ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 87 
a pe 
noveboracensis, and Pygosteus occidentalis, are known as “little 
swordfish” by the boys of Portland, Me., and vicinity. The 
spines, damaging in the extreme to small fingers of tyro fish- 
gathers, give reason to the name. 
Sail-fish appear to occur throughout the tropical and southern 
parts of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. Their names, wher- 
ever they are found, point to its most striking characters. In 
Marcgrave’s time the Portuguese of Brazil called it Azcuda, re- 
ferring to its snout, and Rochefort, in his History of the West 
Indies, calls it the Bécasse de Mer ; a bécasse being a long-snouted 
bird like a woodcock or a snipe, while in the Malay Archipelago 
the Dutch call it Zee-snip or “sea-snipe.” The Malays of Am- 
boyna called it the /kan-layer or fan-fish, in allusion to the fan- 
like movements of its dorsal fin, while those of Sumatra called 
it Zkan-jegan or sail-fish. The French Votlier and the Dutch Zey/- 
fisch and Besaan-fisch mean the same; a bezaan being the sail up- 
on the mizzen mast of a ship. The names “ Boohoo” and ““W oo- 
hoo” have already been referred to. The family name is “ AZj/- 
meen,” signifying “ peacock-fish.” 
POEY’S DESCRIPTIONS OF TETRAPTURUS ALBIDUS AND 
TETRAPTURUS AMPLUS. 
It is quite probable that the larger species of Zetrapturus. T. 
amplus, Poey, which frequents the waters of Cuba, in company 
with the species now so often seen on our coast, may yet be 
found on the coast of the United States. It seems desirable, 
therefore, to quote here, in full, translations of the original de- 
scriptions. These species should both be critically compared 
with the Zetrapturus Georgii, described by the Rev. H. T. Lowe, 
from Madeira. 
“It is very strange that the fishes known at Havana by the 
names Agua and Aguja de Paladar have never been described in 
ichthyological works. Their size would naturally attract the 
attention of travelers, and since they are very common for four 
months in the year it would have been very easy to obtain 
them. Their flesh is palatable and always wholesome. They may 
have been confounded with 7. delone of the Mediterranean, es- 
