FAMILY SCOMBRID^ — SERIOLA. 129 



Color. Silvery blue on the back and sides, becoming of a faint greenish yellow (which 

 deepens after death) on the abdomen. Five and more, usually six, broad dusky bands nearly 

 surrounding the body and tail ; another oblique band on each side, ascending from the nose 

 through the eye to the first dorsal, and forming a sort of crescent in front. Summit of the 

 head dark blue, leaving a lighter colored space between the eyes. Irides yellowish. A round 

 black spot in the larger individuals, on the side of the body above the lateral line, and oppo- 

 site the foremost rays of the second dorsal. Both dorsal fins deep olive ; the tips of the first 

 four rays of the second dorsal edged with white, and the bases of the last rays of this fin 

 also white. Ventrals bright olive-green above ; beneath, the rays are white. Anal olive- 

 green, margined throughout with white ; the last rays white. The colors of this fish are 

 extremely fugacious, the belly and sides turning white a few minutes after death ; the bands 

 then extend over the dorsal and anal fins. 



Length, 7-5. Depth, 2-0. 



Fin rays, D. 7.1.34; P. 19; V. 6; A. 1.20; C. 15 |. 



I have not seen many of these fish, which are usually caught in August, September and 

 October. I have taken them by hook in Long Island sound, in company with the Big Porgee. 

 They are exceedingly active and lively in their motions, as might indeed be inferred from their 

 form. They are called Rudder-fish by the fishermen, who apply the same name to other 

 fishes. Li the specimens four inches long, the anal spines require to be dissected to make 

 them appear. This fish, when fresh from the water, has a peculiar coppery smell. 



(EXTRA-LIMITAL.) 



S. boscii. {Crv. et Val. Vol. 9, p. 209.) Silvery with brownish on the temples; faint striae on the 

 opercles. Thirty-one soft rays to the second dorsal. Length five and a half inches. South- 

 Carolina. 



S.fasciata. (Id. Vol.9, p. 211.) Sixteen narrow ribbons in pairs over the body ; a black transversal 

 band from one eye to the other. Length 6i inches. South-Carolina. 



S. leiarchus. (Id. Vol. 9, p. 213.) Silvery; plumbeous on the back. Three black spots on the 

 dorsal, and two on the anal. Length nine inches. Delaware. An juv. S. sonata ? 



S. cosmopolita. (Id. Vol. 9. p 219, and pi. 74, fig. 237 of this work.) Silvery; back greenish; a 

 black spot on the tail. Ventrals very small. D. 7. 1.28; A. 2.1.27. From the East Indies 

 and New- York. 



Fauna — Part 4. 17 



