Florida Fish and Fishing 



phosis, or pass through a larval stage, in 

 which they appear as ribbon-shaped, trans- 

 parent bodies, totally unlike their parents. 



As just stated, they belong to entirely Nomenclature 

 different families. The ladyfish (Albula 

 vulpes) , or bonefish, as it may be called, 

 is the only fish in its family (Albulida)^ 

 while the ten-pounder (Elops saurus)^ or 

 bony-fish, belongs to the tarpon family 

 (Elopida), and like the tarpon has a bony 

 plate between the branches of the lower jaw 

 (hence bony-fish), which bone does not ex- 

 ist in the ladyfish. The proper identifica- 

 tion of the two fishes is really easier than 

 to distinguish between the two species of 

 black bass, or to differentiate a pike from a 

 pickerel. 



The most pronounced difference is in the Differentiation 

 conformation of the mouth. The ladyfish 

 has an overhanging, pig-like snout, the 

 mouth being somewhat underneath, while 

 the ten-pounder has a terminal mouth, that 

 is, with the upper and lower lips meeting 

 in front, the same as in most fishes. The 

 scales of the ladyfish are nearly twice as 

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