284 



FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



249. LOBOTES SURINAMENSIS (Bloch). 

 "Steamboat"; Triple-tail; Flasher; Sea Perch (S. C); Black Perch (S. C). 



Holocentrus surinamensis Bloch, Ichthyologie, pi. 243, 1790; Surinam. 

 Lobotes surinamensis, Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 1235, pi. cxciv, fig. 510. 



Diagnosis. — Depth variable, averaging .5 length; head .3 length; maxillary heavy, extend- 

 ing to pupil; eye about equal to snout and contained 6 times in head; scales in lateral series 

 about 55, those about eye very fine, those on opercle large; dorsal rays xii,15 or xii,16, the 

 fifth spine longest; anal rays in, 11, the third spine longest; pectorals short, rounded, .5 length 

 of head; ventrals longer than pectorals. Color: dull black above, silvery gray on sides and 

 below; fins dusky; sides and fins sometimes with small yellowish blotches, (surinamensis, 

 inhabiting Surinam.) 



Fig. 126. Triple-tail; Flasher. Lobotes surinamensis. 



This large, easily recognized species, Avhich inhabits all warm seas, is found 

 on the Atlantic coast of the United States as far north as Massachusetts, but is 

 not common anywhere. It attains a length of 3 feet. 



There appear to be no published North Carolina records, and the specimens 

 known to have been taken in the state are few. One 25 inches long, now in the 

 State Museum at Raleigh, was collected in Carteret County in 1892 by Mr. H. H. 

 Brimley, who reports that the species is called "steamboat" by the fishermen of 

 Wilmington. Another specimen, 23 inches long, now in the laboratory, w^as taken 

 in Beaufort Harbor in September, 1903. Mr. S. G. Worth states that he 

 had an 11-pound fish from Beaufort several years ago which was served on his 

 table; the meat was firm, white, and flaky like that of a sheepshead, and was well- 

 flavored. 



A laboratory specimen 3.5 inches long taken in Beaufort Harbor in the 

 summer of 1902 has a broad white margin on the caudal fin and white pectorals. 



