SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 199 



170. TETRAPTURUS ALBIDUS Poey. 



Spear-fish; Bill-fish. 



Tetrapturus albidus Poey, Memorias sobre la histoiia natural de la isia de Cuba, ii, 237, 1858; Havana. Goode, 



1884, 357, pi. 116. 

 Tetrapturus imperator, Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 892. 



Di.\GNOSi.s. — Greatest depth of body, under anterior lobe of dorsal fin, .15 total length; 

 depth of caudal peduncle .25 depth of body; head (with upper jaw) about ..3 length; eye small, 

 .25 postorbital part of head; length of snout about twice length of remainder of head; dorsal 

 rays iii,35 + 6, the anterior elevated rays about .75 depth of body; anal rays ii,8 + 6; each 

 caudal lobe as long as upper jaw, the fork making an angle of 70 to 80 degrees; pectorals longer 

 than ventrals and nearly .5 length of head. Color: back and fins dark blue, sides and below 

 white; anterior dorsal fin dark-spotted, {albidus, whitened.) 



This species, whose center of abundance is the West Indies, occasionally 

 ranges as far north as Massachusetts. There is a single North Carolina record 

 which has been communicated by Mr. H. H. Brimley. This is a specimen found 

 on the beach on Bogue Bank in the summer of 1892 by ]\Ir. Thomas C. Harris, 

 then curator of the State Museum. The head of this specimen is now in the 

 museum; it is 41 inches long, with upper jaw 29 inches long, spear at tip of lower 

 jaw 2 inches wide and 1.45 inches deep, width of head between eyes 7.25 inches, 

 and diameter of eye 2.5 inches. These dimensions indicate a fish more than 10 

 feet long. 



The spear-fish sometimes attains a very large size, one 26 feet long having 

 been reported from the island of Mauritius, where the species is highly esteemed 

 as food. Like the sword-fish, this species occasionally attacks vessels without 

 any provocation, and may cause serious leaks; it is also dangerous to fishermen in 

 small boats. It often floats listlessly at the surface, but is also known to swim 

 at a depth of 100 fathoms. 



Family CARANGID^. The Cavallies, Pompanoes, etc. 



A numerous and important family of marine fishes, found in warm and tem- 

 perate latitudes. They are for the most part active swimmers, and many of the 

 species go in schools. The carangids differ much in form, some being elongate 

 and not greatly compressed, while others are deep and much compressed. The 

 body is usually covered with thin cycloid scales, but is sometimes naked; the 

 lateral line is arched anteriorly, straight posteriorly, and may be armed with 

 bony plates; the dorsal fins are more or less separated, the spines rather weak and 

 depressible in a groove; the anal fin is long, with 2 stiff spines; the caudal fin is 

 widely forked, the peduncle slender; the pectoral fins are usually long and narrow; 

 the gill-rakers are usually long; the gill-membranes are free from the isthmus and 

 usually not united; the air-bladder is present, the pseudobranchise are large, and 

 the pyloric coeca are numerous. There are about 20 American genera, of which 

 8 are known to be represented in the state fauna. 



Key to the North Carolina genera of carangids. 



i. Body covered with linear, embedded scales, giving the skin a peculiar leathery appearance; 



premaxillaries not protractile; pectoral fins short and rounded Oligoplites. 



u.Body either naked or covered with small cycloid scales; premaxillaries protractile; pectoral 

 fins either long and falcate or short and pointed. 



