262 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. voi.xxiv. 
body in adult; caudal tin low, with a wavy outline. Depth always more 
than one-half length, and in the young- the vertical diameter exceeding 
the longitudinal. Form varying nmch with age, the T)ody becoming- 
more elongate, the lin.s comparatively shorter, the eye much smaller, 
and a hump being developed above the mouth, topped by an osseous 
tubercle. Dark gray; sides graj^ish brown with silvery reflections; 
belly dusky ; a broad blackish bar running along the bases of the dorsal, 
caudal, and anal fins. 
Pelagic, inhabiting most temperate and tropical seas, swimming 
slowl}^ about, the high dorsal above the surface. Occasionallj' north- 
ward to Tokyo, England, Cape Cod, San Francisco; rare in the West 
Indies. It reaches a weight of 300 to 1.800 pounds. Japanese speci- 
mens are occasionally taken, but onl}- one, from Nagasaki, has been 
closely examined by us. This specimen has the dorsal very high, 2yV 
in body. The above description is from Atlantic examples. The 
published figures of Japanese specimens indicate no difl'erence. 
(Jfola, a millstone.) 
8. RANZANIA Nardo. 
Hanzania Nardo, Ann. Sci. Regn. Lonil)ar(l., ^'enet., V, 1840, jip. 10, 105, 
[tniitcatiis) . 
Body oblong, the depth about one-half height; skin smooth, tessel- 
lated, divided into small hexagonal scutella; caudal truncate. Other- 
wise essentially as in Mola, the size smaller. The larval forms are 
unknown. Pelagic. 
(Named for Camillo Ranzani, of Bologna, an excellent naturalist, 
who was led by the variations in the form of Jlola to an ineffective 
subdivision of the species in many genera.) 
27. RANZANIA MAKUA Jenkins. 
Ranzania makua Jenkins, Proo. C'al. Ac. Sci., 2(1 yer., V, October 31, 1895, pp. 
780, 784, with colored plate, Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu. — Jordan and 
EvERMANN, Fish. X. yi. America, 1898, p. 1755, copied. 
D. IT; A. 18; C. 19; P. o. Depth 2i in length to base of caudal; 
head 2f ; eve in head, 2^ in snout. 
Body much compressed, the ventral margin a sharp, evenly curved 
keel. Eye much above axis of body, a little nearer snout than base of 
pectoral. ■ Teeth forming a turtle-like beak completely hidden l)y 
projecting folds of skin, which form a truncated opening to the mouth. 
Gill opening just in front of upper base of pectoral, covered by a 
2-lobed valve. Body covered by an armor of small plates, more or 
less hexagonal and concealed. Pectoral about 1^ in head, above axis 
of body; height of dorsal about equal to head; anal slightly lower; 
dorsal and anal each separated from the caudal by a notch. Color 
bright silvery on sides, upper parts dark; sides with brighter silvery 
i 
