30 THE TARPON 



this fish no longer is extant, having been destroyed inad- 

 vertently. The present writer regrets exceedingly that he 

 is unable to offer an illustration of the specimen, which 

 was only 20 millimeters long ; not 25 as reported by Storey 

 and Perry. A specimen of the same length once was re- 

 ported from Cuba by Eigenmann (U. S. Fish Comm., 

 Vol. XXII, page 222), entirely without description. An 

 unsuccessful effort was made to locate that specimen. 

 Fortunately, a description of the specimen from Beaufort 

 had been prepared before it was destroyed and is offered 

 herewith. It is hoped that the account may be of some aid 

 in identifying this stage in the development of the tarpon 

 when it is retaken. 



"Body quite strongly compressed, the fish being in 

 transition from the leptocephalid to the adult form. Head 

 small, quadrate in cross-section ; snout depressed, two 

 times as long as eye ; eye small, bulging, entirely lateral ; 

 mouth moderate, terminal, the gape reaching under eye; 

 teeth small, evident only in upper jaw; gular plate not 

 clearly visible externally. Body myomeres very distinct, 

 except on distal part of tail, about 52 (an adult examined 

 had 32+23=55 vertebrae). Fins, exclusive of ventrals, 

 fairly well developed; caudal fin broadly forked; dorsal 

 fin short, with 12 rays; anal fin long, with 20 rays, its 

 origin under base of dorsal; pectorals rather long, in- 

 serted very low and close behind margin of opercle; 

 vertical finfold still evident on caudal peduncle. Aliment- 

 ary canal visible under magnification along ventral edge 

 of abdomen, not yet fully invaginated. Color entirely 

 wanting in the preserved specimen. 



' ' The specimen upon which the foregoing description is 

 based was taken in the mouth of Core Creek, Beaufort, 

 North Carolina, on August 21, 1929. The water at the 

 place of capture was 8 to 10 feet deep and decidedly 

 brackish. 



