Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 125 



and 2 or 3 in small ones, on upper and lower limbs of first arch; the lower counts 

 given, for this reason, are invariably based on the smaller specimens. Mouth nearly 

 horizontal, almost terminal, the lower jaw slightly included. Maxillary reaching 

 somewhere under posterior half of eye in young adults, far beyond eye in large exam- 

 ples, 1.7—2.0 in head. 



Dorsal fin rather high anteriorly, its longest rays usually reaching tip of last ray 

 if deflexed, its outer margin rather deeply concave, its origin about equidistant between 

 base of caudal and anterior margin of eye. Caudal very deeply forked, the upper lobe 

 rather longer than the lower one, usually about as long as head. Anal moderately small, 

 far behind dorsal, its origin usually about equidistant between base of caudal and base 

 of pelvic, its base 2.4-2.9 in head. Pelvic fin not much smaller than pectoral, inserted 

 under, or slightly in advance of, origin of dorsal, scarcely nearer to origin of anal 

 than to base of pectoral. Pectoral fin rather broad, not falcate, reaching scarcely 

 halfway to pelvic in large examples, somewhat more than halfway in small ones, 1.75— 

 2.0 in head. Axillary scale of pectoral extending to about the midlength of fin, 

 3.0-3.9 in head. 



Color. Preserved specimens uniform bluish gray above, silvery elsewhere; dorsal 

 and caudal more or less dusky; other fins pale. 



A large fresh specimen bluish on back, with sides silvery; slightly yellowish below. 

 Dorsal and caudal dusky and yellowish; pelvics and pectorals yellowish with dusky 

 punctulations (j(5: 78). 



Size. Although a maximum of 900 mm (36 in.) TL has been reported (.^5: 410), 

 the usual length probably is under 500 mm (20 in.). The largest individual seen by 

 me was 730 mm (610 mm SL; 29.2 in.); this large fish occurred among hundreds of 

 adults stranded in the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal in 1935 when the Locks were 

 drained. In my file is a record of another large one, 718 mm (28.75 i"-)' caught at 

 Punta Gorda, Florida. Although one of the common names is Tenpounder, weight 

 records indicate that this fish probably never weighs that much. A specimen 470 mm 

 long (18.8 in.) weighed a pound, another of 550 mm (22 in.) weighed 1.6 pounds, 

 and still another 625 mm (25 in.) weighed 2.7 pounds; 82 fish, ranging between 400- 

 600 mm (16-24 in.), with an average length of about 450 mm (18 in.), weighed 

 100 pounds. 



Development. The eggs and the earliest stages of the leptocephalus are unknown. 

 Of the many leptocephalus larvae studied, the youngest ones, judging principally by 

 the development of the fins, are 34, 35, and 37 mm long. Although the forked 

 caudal is well developed, the other fins are virtually undifferentiated; the alimentary 

 canal is very loosely attached to the abdomen, as in larval herrings and anchovies, and 

 the vent is less than a head-length from the caudal base. 



Two leptocephali, 34.5 and 36.5 mm long, are slightly more advanced; in these 

 a thickening within the finfold where the bases of the dorsal and anal are developing 

 has taken place, though rays are not yet definitely formed. The head is strongly depres- 

 sed, the mouth is terminal and large, and the snout, viewed ventrally, is rather sharply 



