red color of the flosh. the anterior edge of the operole is indented, and the 

 haemal arches of the thoracic vertebrae are very narrow and are bent markedly up- 

 ward and forward. There is a dense plexus of blood vessels on the surface of the 

 liver. On the back the color ranges from black to grayish-indigo with an indigo or 

 greenish lustre posteriorly. The belly is grayish with white stripes and lines of 

 white spots alternating transversely. !Ihe first dorsal is gray and the second dorsal 

 is gray with a yellowish tip. The dorsal finlets are yellow while the anal finlets 

 and the anal fin are silvery white. The pectorals are black and the ventrals are 

 gray. 



This species prefers comparatively cold waters. In the winter it appears in 

 the coastal waters of Wakayama, Eobhi, and Uiyasaki prefectures, but in the sxamner 

 it is abundant off Iwate, Aomori, Akita, and Hokkaido. It comes into depths of 

 about 10 fathoms. It spawns in the sunmer and in the auttmin juvenile fish from 6 

 inches to one foot long are seen. These small fish are called kakinotane in Sana- 

 gawa Prefecture, yokowa in western Honshu, and imoshibi in Miyazaki Prefecture. 

 Young fish over one year old are called me.ji . The species is widely distributed 

 and occurs in both the Japan Sea and the Pacific. 



These fish grow to weights of over 579 pounds, and once in a while one is taken 

 which weif.hs 827 pounds. Bie flesh is firm and the flavor is excellent. It is the 

 most important of the Japanese species of the genus Thunnus . 



Thunnua alalunga ( tanboshibi ) 



Called binnaga and bine ho in eastern Honshu and kantaro in Mie Prefecture. 



D. 14, 14, 8. A. 14, 8. Gill-rakers 9 / 18 or 19. 



This species can be easily distinguished by its extraordinarily long pectorals. 

 The body is small and comparatively slender, but the tail is short. There is an 

 air bladder which is very thin-walled, and which has a round simple anterior tip. 

 The haemal spines of the thoracic vertebrae are bent markedly forward and upward. 

 There is a dense plexus of blood vessels on the surface of the liver which resembles 

 that of the kuroahibi [Th. orientalis ]. The vertebral column is slender. 



The coloration of the back ranges from black to grayish indigo with a greenish 

 lustre posteriorly. The belly is silvery. In juvenile specimens there are ir- 

 regular stripes ruiming longitudinally on the posterior part of the belly. The 

 edge of the first dorsal is black, the pectorals are blaok, the second dorsal and 

 the ventrals are gray, and the anal is almost oolorless. The dorsal finlets are 

 gray with a yellowish tinge, and the edges of the ventral finlets are gray* 



During the winter these fish are taken in the vicinity of Wakayama Prefecture. 

 They gradually move northeastward and reach the waters off Iwate and Aomori around 

 July. They follow the kuroshibi and precede the skipjack. They swim in schools 

 and do not come Into shallow waters. The northera and southern limits of their dis- 

 tribution are not clearly known, and they have never been taken in the Japan Sea 

 and probably do not occur there. Host of those which are taken weigh from 26 to 34 

 pounds and individuals over 50 pounds in weight are rarely taken. The flesh is 

 pale and soft and of inferior flavor for which reason there has been no particular 

 fishery for this species in the past* 



10 



