PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MCSEUM 569 



Ce pomatome- liabite dans les baies et vers les emboiicbures des 

 rivieres de la Caroliue. On ue I'y tronve cependant qn'assez rarement. 



11 saute et s'elauce frequemmeut a une distance plus ou moius grandej 

 et cette faculte ne doit pas surprendre dans un poissou dont la queue est 

 conformee de maniere a pouvoir etre agitee avec rapidite. La cbair du 

 skib est tres-agreable au gout. 



Les machoires sout garnies cbacune d'uue rangee de dents aplaties^ 

 presque egales, et un pen separees les unes des autres. La seconde 

 dorsale est plus longue que la premiere, et d'uue etendae a pen pres 

 egale a celle de la uageoire de I'anus. Celle-ci est si adipeuse [p. 437] 

 qu'on pent a peine distinguer les rayons qui la composent. 



L'animal est verdatre dans sa partie superieure, et argent«§ dans sa 

 partie inferieure. L'iris est jaune; et Ton voit une tacbe noire sur la 

 base des pectorales, qui sont jaunatres.* 



As this description clearly applies to the ordinary bluefish, and, in 

 fact, is well known to be based on that species, the name Pomatomus 

 should have been used for it as the earliest given thereior. But Eisso, 

 in 182G, referred to Lacepede's genus, a deep-sea fish, which he consid- 

 ered to be congeneric with the " P. sldb:^ Cuvier recognized that Risso's 

 fish was generically distinct, but notwithstanding (1) revived the name 

 Pomatomus from Eisso for the latter fish, (2) suppressed Lacepedes genus, 

 and (3) proposed a new designation {Temnodon) in place of Lacepede's 

 Pomatomus. Each step in this procedure was inadmissible. In 1862, I 

 therefore restored the name Pomatomus to the bluefish in lieu of Temno- 

 don and this revived name has been generally adopted since by American 

 naturalists, as it undoubtedly will be by all others when they have 

 learned that obedience to law (laws formulated by the British and Amer- 

 ican Associations for the Advancement of Science) is more conducive to 

 stability of nomenclature than deference to the whiui or prejudice of 

 any " authority." 



The synonymy of the genus is quite voluminous, as will be evident 

 from the following exhibit : 



POMATOMUS. 



< Cheilodipterus LacepMe, Hist. Nat. des Poissons, t. 3, p. 542, 1802. 

 = Pomatomus Lacej)kle, Hist. Nat. des Poissons, t. 4, p. 436 (yg.), 1803. 

 = Gonenion Bafiiiesque, Caratteri ale. n.gen. e.u. sp. Au.e. Piaute Sicilia.p. 53 (pi. 10, 

 f . 3 = yg. ), 1810. 



s "Ce nom geu^rique d^sigue la forme de 1' opercule: jJOHia, eu grec, signifie oper- 

 cule, et tome, incision." 



* 7 rayons a la membrane branehiale du pomatome skib, 



24 a la seconde dorsale. 



15 a chaque pectorale. 



• 6 a chaque thoracine. 



26 a la uageoire de I'anus. 



18 a colle de la queue. 



