THE TARPON 27 



ida, on the Gulf of Mexico. I believe this is the smallest tar- 

 pon ever taken in tliis locality. (See Science, Vol. 78, p. 284, 

 where this important discovery was reported.) T have one 

 4%" in length which came from this locality. 



It is believed by some that the young of the tarpon pass 

 through what naturalists call a leptocephalus stage before de- 

 veloping into perfect fish. Gill states : 



''The very yoimg or larvae will doubtless be found to 

 be like those of Elops and Albidn elongate ribbon-like 

 animals of translucent and colorless texture with a very 

 small head and small fins. They are probably so trans- 

 parent that their eyes alone are apparent in the water un- 

 less a very close examination is made. The youngest of 

 the specimens (2.25 inches long) observed by Evermann 

 and Marsh were probably not long before developed from 

 the larval condition. Such are the little fishes to be looked 

 for as the very young of the great tarpon. 



"Most of the large tarpons caught along the Coasts of 

 Florida and the Southern States have attained full ma- 

 turity * * * they are probably nearly or over three years 

 old. Growth, however, is continued in some much above 

 the average, one of three hundred and eighty-three pounds 

 it is claimed having been harpooned. ' ' 

 It is not at all certain, however, that these fish breed in 

 pools or in rivers. The consensus of scientific authority seems 

 to be to the contrary. Dr. Gill has expressed the following 

 opinion : 



"It apparently demands a temperature and conditions 

 which the reef-forming coral animals require and shel- 

 tered brackish or fresh water for oviposition." 

 In some fishes there is a change from a larva to a true fish. 

 This is termed a metamorphosis. The first organisms are 

 termed l)y naturalists, leptocephali, which are semi-translu- 

 cent, ribl)on shaped and entirely different and larger than the 

 fish that finally develop. Miss Gloria Hollistcr v^rites me 



