196 



FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA, 



a rather sharp angle; lateral line beginning opposite upper margin of eye, dropping suddenly 

 behind pectoral, and continued to tail near and concurrent with belly; dorsal rays about 135, 

 of nearly uniform length, the longest not twice diameter of eye; anal spines about 100, scarcely 

 evident, the anterior directed backward, the posterior forward; pectorals short, pointed, 

 slightly longer than eye. Color: uniformly glistening silvery; dorsal fin with a dark margin. 

 (lepturus, slender tailed.) 



This curious and easily recognized fish of the warm seas comes northward 

 on our east coast as far as Massachusetts, and is not rare from Chesapeake Bay 

 southward. It attains a length of 5 feet, and in Jamaica and other places is 

 eaten, although it has little value in the United States. On the North Carolina 

 coast it enters all the inlets and sounds during summer and fall, and sometimes 

 at least in winter. At Beaufort it is often caught in line fishing at the inlet and 

 inside the harbor, the hooks being baited with mullet and sunk to the bottom; 

 the fish is said to pull very hard when caught. Many are taken in mullet nets as 

 late as the second half of November, 40 to 50 being sometimes taken at one 

 haul; they tangle the nets badly, and are not liked by the fishermen. On 

 December 13, 1890, Dr. W. C. Kendall found a cutlass-fish stranded on the beach 

 at Hatteras Inlet. 



Fig. 80. Cutlass-fish; Hair-tail. Trichiurus lepturus. 



The cutlass-fish has an exceedingly formidable mouth, and, being an active 

 swimmer, must be a terror to small fishes; Spawning occurs in summer. In 

 August, 1906, Dr. E. W. Gudger obtained ripe eggs from a 30-inch fish caught 

 at Beaufort. The ovary is single, and in this specimen was about 6.5 inches 

 long. 



Family XIPHIIDiE. The Sword-fishes. 



This family contains a single species of large size and great power, inhabi- 

 ting the high seas. Body elongate, compact, smooth, and destitute of scales. 

 Upper jaw greatly prolonged and forming a flat sword, the bones entering into 

 it being the premaxillaries, ethmoid, and vomer; lower jaw large; teeth absent in 

 adult. Gills 4, the laminae of each united into a single plate; gill-membranes 

 separate, not connected with isthmus. Intestine long, pyloric coeca numerous, 

 air-bladder large and simple. Two dorsal fins, the anterior large and beginning 

 opposite gill-opening, the posterior very small and situated near the caudal; 2 

 anal fins, the anterior rather large, the posterior small and opposite second 

 dorsal; caudal very large and widely forked; pectorals long, narrow and pointed; 



