THE TARPON 



Megalops atlanticus. Cuvier & Valenciennes. 

 Megalops elongatus. Girard Pro. Nat. Sci. Phil., 



1858. 

 Megalops thrissoides. Giinther. 



The scientific name of our tarpon is Tarpon atlanti- 

 cus. (Cuv. &Val.) 



It has been known under many colloquial names. One 

 of the earliest was Tarpum. G. Brown Goode in his 

 Catalogue of the Fishes of Bermuda says this name 

 may have some connection with the one current in 

 Barbados, where it is called Caffum. It is more proba- 

 ble that it is of Indian origin. Captain William Dam- 

 pier spoke of it in 1675 as the Tarpom and Roman in 

 his Concise Natural History of Florida (1775) did the 

 same. The name Tarpum is used sometimes by the 

 Government in its publications. But that name is 

 rapidly becoming obsolete. It was known by the Cre- 

 oles of Louisiana as the Grande Ecaille (large scale) ; 

 by the Georgians as Jew fish; at Pensacola as Silver 

 fish ; by the natives of Massachusetts as Big Scale ; and 

 it is called Sabalo, Savalo, Savalle and Savanilla by the 

 Spanish-American peoples. The title Silver King has 

 been frequently applied to this noble fish by admiring 

 anglers. The name Tarpon is rapidly supplanting all 

 others by the common consent and usage of the anglers 

 who fish for it in steadily increasing numbers. A 

 technical description is here set forth from Jordan & 

 Evermann's standard work entitled "American Food 

 and Game Fishes-' 7 



