106 MR. J. T. CUNNINGHAM ON MARINE FISHES [Jan. 18, 



and Middle. America' 1896, adopt a somewhat different arrange- 

 ment and nomenclature ; they also recognize only one long-finned 

 species but call it Germo alalonga, with which they consider the 

 Thynrms balteatus, pacificus and argentivittatus of the 8th vol. of 

 Ouvier and Valenciennes to be synonymous ; the Tunny they 

 make generically distinct and call it Thunnus thynnus. It is 

 easy to recognize in the figures given by Cuvier and Valenciennes 

 and by Dresslar and Fesler the form called the bastard at 

 St. Helena ; not only the length but the shape of the pectoral 

 prove this : it reaches to the end of the anal fin or to the first finlet 

 beyond it, and is very narrow and shaped like a scythe. 



I was much interested to discover that the three forms I saw 

 at St. Helena were described as distinct species by Lowe at 

 Madeira so long ago as 1839 in our 'Proceedings.' The one 

 he names Thynnus alalonga Ouv. & Yal., is the bastard of 

 St. Helena, its chief character being the great length of the 

 pectorals, which are one-third of the total length of the body and 

 reach to the end of the anal or to the first spurious finlet 

 behind it. Another species described by Lowe as Thynnus 

 albacora is the ordinary albacore or long-tin of St. Helena. He 

 calls this a very distinct species and gives as its chief character 

 the elongation in the vertical direction of the anterior part of the 

 second dorsal and the anal, a feature which was very conspicuous 

 in the specimens that I saw at St. Helena. The pectoral is 

 described as from one-fifth to one-fourth of the total length, 

 reaching to the middle of the second dorsal. The third species 

 of Lowe, named by him Thynnus obesus, agrees exactly with the 

 coffrey of St. Helena ; it is described as differing from the others 

 by the shorter and stouter shape and by the larger eyes, the 

 pectorals being from one-sixth to one-fourth of the total length 

 and reaching to the end of the second dorsal. As at St. Helena, 

 the fishermen of Madeira distinguish the three species by 

 separate names, alalonga being called 'atum avoador.' albacora 

 'atum albacora,' and obesus ' atum patudo.' Two of Lowe's species 

 were entered in the British Museum Catalogue by Dr. Giinther, 

 namely Thynnus alalonga and T. albacora, but T. obesus is 

 mentioned only in a footnote as a doubtful species. 



It is necessary to consider whether the characters of these three 

 forms are due to age or sex. With regard to age there can be no 

 doubt that it is not the cause of the differences. The different 

 characters were developed in fishes of about the same size, and both 

 small and large specimens of the three kinds were easily distin- 

 guished. In one form — namely, the common albacore of the 

 inhabitants of St. Helena — there are considerable changes in the 

 course of growth ; but these changes do not lead to any approxi- 

 mation to the other forms but rather to the greater development of 

 the special features : in a small specimen somewhat less than 3 feet 

 in length the second dorsal and the first ventral fins were scarcely 

 higher than in the other two forms, while in larger specimens the 

 great vertical elongation of these fins is very characteristic. With 



