A REVIEW OF THE AMERICAN MENHADEN, 

 GENUS BREVOORTIA, WITH A DESCRIP- 

 TION OF A NEW SPECIES 



By SAMUEL F. HILDEBRAND 



U. S. Fish aiid Wildlife Service 



INTRODUCTION 



The genus Brevoortia, as herein understood, contains seven Ameri- 

 can species, five of which occur on the Atlantic coast of North Amer- 

 ica and two on the Atlantic coast of South America, The genus has 

 been reported, also, from the Atlantic coast of Africa. Indeed, Fowler 

 (1936, p. 174) identified the African representative with B. tyrannus 

 of the Atlantic coast of the United States. This record certainly is in 

 need of verification. However, no specimens are available for study, 

 and nothing new on the African menhaden can be added at this time. 



The genus, in respect to the American species, was last reviewed 

 by G. Brown Goode in 1878, who did such excellent work that most 

 of his determinations still stand. I have elevated his B. tyrannus var, 

 hrcvicaudata to full specific rank for reasons stated in the account of 

 that species. I also have recognized B. aurea (Agassiz) as a separate 

 and distinct species which Goode regarded as a geographical variant 

 of B. tyrannus. Furthermore, I have recognized two species among 

 the specimens identified and described, in part, by Goode as B. pa- 

 tronus. One of these apparently is new, and is named and described 

 in these pages. 



Brevoortia is not known from the tropical shores of America nor 

 from the West Indies. In North America it ranges from Nova Scotia 

 to the mouth of the Rio Grande, being missing, however, in southern 

 Florida. In South America the genus is known from Bahia, Brazil, 

 to Bahia Blanca, Argentina. 



The menhaden fishery. — The success of the menhaden fishery on 

 the Atlantic coast of the United States, and to a lesser extent on the 

 Gulf coast of the United States, affects the economic status of the 

 people of those areas profoundly, as many depend almost wholly on 

 this fishery for a livelihood. This, like other marine fisheries, fluctu- 

 ates greatly. Periods of great abundance sometimes are followed by 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS, VOL. 107, NO. 18 



