FISHES OF NEW YORK 323 



of length of head; length of pectoral slightly greater than that 

 of postorbital part of head; caudal forked, the lower rays about 

 one fourth longer than the upper. D. 23-24 ; A. 21-22 ; P. 13 ; V. 5 ; 

 B. 12. Scales in lateral line (estimated) 380. 



Above deep green, belo'w silvery white, opercles and cheeks 

 silvery white, anterioir rays of dorsal and pectoral fins blackish, 

 caudal carinae also blackish. 



"The houndfish, as it is called in Bermuda, is a graceful, 

 active species attaining to the length of 3 feet or more. It fre- 

 quents swift tide courses, where it preys upon small fishes, par- 

 ticularly the schools of silversides and anchovies. It takes the 

 hook well." Goode 



The species occurs in the West Indies and sometimes strays 

 northward as far as Buzzards bay in summer; it was first 

 described from Martinique. Individuals have been recorded from 

 Beaufort N. C. 



Family HEiviiRHj^^^vdFtiiDAE^ 



Balaos 



Genus hyporhamphus Gill 



Body elongate, moderately compressed, the sides of the body 

 not vertical, but more or less convex; the dorsal outline parallel 

 with that of the belly; upper jaw short, lower jaw prolonged 

 into a slender beak, bordered with membrane, this beak 

 shorter in the young; premaxillaries forming a triangular 

 plate, the teeth of which fit against the toothed part of 

 the mandible; maxillaries. joined to premaxillaries; teeth 

 feeble, mostly tricuspid; gill rakers rather long; head covered 

 above with large, shieldlike scales; scales large, deciduous; no 

 finlets; caudal fin more or less forked, the lower lobe the longer; 

 dorsal and anal similar, opposite each other, not modified in the 

 males, last ray of dorsal usually short; ventrals small, inserted 

 well forward, nearly midway between opercle and base of caudal. 

 Oviparous. Air bladder large, simple, not cellular. Young with 

 the lower jaw short. Sides in our species with a distinct silvery 

 band, as in Atherina. Species numerous, in all w^arm seas, 



