188 



FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



Although eaten in Bermuda, southern Europe, and other places, it is not 

 highly regarded in the United States, and is seldom sent to market. Its usual 

 weight is 30 to 40 pounds. It has been observed at times in numbers in the 



Fig. 76. Little Tunny. Gymnosarda alleteraia. 



ocean off Roanoke Island, and is known to the fishermen of that section as 

 "bonito"; those taken have weighed 15 to 30 pounds. The fish is not regarded 

 with any favor as food in North Carolina. 



Genus THUNNUS South. Great Tunnies, or Albacores. 

 This genus has as its only member an immense pelagic species, the largest 

 of the family, having a stout, scaled body, with well developed corselet; large 

 mouth, small conical teeth in a single series on jaws and bands of minute teeth on 

 roof of mouth; dorsal fins very close together, the anterior with 12 to 15 spines; 

 dorsal and anal finlets about 9. {Thunnus, tunny.) 



161. THUNNUS THYNNUS (Linnaeus). 

 Tunny; Horse Mackerel; Albacore. 



Scomber thynnus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. x, 297, 1758; Europe. 



Orcynus secundi-dorsalis, Yarrow, 1877, 207; Beaufort. 



Orcynus thunnus, Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 375; Beaufort. Jenkins, 1887, 88; Beaufort. 



Thunnus thynnus, Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 870 



Diagnosis. — Body cylindrical, the depth .25 length; head large, contained 3.75 times in 

 total length; mouth large, the maxillary extending as far back as pupil; eye small, .16 length 

 of head; dorsal and anal fins short and falcate; dorsal rays xii to xv + 13, with 8 to 10 finlets; 

 anal rays 12, with 8 to 10 finlets; ventrals longer than anal; pectorals short. Color: dark 

 blue above, grayish below with silvery blotches, {thynnus, a classical name for this fish, 

 whence tunny, tuna, etc.) 



This magnificent species is found in warm and temperate regions of the 

 globe, and is not rare on our coasts. It reaches a weight of 1,500 pounds or 

 more and a length of 10 feet or upwards. It is a first-class food fish, and supports 

 important fisheries in southern Europe, but has been regarded with little favor 

 in the United States. It is caught chiefly in pound nets, and is usually thrown 

 away. It feeds on menhaden and other school fishes, and is exceedigly voracious 

 and destructive. 



