Jordan and Evcrmann. Pishes of North America. 811 



snout ; soft dorsal and anal almost naked. Margin of soft dorsal very 

 concave, the sixth ray shortest, 3 times in second and longest ray. Anal 

 similar to soft dorsal, but slightly less concave. Caudal deeply forked. 

 Color dusky above, silvery below; a dusky streak along each row of 

 scales, these streaks not so wide as in Mugil cephalus. Scales on side 

 and opercle with dark punctulations ; ventrals pale yellowish, the fins 

 otherwise dusky. Length 18 inches. Cuba to Patagonia, common in the 

 West Indies and along the coast of Brazil ; abundant in the markets of 

 Havana, where it is usually known as Lebrancho. It has not yet been 

 noticed in the waters of Florida, although probably occurring there. It 

 is readily distinguished from Mugil cephalus and other species with naked 

 dorsal and anal, by its large scales. 



Mugil brasiliensis, AGASSIZ, Spix, Pise. Brasil., 234, plate 72,1829, Atlantic Ocean off Brazil ; 



the types in the museum at Munich ; JORDAN & SWAIN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1886, 262. 

 Mugil liza, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xi, 83, 1836, Brazil; Porto Rico; 



Maracaibo ; Surinam ; Martinique. 

 Mugil lebranchus, POEY, Memorias, n, 260, plate 18, fig. 3, 1861, Cuba. 



1183. MUGIL CEPHALUS, LinnwuB. 

 (COMMON HULLET; STRIPED MULLET ; CEFALO ; MACHO; MACHCTO ; LISA CABEZUDA.) 



Head 4 (5 in total with caudal); depth 3f (5 in total). D. IV-I, 8 ; A. 

 Ill, 8 (very rarely III, 7) ; scales 41-13. Body rather robust, somewhat 

 compressed, its depth moderate. Snout rather narrow and acutish, its 

 upper profile little less oblique than lower. Interorbital space slightly 

 convex, 2f in. head. Upper lip rather thin. Space at the chin between 

 the mandibulary bones oblanceolate, acutish posteriorly. Preorbital 

 narrow, not nearly covering the maxillary. Eyes hidden anteriorly and 

 posteriorly by a broad adipose membrane. Teeth close-set, rather small, 

 but evident. Scales rather small ; about 23 large scales between origin 

 of dorsal and tip of snout ; scales on top of head slightly enlarged ; soft 

 dorsal and anal with very few scales. First dorsal spine usually a little 

 more than half head, its length subject to some variation. Margin of 

 soft dorsal concave, the seventh ray shortest, 2| times in length of second 

 or longest ray ; anal similar to soft dorsal, but less concave. Pectoral 

 reaching nearly to front of spinous dorsal, its insertion above axis of body.* 

 Caudal deeply forked. Color dark bluish above ; sides silvery, with 

 conspicuous dark stripes along each row of scales ; pale yellowish below; 

 ventrals yellowish, the other fins more or less dusky. Length 1 to 2 feet. 

 Coasts of southern Europe and northern Africa; Atlantic coast of 

 America, from Cape Cod to Brazil ; Pacific coast, in great schools in bays, 

 lagoons, and sheltered waters from Monterey to Chili, everywhere very 

 common; a food-fish of considerable importance, the flesh of fair quality. 

 On renewed comparison of specimens we are still wholly unable to sepa- 

 rate M. albula from the east coast of North and South America, M. mexi- 

 canus of southern California, M. guntheri from western Mexico, and M. 

 rammelsbergii from Peru, from the ordinary European mullet, and so unite 



* Not on the median line, as stated by Dr. Gunther in his account of Mugil lineatus. 



