Butterfish; Dollarfish 



highly prized food-fish, the flesh being rich and delicate. It reaches a 

 length of 10 inches. Colour, bluish above, bright silvery below; fins 

 punctulate; anterior lobes of dorsal and anal dusky-edged. 



GENUS PORONOTUS GILL 



This genus differs from 'Palometa only in the presence of a 

 series of conspicuous, wide-set pores above the lateral line. 



There is but a single, species in our waters. 



Butterfish; Dollarfish 



Poronotus triacantJius (Peck) 



This is the butterfish of the coast of Massachusetts and New 

 York, the harvestfish of New Jersey, the dollarfish of Maine, 

 the sheepshead of Cape Cod, the pumpkinseed of Connecticut, 

 and the starfish of Norfork. It occurs from Maine to South Carolina, 

 and is generally common between Cape Cod and Cape Henry. 

 It is a summer visitor, appearing and disappearing with the mackerel. 

 It breeds in early summer and the young are abundant in July, 

 August, and September, swimming about, like the harvestfish, 

 with various jelly-fishes. During the summer certain species of 

 large jelly-fishes, called sun-squalls, are found abundantly on our 



330 



