THE TARPON 



CHAPTER I 



DESCRIPTION AND HABITS 



|HE TARPON (Tarpon atlanticus) is a survival from 

 another geological epoch, and few living fishes 

 have a longer ancestry. The family of the 

 Elopids (Elopidae) is decadent but the tarpon stands 

 unrivalled as a game fish amongst the hundreds of 

 species of fish inhabiting the salt waters of the eastern 

 part of the Western Hemisphere. 



The family of the Elopids was very numerous as far 

 back as the Cretaceous period and as early as the 

 Eocene, the existing type made its appearance. Allied 

 genera have been found in the Cretaceous of Europe, 

 Mount Lebanon and Brazil. The Elopidae have a bone 

 between the branches of the lower jaw called a gular 

 plate which I am informed occurs in no other living 

 Teleostean fish. 



It seems to be the rule that fishes having specialized 

 structures like peculiar teeth or armor and those which 

 are unsymmetrical have usually failed to survive 

 marked changes in the physical history of the earth. 

 The existence of the tarpon is a cogent argument in 

 favor of the conclusion that the least extreme in type 

 are best fitted to survive. 



The tarpon has been assigned many scientific names : 

 Camaripuguacu. Marcgravs 's History of Brazil. 

 1648. 



