THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 147 



Color bluish gray above; rather abruptly silvery along middle 

 of side. Vertebral and lateral dark streaks, apparently present in 

 smaller fish, are missing finfthe large ones at hand. Sides of head 

 bright silvery; mandible black, with a pale tip. First few rays of 

 dorsal black, the rest of fin pale; caudal dusky ; ventral and pectoral 

 only slightly dusky; anal pale. 



The foregoing description is based on two large specimens, 445 and 

 555 mm. (298 and 380 mm. from tip of upper jaw to base of caudal) 

 long, taken by the Mission in Lobos de Tierra Bay and Lobos de 

 Afuera Bay. The proportions and enumerations given first in the 

 description pertain to the smaller specimen. One was gigged at night 

 and the other one was caught on a hand line. The larger specimen, 

 taken on May 18, 1941, is a gravid female. 



Range. — Mexico to northern Peru and the Galapagos Islands. 

 Apparently previously not recorded from Peru. 



Family EXOCOETIDAE: Flyingfishes 



Body elongate; lateral line low, on ventral edge of abdomen; scales 

 cycloid, rather loosely attached, extending forward on head; pectoral 

 fins large, used in flight; ventrals also enlarged in some genera; the 

 lower lobe of caudal much larger than the upper. 



Two genera and species have been taken along the coast of Peru. 



KEY TO THEiGENERA 



a. Ventral fins short, failing to reach origin of anal by about their own length, 



inserted nearer tip of snout than base of caudal Exocoetus (p. 147) 



aa. Ventral fins long, reaching well beyond origin of anal, inserted nearer base of 

 caudal than tip of snout Danichthys (p. 148) 



Genus EXOCOETUS Linnaeus, 1758 



In this genus, the ventrals are short, failing to reach origin of anal 

 by their own length, and are inserted nearer tip of snout than base of 

 caudal. The dorsal and anal rays are about equal in number, and the 

 origin of the dorsal is almost directly over that of the anal. The pec- 

 torals are long, reaching well beyond end of base of dorsal, and the 

 first ray is simple and the second bifurcate. 



EXOCOETUS VOUTANS Linnaeus » 



Exocoetus volitans Linnaeus, 1758, p. 316, Atlantic Ocean (diagnosis). — Abbott, 

 1899, p. 337, off Peru, lat. 6° S. (partial synonymy; note). — Evermann and 

 Radcliffe, 1917, p. 44 (partial synonymy; field note by R. E. Coker quoted). 



Exocetus chiliensis Abbott, 1860, p. 472, Chile (original description). 



Head 4.3, 4.2; depth 5.25, 5.4; D. 14, 15; A. 15, 14; P. 14, 14; scales 

 38, 40. 



" The synonymy of this species, which is extensive, is shown rather completely by Breder (1938, p. 30), 

 though references to its occurrence in the Paciflc are not included. 



