THE TARPON 31 



"The tarpon does not occur regularly on the coast of 

 North Carolina, and no evidence indicating that it spawns 

 there has been secured. The young one captured may have 

 strayed to North Carolina from a more southern locality. 



"The identification is believed to be correct, because 

 specimens of the young in the transition stage of both the 

 lady-fish, Albula vulpes, and the ten-pounder or big-eyed 

 herring, Flops saurus, the only other local species, exclu- 

 sive of the eels, that pass through a leptocephalus stage, 

 were at hand for comparison. The young tarpon is dis- 

 tinguished from these two species (a) by the short dorsal 

 fin, which has 12 rays, whereas the lady-fish has 16 dorsal 

 rays and the ten-pounder 22; (b) by the long anal which 

 has 20 rays and its origin under the base of the dorsal, 

 whereas in the lady-fish this fin has only 8 rays and in the 

 ten-pounder 13, and in ])oth species the origin of the anal 

 is behind the base of the dorsal; and (c) by the small 

 number of myomeres of which there are only about 52 in 

 the tarpon, as compared with about 65 and SO, respec- 

 tively, in the lady-fish and the ten-pounder," 

 Dr. Hildebrand wrote me as follows : 



"Referring to your letter of March 31, it is true that we 

 captured a larval fish which was identified more or less 

 positively as a young tarpon. However, the rest of the 

 story is quite disconcerting. I sent the specimen to my 

 friend, Doctor E. W. Gudger, in the American Museum 

 for examination and verification of the identification. 

 Although the specimen presumably was very securely 

 packed the vial containing it was broken in shipment and 

 the tail of the specimen was severed from the body. After 

 Doctor Gudger had examined the fish, he asked my per- 

 mission to stain and clear it in order that the vertebrae 

 could be counted. This permission was granted, and that 

 was the end of our young tarpon, as it went all to pieces 

 in the process, evidently through a mistake made by the 



