GENERAL BIOLOGY 747 



belonging to the large edible types of pelagic fishes known Geographical 



' ' ' distribution 



of young fish. 



from the coast banks, such as the mackerel, but our preliminary <^'stribution 



examination has not revealed many of these. At Station 42 

 one young individual belonging to the genus Scomber was 

 taken, but this station is not far from the Canaries. The only 

 young belonging to larger fishes of any economic importance 

 taken by us in great numbers were those of the Saury pike 

 {Scovibresox satLrus; see Fig. 541) and of the horse mackerel 

 [Caraiix trachurus). The young of both these forms have 

 obviously a wide distribution, occurring abundantly in the 

 open ocean even at the greatest possible distance from the 

 coast ; the eggs of Scombresox sauriis were taken in the 

 Sargasso Sea. 



The list of pelagic fishes in Chapter IX. shows that the 

 majority were taken on our southern track, which agrees with 

 the results of previous expeditions. Liitken says in his Spolia 



Fig. 541. 

 Scombresox saiirus, Walb. Nat. size, 6.2 cm. 



Atlantica that the young of Scovibresox were the most numerous 

 fishes in his collections from the open Atlantic, having been 

 obtained from no less than ninety different localities situated 

 in two belts between latitudes ii° or 12 and 40" on both sides 

 of the equator. They are typical surface forms, distinguished 

 by a dark-blue colour on the back, while the sides are silvery 

 and mirror-like. They pass through a typical metamorphosis, 

 like the young of the gar-pike, the long jaws appearing only at 

 a more advanced age (see Fig. 542, reproduced from Liitken). 

 Related to Scombresox is the genus Exocoehts, which includes 

 the typical flying fishes; I have indicated in Chapter III. that 

 the young of these flying fishes (see Fig. 543) were taken by 

 us at several localities in various stages. Scombresox, Caranx, 

 and Exocoetus were thus the most important young fish belong- 

 ing to large surface forms taken in our Atlantic cruise. In the 

 chart (Fig. 544) I have indicated the quantities of young fish 

 captured by us in various localities, though these quantities have 

 in my opinion no other value than showing that great numbers 

 of larvae may be captured during summer in the open ocean as 



