Maytag 

 off San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1 October 1957, photo. 



Paratypes — UMML 5955, an adult, 1,790 mm, 

 caught by M. A. Madden on 1 June 1958, east of 

 Miami Beach, Fla., photo (spec. 15). UMML 2230, a 

 juvenile, 914 mm, caught off Palm Beach, Fla., 23 

 March 1958, photo (spec. 7). UMML 5956, an adult, 

 1,655 mm, caught 1.5 miles off Hillsboro Light, late 

 December 1957, or early January 1958 (spec. 8). 

 UMML 3484 (skeleton only), 1,482 mm, caught off 

 Miami, Fla., 14 August 1957, by S. Bergman, photo 

 (spec. 4). Spec. 21a, 1,740 mm, female, lat. 12°38'N, 

 long. 69°17'W, MV Oregon station 2764, 10 April 1960 

 (specimen at the American Museum of Natural 

 History). Spec. 22, 1,620 mm, female, lat. 12°36'N, 

 long. 63°40'W, MV Oregon station 2768, 14 April 

 1960 (specimen at the American Museum of Natural 

 History). UMML 11095, juvenile, 368 mm (spec. 31), 

 see data listed above and Figure 1. 



Type locality. — Off San Juan, Puerto Rico. 



Diagnosis. — The following is repeated from Robins 

 and de Sylva (1963:86). 



. . . First dorsal elements 45-53 (usually 46-50), second dorsal 

 elements 6-7 (usually 6), first anal elements 12-16 (usually 14), 

 second anal elements 6-7 (usually 7), pectoral rays 18-20 (usual- 

 ly 19); second anal elements usually one more than second dor- 

 sal elements. Vertebrae 24 (12 precaudal, 12 caudal). Anus far 

 anterior to anal-fin origin, distance 8.4-11 per cent body length 

 (tip of lower jaw to fork of tail) and usually greater than the 

 anterior height of first anal fin. First dorsal fin unspotted and 

 with high profile, especially in juveniles, its 25th element vary- 

 ing from 17 per cent of body length (at 914-mm body length) to 

 7.7 per cent of body length (at 1,790 mm body length). Pectoral 

 fin becoming proportionally longer with growth offish (12-13 per 

 cent of body length at 914 mm to 20-22 per cent at 1,460 mm or 

 larger). Dorsal profile straight from origin of first dorsal-fin to a 

 point in front of eyes. Bill long, the distance from the tip of the 

 upper jaw to the anterior margin of the eye 27-19 per cent of 

 body length, the lower figures characterizing the larger 

 specimens (bill growth is negatively allometric). 



Material examined. — In addition to material exam- 

 ined and reported on by Robins and de Sylva (1960, 

 1963), the writer has studied the following specimens. 



Spec. 37a, 1,808 mm body length, 51 lb (23.1 kg), off 

 Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 19 June 1964, T. Treadway. 



Spec. 38, 1,803 mm, 56.6 lb (25.7 kg), off Bakers 

 Haulover, Dade County, Fla., 10 May 1964, M. Lo- 

 jinger. 



Spec. 39, 1,320 mm, 14.5 lb (6.6 kg), off Miami, 

 Fla., 25 July 1964, G. H. Ludins. 



Spec. 40, 1,617 mm, 38.8 lb (17.6 kg), off Miami 

 Beach, Fla., March 1965. 



Spec. 41, 1,616 mm, 44.5 lb (20.2 kg), off Ft. 

 Lauderdale, Fla., 19 November 1965, Nancy Brodno. 



Spec. 42, 853 mm, ca. 2 lb (0.9 kg), off Islamorada, 

 Fla., 26 January 1966, Paul Wright. 



Spec. 43, 871 mm, in surf at Miami Beach, Fla., 22 

 March 1965, Bud Raulston. 



Spec. 44, 1,530 mm, 27.5 lb (12.5 kg), off Ft. 

 Lauderdale, Fla., J. H. Van Ness. 



Spec. 45, 1,875 mm, 60 lb (27.2 kg), off Islamorada, 

 Fla., 15 July 1968. 



Spec. 46, 1,880 mm, 80 lb (36.3 kg), off Chub Cay, 

 Bahamas, 15 April 1971, Edwin Jay Gould. 



Spec. 47, ca. 600 mm, Oregon II, stn. 108, lat. 

 12°53'N, long. 70°35'W, 23 February 1973. 



During this same period other specimens from 

 south Florida were seen and identified by the writer or 

 de Sylva but were not measured, usually because the 

 lower jaw was broken precluding an accurate measure 

 of body length (= tip of lower jaw to fork of tail). 



Data on specimens 37 through 47 are provided in 

 Tables 2 and 3. In combination with previously 

 published data this information should provide a 

 basis for morphometric comparison with samples 

 from the South Atlantic and elsewhere in the range for 

 which such information is not yet available. 



Synonymy. 



Tetrapturus belone: LaMonte, 1955:326 (in part; ref- 

 erence to Florida only). — Hoese, 1958:341 (com- 



29 



