FISHES OF THE GULF OF MAINE 



349 



Cavalla Scomberomorus cavalla (Cuvier) 1829 * 2 



Cero 



Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 875. 



Description. — The pectorals of the cavalla are 

 scaly, and its anal fin, like that of the king mackerel 

 originates about under the origin of its second dor- 

 sal, in wliich it differs from the Spanish mackerel 

 (p. 347). In fact, it resembles the king mackerel 

 so closely in general appearance that the one might 

 easily be taken for the other by anybody not used 

 to handling the two fish as southern fisherman are. 

 But the lateral line (very conspicuous in both) is a 

 sure clue to identity, for this dips downward 

 abruptly in the cavalla under the forepart of the 

 second dorsal fin, but slopes down only gradually 

 there in the king mackerel. Other points of differ- 

 ence are that the outline of the first dorsal fin is 

 concave in the cavalla (nearly straight in the king) ; 

 that the cavalla has a large number of teeth (about 

 40 in each jaw, as against about 30); that its body 



is more slender (about one-sixth as deep as it is 

 long); and that the upper forepart of its first 

 dorsal fin is not noticeably darker than the remain- 

 der of the fin. 



Color. — Iron gray above, silvery lower down on 

 the sides and on the belly; the sides marked with 

 darker gray or yellowish spots, which tend to 

 disappear in large fish. 



Size. — Said to reach a length of a little more 

 than 5 feet, and a weight of about 100 pounds. 

 The rod and reel record is 73 % pounds, for one 

 taken off Bimini, Bahamas, February 1935, by L. 

 B. Harrison. 



General range. — Warm parts of the Atlantic; 

 south to Brazil in the western side; north regularly 

 to North Carolina (June-November); 43 occasion- 

 ally to southern Massachusetts; and as a stray to 

 the southern part of the Gulf of Maine. 



Occurrence in the Gulf oj Maine. — -The only Gulf 

 of Maine record of which we know is of one 20% 

 inches long (to base of caudal fin) taken in a trap 

 at North Truro, Cape Cod, in August 1949." 



Figure 184. — Cavalla (Scomberomorus cavalla), Woods Hole. From Goode. Drawing by H. L. Todd. 

 THE ESCOLARS. FAMILY GEMPYLIDAE 



These fishes are closely allied to the true mack- 

 erels, the most obvious differences being that they 

 lack the keels on the sides of the caudal peduncle 

 so characteristic of the mackerels. 



Escolar Ruvettus pretiosus Cocco 1829 



Oilfish; Scourfish; Plaintail 

 Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 879. 



Description. — This fish suggests the mackerel 

 family in its slender fusiform shape and in the 

 general arrangement of its fins. And its first 

 (spiny) dorsal (13 to 15 spines), like that of the 

 Spanish mackerel, is much longer than the second 

 dorsal (18 soft rays). But it is separable at a 



o Fowler (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 56, 1905, p. 766) refers 

 this species to a now subgenus Sierra. 



glance from all Gulf of Maine mackerels by the 

 facts that it has only 2 dorsal finlets and 2 anal 

 finlets, and that its skin is set with bony plates 

 armed with short spines instead of being velvety 

 with small scales, as it is in the case of the mackerel 

 tribe. The caudal fin is deeply forked. The first 

 dorsal is much lower than the second, and the 

 anal is situated below the second dorsal, which it 

 parallels in its outlines. 



Color. — Described as purplish brown, darkest 

 above, with blackish patches, and with the in- 

 side of the mouth dusky. 



« Taylor (Survey Marine Fisheries North Carolina: University of North 

 Carolina Press, 1951, pp. 261-265) has given an interesting survey of the 

 seasonal presence of various southern game fishes off the North Carolina coast. 



" This specimen was received through the kindness of John Worthington 

 and the Pond Village Cold Storage Co. 



