SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 213 



bluish above, golden below, 4 narrow black vertical bars on back and sides, a fifth bar repre- 

 sented by a spot on lateral line on peduncle; dorsal and anal lobes dark, caudal bluish, pectorals 

 golden and bluish, ventrals whitish, (glaucus, hoary blue.) 



This pompano is peculiar in having the anterior soft rays of the dorsal and 

 anal fins very much elongated, and in having 4 black vertical bands on back and 

 sides. The species is found from Chesapeake Bay to Caribbean Sea, and is not 

 uncommon in Florida. It has not been reported from North Carolina waters, 

 but nevertheless occurs there irregularly, and is known locally as "gaff-topsail 

 pompano ". In the summer of 1903 a specimen 9 inches long was taken at Beau- 

 fort. Ten or twelve years ago, according to Mr. J. H. Potter, a local fish dealer, 

 a great many were caught at Beaufort. The species somewhat exceeds a foot in 

 length, but does not rank high as a food fish. 



185. TRACHINOTUS FALCATUS (Linnaeus). 



"Allovericore"; Round Pompano. 



Labrus falcatus Linnaeus, Systema Naturse, ed. x, 1758, 284; America. 

 Trachynotus ovatus, Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 376; Beaufort. 



Trachynotus rhomboides , Jordan, 1886, 27; Beaufort. Jenkins, 1887, 89; Beaufort. 

 Trachinotus falcatus, Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 941, pi. c.-dvi, fig. 396. 



Diagnosis. — Body very broad, the depth more than .5 total length; head contained 3.75 

 times in length; snout shorter than eye; dorsal rays vi + i,19, dorsal spines thick and short; 

 anal rays ii + i,18; anterior rays of dorsal and anal reaching nearly to posterior margin of fins; 

 ventrals short, .33 length of head. Color: bluish above, silvery below ; fins bluish with lighter 

 tips; dorsal black in young, {falcatus, scythe-shaped.) 



The principal habitat of the round or ovate pompano is the West Indies, 

 whence it extends to Massachusetts and Brazil. The young are sometimes 

 abundant in southern Massachusetts, where they are transported by the Gulf 

 Stream, but the adults are not common anywhere in the northern part of the 

 species' range. Jenkins obtained one specimen at Beaufort in the summer of 

 1885; Jordan & Gilbert took a single young specimen there in 1878; and in 1902 

 a 1-inch example was taken at Town Marsh, Beaufort harbor, on August 23, and 

 additional specimens were collected at the bight of Cape Lookout. The maxi- 

 mum length of the species is 15 inches. 



186. TRACHINOTUS GOODEI Jordan & Evermann. 

 "Pompano"; Permit. 



Trachinotus goodei Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 431; West Indies, north to west Florida. 



Diagnosis. — Depth contained 2.6 times in total length; head .33 length; dorsal rays 

 vH-i,19; anal rays ii + i,17; ventrals .5 length of head. Color: bluish silvery above, silvery 

 white below; dorsal, anal, and caudal lobes black. (Named after Prof. George Brown Goode, 

 former U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries.) 



This large pompano is a West Indian form which ranges regularly to Florida 

 and sometimes strays to points on the east coast north of Florida. It is occa- 

 sionally taken by the Beaufort fishermen, the examples weighing 25 pounds or 



