THE SHORE FISHES OF PERU 227 



many rays, beginning over nape; caudal deeply forked; anal similar 

 to dorsal, ':)ut shorter; ventrals well developed, attached to thorax, 

 with I, 5 rays; pectorals small. 



Genus CORYPHAENA Linnaeus, 1758 



The characters of the genus are those of the family. 

 A single species was obtained in Peru. 



CORYPHAENA HIPPUEUS Linnaeus 



Dorado 



Coryphaena hippiirus Linnaeus, 1758, p. 261, "Habitat in Pelago" (diagnosis). — 

 Jordan and Evermann, 1896, p. 952, fig. 402 (description; size attained; 

 range; synonymy). — Meek and Hildebrand, 1925, p. 406, Panama Bay 

 (synonymy; description, based on young). — Walford, 1937, p. 53, pis. 4 and 

 43, the latter in color (key to the species; diagnosis; distribution; life history; 

 angling notes). 



Head 4.4; depth 4.3; D. 60; A. 25; P. 18. 



Body rather strongly compressed, its greatest thickness equal to 

 two-jQfths its depth, greatest depth occurring at vertical from base 

 of pectoral, tapering gradually into a moderately slender, compressed 

 caudal peduncle, contained 4.0 times in head; anterior profile mod- 

 erately elevated (in female) ; head short, with nearly vertical opercular 

 margins; snout blunt, 2.8 in head; eye 4.9; interorbital 2.6; mouth 

 rather large, nearly terminal; maxillary reaching nearly opposite middle 

 of eye, 2.0 in head; teeth in jaws in bands, the outer ones somewhat 

 enlarged, villiform teeth present also on vomer, palatines, and tongue; 

 gill rakers rather poorly developed, nine on lower and only a few tuber- 

 cles on upper limb of first arch; lateral line with a short high arch anteri- 

 orly, unarmed ; scales very smaU, missing on most of head, mostly more 

 or less embedded; dorsal long, continuous, its origin about over poste- 

 rior margin of eye; caudal deeply forked, the lobes slender, of nearly 

 equal length, exceeding length of head by about diameter of eye; 

 anal with a short lobe anteriorly, coterminal with the dorsal; ventral 

 long, slender, inserted below lower part of base of pectoral, extending 

 far beyond tip of pectoral, 1.1 in head, 5.4 in length; pectoral pointed, 

 somewhat falcate, 1.4 in head, 6.6 in length. 



Color in alcohol dark brown above, becoming lighter on side and 

 merging into the dirty white of lower parts ; a row of small black spots 

 on the back, just below base of dorsal; numerous similar spots on 

 side, mostly below lateral line; dorsal and caudal quite dark; anal 

 dusky at base, with a pale margin; upper margin and tip of pectoral 

 dusky, the rest of fin greenish; ventral white on outer side, black on 

 inner side. 



A single female, 650 mm. (500 mm. to base of caudal) long, was 

 collected by the Mission off Lobos de Afuera Island and forms the 



