178 LOWER VERTEBRATES. 



The common and dreaded barracuda of the West Indies is the S^phyrcpjia picuda 

 of natm'alists, and is common on the Florida coast ; a couple of examples have been 

 taken as far north as Wood's Holl, Massachusetts. Its special range is, however, the 

 expanse of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico ; in these equatorial regions it is 

 especially abundant. It is the largest, at least, of the American species of the family, 

 and sometimes attains a length of eight feet and a weight of about forty pounds. 

 Such large fishes are said to be as much dreaded as the great sharks, and their for- 

 midable armature renders them well capable of inflicting severe and even fatal wounds. 

 It is, of course, a carnivorous fish, and destructive to the finny tribes generally. As a 

 food fish it is under suspicion, and is indeed a species under the ban in the Cuban 

 markets, as there have been repeated instances of severe sickness caused by eating its 

 flesh. It seems, however, only, under special conditions that the flesh is poisonous, for 

 generally it can be eaten with impunity, and is quite savory. Sphyrcena spet, the 

 common European species, is not rare on our coast. 



The species representing the family on the western coast is Sphyrcena aryentea. 

 It extends northward in summer to San Francisco, and great numbers are 

 taken everywhere from Santa Cruz southward. It occurs in the greatest abundance 

 at some distance from the coast, according to the depth of the water, three miles 

 or more. It appears in late spring or summer, and the runs about the Santa Bar- 

 bara Islands are in July or early in August ; in about a montli the adults usually 

 disappear; the young, however, remain southward and are taken with the seine in 

 winter. Anchovies form a large portion of its food. It is regarded as one of the 

 best fishes of the west coast, and is especially esteemed when dried and salted, and in 

 such state commands a higher price than the Alaska cod-fish. 



A family rich in species, a few of which have some economical importance, is the 

 Atherinid^. These have the body elongated, and generally the dorsal and abdominal 

 outlines nearly parallel ; but a few are most robust and subfusiform. The head is 

 more or less conical and pointed, as seen from the sides. The teeth are small, and 

 sometimes, though very rarely, entirely wanting. There are two dorsals, the first one 

 having three to eight feeble spines, the second entirely separated from it, moderately 

 well developed, and opposite the anal ; the latter is generally the larger of the two. 

 The ventral fins are small, and, .although abdominal, not very far behind the breast, 

 and composed of a small spine and five rays. The pectoral fins are inserted high up 

 towards the shoulders. The vertebrte are quite numerous. Most of the species are 

 more or less tinted with green on the back and sides, and have a broad, longitudinal, 

 silvery band along the flanks. There are about ten genera, of which six are re]ire- 

 sented in the American waters. The typical genus, Atheriiia, has two species along 

 the southern coast, A. Carolina and A. veliana, but most of the east-coast species 

 belong to the genus Menidia, and it is of this that the common silver-sides of the 

 north {M. hosri) is a member. By far the largest and most valuable of the species 

 is the Atfierinopais californiensis of the Californian coast. This attains the length of 

 about eighteen inches, or perhaps even more, and is known in the San Francisco 

 market as a ' smelt.' It is very savory, and quite highh' esteemed for the table. A 

 related species, A. regius, is one of the most highly esteemed fishes of the Chilian 

 coast ; and its jiopular name, pesce rey, or king-fish, bears testimonj' to the esteem in 

 which it is held. One species, Labidesthes sicadus, is a fresh-water fish, living in 

 lakes and sluggish streams from northern New York to Iowa and Tennessee. 



The next family — that of the mullets, or Mugilid^ — has an .almost universal distri- 



