THE FISHES OF NEW JERSEY. 335 
brownish-dusky wavy lines obliquely forward from dorsal profile 
below lateral line. A blackish humeral blotch smaller than orbit. 
Fins dull olive. Length 7 inches. Atlantic City. 
Abundant on our coast, and on account of its small size is 
valued chiefly as a pan-fish of excellent flavor. They are fre- 
quently angled for about wharves, and often form a large per- 
centage of the catch of the visiting fisherman to the seashore 
resorts. They are often eagerly landed by youthful anglers, to- 
gether with Tautogolabrus adspersus and small examples of Cen- 
tropristes striatus. 
Liostomus xanthurus Abbott, Geol. N. J., 1868, p. 811.—Bean. 
Basu. So. Bb. Com. Vil, 16375 p. T4i; 
Leiostomus xanthurus Moore, Bull. U. S. F. Com., XII, 1892, 
p. 362.—Smith, Bull. U. S. F. Com., XII, 1892, p. 377. 
Leiostomus obliquus Baird, gth An. Rep. Smiths. Inst., 1854, 
p. 329. 
Liostomus obliquus Abbott, 1. c. 
Genus MENTICIRRHUS Gill. 
The King Fishes. 
Key to the species. 
a. Outer upper teeth enlarged; dorsal spines little elevated; color silvery- 
gray with obscure dark markings. AMERICANUS 
aa. Outer upper teeth less enlarged; dorsal spines elevated; color scarcely 
silvery. SAXATILIS 
Menticirrhus americanus (Linnzus). 
PLATE 66. 
King Fish. 
D. X, I, 23; A. I, 7. Longest dorsal spine one-half as long as 
soft dorsal, and two-thirds length of head. Length 12 inches. 
Great Egg Harbor Bay. ) ( Bean. ) 
Distinguished from the next by the enlarged teeth in the outer 
series of the upper jaw, longest dorsal spine not reaching front 
