218 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Its most distinctiYe anatomic character among our local Scombroids is its 

 large conical jaw teeth, of which there are 16 above and 13 below on each side. 

 The caudal peduncle is keeled; the lateral line wavy; the first dorsal fin (17 to 18 

 spines) triangular; the second dorsal (16 to 18 rays) concave and originating a short 

 distance in front of the anal, which is similar to it in form and size. There are 8 or 9 

 dorsal and as many ventral finlets, and the caudal is deeply lunate, its outer rays 

 decidedly longer than those of the mackerel. 



Color. — The Spanish mackerel is dark bluish or blue green above, pale below, 

 like all Scombroids, and silvery, its sides marked with many small oblong-oval, 

 dull orange or yellowish spots, both above and below the lateral line, these being a 

 very diagnostic character. The fact that the membrane of the front one-third of 

 the first dorsal fin is black, whereas its rear part is white, is an equally useful field 

 mark. The second dorsal and pectoral fins are pale yellowish and dusky edged; 

 the anal and ventrals are white. 



Size. — The maximum weight is about 9 or 10 pounds (one 25), and the length 

 36 inches, but the fish caught average less than 3 pounds. 



General range. — Both coasts of North America, north to Maine and south to 

 Brazil in the Atlantic. 



Fio. 99. — King mackerel {Scomberomorus ragaJis) 



Occurrence in the Gulf of Maine. — The Spanish mackerel is a regular summer 

 visitor all along the Atlantic coast of the United States as far north as New York ; 

 less abundant along the southern coasts of New England, though a few are taken 

 during most summers at Woods Hole; and only a stray in the colder waters of the 

 Gulf of Maine, where odd fish are taken in Cape Cod Bay every year or two. In 

 1896 the local catch even rose to 37 fish (Provincetown and Truro traps), and there 

 is record of it at Lyim, Mass., but north of this Spanish mackerel are so rare that 

 Monhegan Island is the only record for Maine and the most northerly outpost for 

 this species. 



The Spanish mackerel is a schooling fish like other mackerels and preys upon 

 smaller fishes of any kind, being hardly less destructive than the bluefish. On the 

 southern Atlantic coast, where it supports an important fishery, it comes in from 

 offshore or from the south — which, is not loiown — when the water warms to from 

 56° to 70°, appearing off the Carolinas in April, but not until July in New York waters. 

 It disappears from the northern part of its range in October. 



HaMts. — ^Spanish mackerel, unlike oceanic bonitos, come close inshore to 

 breed, Chesapeake Bay being one of their most prolific northern nurseries. They 



