100 TELEOSTEI : PERCESOCES. XIX. 



113. MENIDIA Bonaparte. (An old name, from /A^I/JJ, moon.) 

 a. Scales entire ; soft D. and A. naked. 

 b. Anal rather long, its rays I, 22, to I, 25. 



247. M. notata (Mitchill). COMMON SILVERSIDE. FRIAR. 

 Body slender ; transparent green ; scales speckled. Head 5 ; 

 depths. D. IV -I, 8. Scales 46-10. L. 5. Maine to Va., very 

 common N. (Lat., marked.) 



bb. Anal rather short, I, 15, to 1, 18. 



248. M. beryllina (Cope). First D. over vent, nearer base C. 

 than snout. Head 4 ; depth 6. D. "V-I, 11." L. 2. Poto- 

 mac 11., only the type known. (Lat., beryl-color.) 



act. Scales with ragged edges especially on back ; soft D. and A. scaly. 



249. M. laciniata Swain. Green ; back with dark points form- 

 ing streaks along rows of scales. Head 4f ; depth 5. D. IV -I, 8. 

 A. I, 19 to I, 21. Scales 50-7. L. 5. Va. to S. C. ; probably a 

 var. of M. vagrans Goode & Bean, S. C. to Texas, which has A. I, 

 14 to I, 18. (Lat., gashed.) 



114. LABIDESTHES Cope. (Aa/3is, a pair of forceps ; 

 (r6iu> } to eat.) 



250. L. sicculus Cope. BROOK SILVERSIDE. Translucent 

 green, back dotted; silver band very distinct; body very slender ; 

 scales entire. Head 4 ; depth G. D. IV-I, 11. A. I, 23. Lat. 1. 

 75. L. 3. Mich, to Perdido Bay and Kans., abundant in quiet 

 waters ; a most graceful little fish. (Lat., dry, i. e. found in half- 

 dry pools.) 



FAMILY XL VIII. SPHYRMNID^J. (THE BARRACUDAS.) 



Body elongate, subterete, with small, cycloid scales. Head very 

 long, pointed ; mouth large, with unequal teeth, some of them very 

 large ; lower jaw projecting, a very strong tooth at tip ; gill rakers 

 obsolete ; gill openings wide ; lateral line present ; air-bladder 

 large; P. short; V. I, 5. Dorsals separate, the first with 5 stout 

 spines ; A. with one spine ; C. forked ; vertebrae 24. One genera 

 with 15 species; voracious pike-like fishes of warm seas, some of 

 them very large, all excellent as food. 



115. SPHYRJBNA (Artedi) Bloch. (Ancient name, from 



o"0Cpa, hammer.) 

 a. Scales small, 130 to 150 in lateral line. 



251. S. borealis DeKay. LITTLE BARRACUDA. Olivaceous, 

 silvery below ; young with dusky blotches ; P. not nearly reaching 

 D. ; maxillary not nearly to eye. Head 3 ; depth 8. D. V-I, 9. 

 A. I, 9. L. 12. Cape Cod to Va., not rare N. (Lat., northern.) 



