388 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



tinct bluish lines on the sides, which are nearly parallel with the 

 lateral line, and constitute the most prominent specific character. 

 The first of these begins directly under the tip of the pectoral, 

 the second at the margin of the corselet, at a point in the line 

 from the upper to the lower axillary angles of the pectoral. The 

 third and fourth are rather indistinct anteriorly, but very dis- 

 tinct in the posterior half of the body, and are about as far dis- 

 tant from each other as are the first two, the interval between 

 the two pairs being slightly greater than that between the mem- 

 bers of each pair, and equal to the diameter of the orbit. The 

 first or uppermost line is nearly straight, the others, following 

 the lower contour of the body, curve upward over the anal fin, 

 and all four become lost in the darker color of the caudal 

 peduncle. 



If the Japanese fish, which has been referred to this species, 

 be really the oceanic bonito, we must add the following notes on 

 colors; three shorter dark stripes on the middle of the body, be- 

 tween the lateral line and the uppermost of the four long stripes; 

 dark blotches on the membrane connecting the dorsal spines, be- 

 ginning between the sixth and seventh spines and continuing to 

 the end of the fin. It is not at all certain, in my estimation, 

 that the Japanese form is the same as ours, since it appears to 

 have a more compressed body, the spinous dorsal more poster- 

 iorly placed, and the color differences above mentioned. 



The oceanic bonito is said to inhabit the warmer parts of the 

 Atlantic and Indian oceans and the seas of China and Japan. 

 It is a rare visitor in our waters and has no importance for food. 

 Persons who have eaten it say the flesh is dry and, sometimes, 

 disagreeable. It feeds on flying fish, skipjacks, small cuttle- 

 fish, mollusks, and marine plants. The maximum length re- 

 corded is 30 inches. 



195 Gymnosarda alleterata (Kafinesque) 



Ldttle Tunny 



f^combcr allcteratvs Eafinesque, Caratteri Ale. Gen. 46, 1810, Palermo. 

 Thynnns tlntniiina Cuvieu & Valenciennes. Hist. Nat. Poiss. VIII, 104, 



1831, Mediten-anGan; Gunther, Cat. Fish. Bdt. Mus. II, 364, 1860. 

 ThyiDius bra^ilieiisis Cuvier &, Valenciennes, op. cit. 110, Mediterranean. 

 Thynnus bixvipinnis Cuvier & Valenciennes, op. cit. 112, Mediterranean. 



