CYBIUM MACULATUM. 69 



Colour. This is a beautiful animal, with a bluish-green tint along the upper 

 part of the head and back, above the lateral line, and a white, satin-like appear- 

 ance below it ; the sides, both above and below the lateral line, are ornamented 

 with numerous sub-round, shining, cupreous spots ; the anterior dorsal is black, 

 with a narrow longitudinal line of white at its base ; the pectoral is semi-trans- 

 parent, with a dusky shade at its root ; the ventral is white, with a yellow tint in 

 front ; the second dorsal and anal fins are yellowish, with dusky lines ; the caudal 

 is dusky, with yellowish tints. 



Dimensions. The head is one sixth of the total length ; the elevation of the 

 body without the dorsal fin is less than a head ; total length of the specimen here 

 described, twenty-two inches ; they are occasionally taken more than two feet in 

 length. 



Splanchnology. The liver is of moderate size ; its centra! portion is thick and prolonged, to form 

 a middle lobe. The gall-bladder is oblong and narrow, but does not pass beyond the right lobe, to 

 which it is attached. The stomach is long, narrow, and reaches three fourths of the extent of the 

 abdomen ; its walls are of moderate thickness ; its pyloric portion is very small, short, narrow, and 

 departs from the stomach at an acute angle ; the small intestine runs nearly to the vent, then makes 

 a short convolution, and returns to end in the rectum. 



Habits. ■ But little is known of the habits of this fish ; it seems, however, 

 more solitary than the fishes of its family generally are, as it seldom happens that 

 more than four or five are taken at the same tune. It appears on the coast of 

 Carolina in April and May, but is rarely seen during the summer months ; it feeds 

 on various species of small fish. 



Geographical Distribution. The Cyhium maculatum is found on the Atlantic 

 shores of America, from Brazil to Massachusetts. Cuvier received specimens from 

 South America, and Dr. Storer from the waters near Boston. 



General Eemarks. Dr. INIitchill gave the first account of this fish, and called 

 it by the appropriate specific name it still bears. 



