SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 211 



Genus CHLOROSCOMBRUS Girard. Bumpers. 



Small American marine fishes, with much compressed, elliptical body, the 

 ventral curve being greater than the dorsal; caudal peduncle very slender; small 

 smooth scales covering body, head nearly naked; lateral line arched anteriorly, 

 plates wanting; mouth small, oblique, upper jaw protractile, the maxillary bone 

 concave behind and with a large supplemental bone; feeble teeth, mostly in one 

 series, on jaws and roof of mouth; dorsal spines weak, joined by membrane; soft 

 dorsal and anal similar, low, slightly elevated in front, anal spines strong; pec- 

 torals long and falcate; ventrals small. Two species, one in Atlantic, the other in 

 Pacific Ocean. (Chlorosconibrus, green mackerel.) 



183. CHLOROSCOMBRUS CHRYSTLIRUS (Linneeus). 

 Bumper. 



Scomber chrjjsurus Linnaeus, Systema Naturse, ed. xii, 494, 1766; Charleston, S. C. 



Chloroscombrus chrysurus, Jenkins, 1885, 11; Beaufort. .Jordan, 1886,27; Beaufort. Jenkins, 1887,89; Beau- 

 fort. Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 936, pi. cxlv, fig. 394. 



Diagnosis. — Depth .4 total length; head deeper than long, about .25 length; eye longer 

 than snout, .3.3 length of head; maxillary extending as far as anterior margin of eye; dorsal 

 rays vii + i,26; anal rays ii + i,26; pectorals .33 length of body; depth of caudal peduncle less 

 than diameter of eye. Color: above green, below golden; a dark spot on upper part of opercle 

 and in axil of pectoral; inside of mouth black; caudal peduncle black above; dorsal and anal 

 fins plain, with a narrow dark margin; pectorals and caudal pale greenish-yellow, {chrysurus, 

 gold-tailed). 



■^W- 

 '.-^•i^?* 





Fig. 89. Bumper. Chloroscombrus chrysurus. 



While the bumper is found from Cape Cod to Brazil, it is not common north 

 of Charleston and has rarely been taken in North Carolina waters. One small 

 specimen was collected at Beaufort by Dr. Jenkins in the summer of 1885, and 

 another 1.87 inches long, now in the Beaufort laboratory, was obtained in the 

 harbor Sept. 4, 1901, from the bell-cavity of a medusa (Dactylometra.) Three 

 other specimens, the largest 4.25 inches long, were taken in the laboratory pound 

 net in Beaufort Harbor, in July and August, 1905. The species reaches a length 

 of a foot and is very handsome, but has no food value, the flesh being dry and 

 bony. The North Carolina fishermen do not appear to know the species. 



