lordan and £verftia?in. — Fishes of A^orth America. 863 



II. Spinous dorsal roprosenteil )iy several free spines; lioily elon- 

 gate, fusiform; scales small; caudal little forked. 



Rachycentrid.i:, cxxvii. 

 kk. Vertebrae 30 or more (in excess of 10 + 14). 



p. (Esophagus with tooth-like processes; spinous ilorsal and ven- 



trals rudimentary or wanting; body compressed; caudal 



deeply forked; gill membranes attached to the isthmus or 



not. Stromateid.i:, cxxxv. 



;i;). (Esophagus without tooth-like ])rocesses; gill membranes 



free from the isthmus; caudal fin deeply forked; skeleton 



more or less firm. 



q. Dorsal rays all with simple rays, none of them articulate 



or branched; ventrals jugular, I, 3 to I, 5. 



Pteraclid.t;, cxxxi. 

 qij. Dorsal rays not all simple, some or all of them branched 

 or articulate; ventral fins thoracic, I, T). 

 r. Dorsal fin with a distinct spinous part. 



s. Spinous dorsal well developed, the spines 10 to 12 

 in number. 

 I. Scales weak, cycloid. Nomeib.t;, cxxviii. 



it. Scales firm, each one with a median ridge. 



Steinegekiid.i^, cxxxm. 

 ss. Spinous dorsal, little developed, of 3 or 4 weak and 

 slender spines continuous with the soft rays; 

 dorsal fin beginning bojiind the head; body 

 ovate; scales firm, not very small; hypercora- 

 coid very large, entering ventral outline, 

 intervening between the very short pelvic 

 bone and the shoulder girdle. 



BuAMin.*;, cxxxii. 

 tr. Dorsal fin without spinous part, all the rays branched 

 and articulate. 

 II. Dorsal beginning as a crest on the head; body 

 oblong; scales very small. 



Cortph/enid.t;, cxxix. 

 MM. Dorsal beginning above the axil of the pectoral; 

 caudal rounded or merely emarginate; skele- 

 ton without firmness, soft like a wet rag; 

 dorsal spines few or none. 



IcosTEiP.?:, rxxxvi. 

 jj. Anal fin excessively long, more than twice as long as dorsal; scales 

 well developed; dorsal spines few, graduated. 



Pempherid.k, cxxxix. 

 hh. Scales firm, linear, iiarchment-Iikc; body compressed; spinous dorsal short; 



tones (if head rough; mouth small. Grammicolepiii.i:, cxxxvii. ' 



lihh. Scales hard, bony, arranged in oblique sjiirals; tail with 2 keels; teeth in 

 jaws comb-like; body oblong. Tetkagonurip.k, cxxxviii. 



Family CXVIII. SCOMBRID^E.* 



(The Mackerels.) 



Body elongate, fusiform, not much compressed, covered with minute 

 cycloid scales, the scales anteriorly sometimes forming a corselet. Lat- 

 eral line present, its course undulate. Head subconic, pointed anteriorly. 



* For a review of the Mackerels [Seoiuhrinn) of America and Europe, see Dre.sslar and Fesler 

 in Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., vii, 1887 (188U), 429 to 446. 



