876 Bulletin 4J, United States Natio7ial Museum. 



abruptly below tbo second dorsal. Teetb trianfjular, strongly compressed, 

 about 30 on each jaw. Pectoral '^ in body. Gill rakers very short, less than 

 i diameter of eye, about 8 below the angle. Adult iron gray, nearly or 

 quite immaculate; young with the sides of body marked with darker 

 yellowish spots ; spinous dorsal without black blotch anteriorly. Tropi- 

 cal Atlantic, in the open seas, coming in immense numbers to the Florida 

 Keys and Charleston, ranging north to Cape Cod and south to Africa 

 and Brazil ; very common on our South Atlantic coast, especially among 

 the Florida Keys, the catch at Key West very large. One of the best food- 

 fishes of the Florida coast, with firm rich desh. It reaches a length of 

 5 feet and a weight of 100 pounds. (CavaUa or Cahalla, a Spanish name, 

 from cahaUns, horse.) 



Gijhmm cuvalla, Cuvier, Ri-gne Anini., Kd. 2, ii, 200, 1829, Brazil ; after Guarapwii of Marc- 



GRAVE. 



Cijhium cahalla, Cuvier k Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Toii-s., viii, 187, IS.'il, Brazil ; Gunther, 



Cat., II, .373, 1860. 

 Oijhium immaculalmu, Cuvier k Valenciennes, I. c, viii, 191, 1831, no locality. 

 Scomhm-omorus cahalla, Jordan & Gilbert, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 2C8, 1882 ; Jordan k Gilbert, 



Synopsis, 427, 1S83 ; Meek k Newland, I. c, 235, 1885. 

 Scomhcromortis cavalla, Dresslar & Fesler, I. c, 444, pi. xr, 1889. 



395. ACANTHOCYBIUM, Gill. 

 (Petos.) 



Acanthnqihiiwi, GiLL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1862, 125, {xara = snlauih-i). 



Body elongate, fusiform. Head very long, slender and pointed, the 

 mandible being longer than upper jaw; jaws forming a sort of beak; 

 cleft of mouth extending to below eye ; posterior part of maxillary 

 covered by the preorbital ; both jaws armed with a close series of trench- 

 ant teeth, ovate or truncate; their edges finely serrate; villiform teeth 

 on vomer and palatines ; gills as in Xipliias, their laminie forming a net- 

 work ; scales small, scarcely forming a corselet ; those along the base of 

 dorsal enlarged and lanceolate; keel strong ; caudal spinous; dorsal very 

 long, its spines about 25 in number. One species, a very large mackerel-like 

 fish, widely distributed; especially abundant about the Florida Straits. 

 This remarkable genus indicates a long step from Scomhiroinoriis toAvard 

 the type of the swordfishes. (uKavda, spine; Ci/hium; the name Ki-fJiov 

 was originally applied to the cured flesh of Tr/jlafilc). 



1266. ACANTHOCYBIUM SOLANDRI (Cuvior & Valenciennes). 

 (Peto ; Wahoo ; GuARAPrcu.) 



Head 4 ; depth 6A ; eye 5 in snout ; gape more than half length of head ; 

 premaxillaries in front prolonged in a sort of beak, which is nearly half 

 length of snout ; teeth somewhat irregular, the posterior much the largest, 

 all strong, serrated, about 50 in each jaw. Dorsal spines mostly subequal; 

 lateral line descending abruptly under sixteenth dorsal spine ; the 

 highest, behind the middle of fin, 5f in head ; dorsal and anal lobes low. 

 Caudal lobes short, very abruptly spreading, their length about f head. 



