332 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC. ANIMALS. 



waters of the United States. In Bermuda it attains a length of two feet or more, and is highly 

 esteemed as a food-fish. 



THE LEATHER-JACKET OLIGOPLITES SATJRUS. 



This fish, which is found throughout the West Indies and south as far as Bahia, and on the 

 Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America, has since 1875 been several times observed between 

 Florida and Newport, Rhode Island. It is known to fishermen as the "Skipjack," sharing: this 

 name with a number of other scombroid fishes which leap from the water as they pursue their 

 prey. It is one of the most beautiful and graceful fishes in our waters, but at present is of no 

 economic importance, its flesh being hard and dry. 



THE RUNNER ELAGATIS PINNULATUS. 



This West Indian fish, known at Key West as " Skipjack" or "Runner," and at Peusacolii as 

 "Yellow-tail" or "Shoemaker," is, according to Stearns, "abundant on the western and southern 

 coasts of Florida. At Pensacola it spawns in spring; the young fish are seen in July and August. 

 It is found in the bays and along the sea-beaches, seeming to prefer clear, salt water, swift currents. 

 and sandy bottoms. It usually moves in small schools of a dozen or two individuals. It feeds 

 upon small fishes and crustaceans. When pursued by larger fish it jumps repeatedly from the 

 water, very much in the same manner as the flying fish, only its flights are much shorter and 

 oftener repeated. This habit has given it the names of 'Skipjack' and 'Runner' at Key West, 

 where it may be seen at almost any time. It is sometimes eaten at Key West, and at Havana is 

 quite an important fish in the markets, being also exposed for sale at stands on the streets, cooked 

 and ready for use." 



107. THE DOLPHINS CORYPHJENIP-2E. 



The Dolphins are found usually in mid-ocean, where they feed upon other pelagic fishes, such 

 as the flying-fish. They are strong, rapid swimmers, and are widely distributed throughout all 

 temperate and tropical waters. The name Dolphin is wrongly applied to them, being the peculiar 

 property of a group of small cetaceans. They are often caught by sailors at sea, and are considered 

 most excellent food. It is an almost universal custom before eating them to test the flesh by 

 putting a piece of silver into the vessel in which they have been cooked, it being a common belief 

 that if the flesh is poisonous the silver will turn dark. Narratives of ocean voyages abound in 

 descriptions of the beautiful colors of the Dolphin and the brilliant changes of hue exhibited by 

 the dying fish. There are in the Atlantic two species of Dolphins, though the number was, 

 until lately, supposed to be very much greater. But one of these, Coryphcena Mppurus, is definitely 

 known from our shores. 



The young, less than two feet in length, are beautifully marked with numerous small circular 

 spots, and have, until lately, been considered by many writers to belong to a distinct genus and 

 species. Dolphins are abundant also, it is said, in the Gulf of Mexico. 



TEH STROMATEOID FISHES. 

 108. THE RUDDER-FISH FAMILY STROMATEIDJE. 



The family StromateuUs is represented on the east coast by three species, two of which are 

 important food-fishes, and in our Pacific waters by one species, the so-called 'California Pom- 

 pano." The family is a small one, and is widely distributed throughout the warm seas. 



