Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 947 



Atlantic and Indian oceans ; widely distributed ; of late years very abun- 

 dant on our Atlantic Coast ; a large, voracious fish, extremely destructive 

 to other fishes ; highly valued for food, the flesh being most excellent. 

 Occasional in the Mediterranean; (specimens from Athens examined by 

 us), (saltatrix, one who leaps.) (Eu.) 



Perca sultatrix, LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat., Ed. x, 1758, i, 293, Carolina; after Perca marina saltalrix, 



the Skipjack of CATESBY. 



Perca lophar, FoRSivAL, Descr. Anim., 1775, Constantinople. 



Cheilodipterus heptacanthus, LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss., Fort Dauphin, Madagascar. 

 Pomatomus skib, LACPEDE, Hist. Nat Poiss, iv, 436, 1802, Carolina. 

 Lopharin inediterranem, KAFINESQUE, Indice, 17, 1810; after FORSK!.L. 

 Gonenion serra, RAFINESQUE, ludice, 53, 1810, Sicily. 

 Chromis epicuronim, GRONOW, Cat., Ed. Gray, 149, 1854, Carolina; " Piscis sapidissimus etpalato 



epicurorum gratissimus." 



Sparaclodon nalnal, DE EOCHEBRUNE, Bull. Sci. Philom. Paris, 159, 1880, Senegambia. 

 Gasterosleiis saltatrix, LINN^US, Syst. Nat., Ed. xn, 491, 1766. 

 Temnodon saltator, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Hat. Poiss., ix, 225, 1833; SCORER, Hist. Fish. 



Mass., 159, pi. 15, fig. 1, 1839; GUNTHER, Oat., n, 479, 1860; STEINDACHNER, Ichth. Beitrage, 



1881. 



Pomatomus saltator, JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 448, 1883. 

 Pomatomus saltatrix, JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 914, 1883. 



Family CXXVII. RACHYCENTRID.E.* 



(SERGEANT FISHES.) 



Body elongate, fusiform, subcylindrical, covered with very small, smooth, 

 adherent scales. Lateral line nearly parallel with the back. Head rather 

 broad, low, pike-like, the bones above appearing through the thin skin. 

 Mouth rather wide, nearly horizontal, the maxillary about reaching front 

 of eye; both jaws, vomer, palatines, and tongue with bands of short, 

 sharp teeth ; lower jaw longest; premaxillaries not protractile ; preopercle 

 unarmed. First dorsal represented by about 8 low, stout, equal, free 

 spines, each depressible in a groove ; soft dorsal long and rather low, 

 somewhat falcate, similar to and nearly opposite anal; 2 weak anal spines, 

 one of them free from the fin ; pectorals moderate, placed low ; ventrals 

 thoracic, 1, 5; caudal fin strong, forked, on a moderate peduncle; no caudal 

 keel ; no fiulets. Gill rakers rather short, stout; no air bladder; branchi- 

 ostegals 7 ; pyloric cceca branched ; vertebrae 12 -f 13 = 25. A single genus 

 with probably but one species; a large, strong, voracious shore fish, found 

 in all warm seas. Its relations are with the Scombroid fishes, although 

 not close to any of the other groups. The superficial resemblance 



*Thc osteology of this family is given as follows by Dr. Gill: "Acanthopterygians with a 

 depressed, broad, distegous cranium, the medifrontines double, plane, sculptured, and perfectly 

 ecarinate; the sphenotics with the upper surface plane and scarcely declivous; the parethmoids 

 exserted, with the upper surface nearly continuous with the medifroutines and the lower with 

 the parasphenoid, and imperforate; theprosethmoid with a large and nearly square tabular sur- 

 face and a short declivous portion at a very obtuse angle with the former; the supraoccipitine 

 with an anterior ecarinate plane portion and a posterior cristiform portion; the lateral posterior 

 crests very low, depressed, and ceasing at the medifrontines; the basioccipitiue solid below; the 

 exoccipitine condyles distant from each other; the parasphenoid very broad and ecarinate; the 

 contour of the body fusiform; the head wedge-shaped and broad; the scales small and cycloid; 

 the caudal fin with procurrent raylets; dorsal fin long and preceded by free spines reclinable in 

 grooves, and normal pectoral and ventral fins." 



