Common Pompano 



clam-bnit, and Mr. Silas Stearns says they are sometimes taken" 

 on the hook about Pensacola. 



Head 4; depth 2\ to 2f; eye 4^; snout 4^', D. VI-I, 25; 

 A. Il-I, 2y, ventrals 2^. Body oblong, compressed, rather robust, 

 the greatest thickness 3 in depth; snout from mouth to hori- 

 zontal from upper edge of eye nearly vertical, somewhat bluntly 

 rounded; profile from upper edge of snout to procumbent spine 

 evenly convex; mouth nearly horizontal, maxillary reaching middle 

 of eye, its length 2|- in head; no teeth in adult; ventrals reach- 

 ing f distance to vent, about ^ length of pectoral; dorsal and 

 anal fins falcate, anterior rays nearly reaching middle of fins when 

 depressed; dorsal lobe 4^, anal 5! in body. Colour, bluish above, 

 silvery or slightly golden below; pectoral and anal light orange, 

 shaded with bluish; caudal and upper portion of caudal peduncle 

 with bluish reflections; breast more or less yellowish; top of 

 head bluish. 



Trachiiwtus paloma is an unimportant species, known only 

 from Cape San Lucas, Mazatlan, and San Juan Lagoon. It reaches 

 a length of a foot. As a food-fish it is not distinguished by 

 the Mexican fishermen from other species of the genus. It 

 closely resembles the common pompano, but has the head rather 

 larger, it being }l to 31 in length instead of 4. 



Trachinotus cayennensis is another rare species, known only 

 from a single specimen obtained at Cayenne. It is close to T. 

 falcatus, but has more numerous fin-rays, D. V-I, 27; A. II-I, 26. 



Recently a new genus and species of this family was de- 

 scribed from the Revillagigedo Islands by Jordan and McGregor 

 as Zalocys stilbe. The genus is close to Trachinotus. The single 

 specimen known is 16 inches long. 



319 



