184 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



teeth small and close-set; eye small, a little wider than interorbital space, interorbital area 

 slightly convex, with a shallow median groove divided by a ridge; scales in lateral series 115 

 to 130; cheeks, opercles, and top of head scaly; dorsal rays v-|-9, the distance between the fins 

 a little less than .2 total length of fish; anal rays i,9. Color: dark greenish above, silvery 

 below; the young marked with dark transverse blotches, (borealis, northern.) 



North Carolina appears to be the southern Umit of the range of this species, 

 which is the common barracuda of the Middle Atlantic coast of the United 

 States. The species is small, rarely exceeding a foot in length. Yarrow reported 

 it as "uncommon, a few taken occasionally near Cape Lookout". The young 

 are at times not uncommon in the harbor of Beaufort; in July, 1902, many 

 examples 1.5 to 3 inches long were taken, and in July, 1903, 7-inch specimens, 

 mostly on Bird Shoal. 



The barracuda is an active, voracious species, subsisting largely on small 

 fishes — silversides at Beaufort. It is, however, not a hardy species, and dies 

 very quickly after being caught in a seine, so that it is difficult to carry specimens 

 to the aquarium. 



Family MULLIDiE. The Goat-fishes or Surmullets. 



These fishes have a head that suggests that of a goat, the principal point of 

 resemblance being 2 large barbels on the throat. They are marine fishes of 

 rather small size, some of them gaily colored, found primarily in the tropics but 

 occasionally well to the north. Body elongate, somewhat compressed, back 

 arched; upper profile of head strongly curved; mouth small, terminal; premax- 

 illaries slightly protractile; maxillaries rather broad and partly concealed by the 

 preorbitals; lower jaw small, with 2 long barbels attached just behind the sym- 

 phisis; teeth small, variously placed on jaws, vomer, and palatines; eyes rather 

 large and placed high on side of head; branchiostegals 4; pseudobranchiae present; 

 opercular margin smooth or with a single broad spine; peropercle smooth or 

 somewhat serrate; scales large, slightly ctenoid, largest on head; lateral line 

 complete; pyloric coeca numerous; air-bladder simple if present; 2 dorsa' fins, 

 widely separated, short, the anterior with 6 to 8 rather high spines depressible in 

 a groove; anal fin similar to second dorsal; ventrals attached below pectorals. 

 The American species number 8 or 10 and belong to 3 genera, of which only one 

 has a place in the state fauna, although another, Mullus auratus Jordan & 

 Gilbert, ranges as far northward as Cape Cod and may sometime be detected 



here. 



Genus UPENEUS Cuvier. Goat-fishes. 



This, the most numerous genus of Mullida? in our waters, is distinguished by 

 having one or two series of strong teeth on both jaws but none on the vomer and 

 palatines; a narrow concave interorbital space; a short, deep opercle with a 

 posterior spine; long and numerous gill-rakers; first dorsal placed near head, with 

 7 or 8 spines; anal with 2 spines and a few soft rays; caudal forked. Several of 

 the West Indian and Floridan species are valuable food fishes. {Upeneus, an 

 ancient Greek name for some undetermined fish.) 



