210 



FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



182. SELENE VOMER (Linneeus.) 



"Moon-fish"; 'Sun-fish"; ''Horse-fish"; Lookdown; Horsehead. 



Zeus vomer LinniBus, Systema Natura>, ed. x, 1758, 266; America. 



Selene argentea.. Yarrow, 1877, 208; Beaufort. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 376; Beaufort. 

 Argyriosus vomer. Yarrow, 1877, 208; Beaufort. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 376; Beaufort. 

 Argyriosiis capillaris, Yarrow, 1877, 208; Beaufort. 



Selene vomer, Jordan, 1886, 27; Beaufort. Jenkins, 1887, 88; Beaufort. Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 936, pis. 

 cxliv, cxlv, fig.s. 393, 393a. Linton, 1905, 365; Beaufort. 



Diagnosis. — Depth in advilt about .66 total length; head ..'i3 length; profile from tij) of 

 snout to occiput straight; mouth horizontal, the lower jaw small; diameter of eye about equal 

 to length of opercle and to distance from eye to anterior profile; lateral line with a well marked 

 arch anteriorly, the length of arch greater than that of straight part; dorsal rays vii + i,23, the 

 spines very low; anal rays ii-|-i,18, the 2 anterior spines immovable and sometimes absent; 

 pectorals long, falcate. Color: uniform silvery, {vomer, plowshare.) 



Fig. 88. Moon-fish; Lookdown. Selene vomer. 



This species is found on both coasts of America, its range on the east coast 

 being from Brazil to Massachusetts; it is rather common from Chesapeake Bay 

 southward. In the Beaufort region, where it is known as "moon-fish", ".sun- 

 fish", and "honse-fish", it is common from May throughout the summer, speci- 

 mens 2 to 6 inches long often being taken in the harbor and on the outer beaches 

 in company with mullets and Vomer setipinnis. The food consists chiefly of 

 .shrimp, other small crustaceans, and small gastropods and bivalves. 



The young differs greatly from the adult in appearance, the body being 

 much deeper, the profile less vertical, the ventral fins much longer, and the 

 dorsal rays more produced. An example in the Beaufort laboratory L25 inches 

 long taken in the summer of 1900 has the ventral fins 1 inch long and the anterior 

 dorsal rays 2.37 inches long. 



