398 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



young are seldom or never seen by persons who know the fish. 

 'The Spanish mackerel is caught chiefly in pound nets. 



It is recorded that the species has been obtained off the coast 

 of Maine by Capt. Atwood. Mitchill describes the species with- 

 out making any remark on its abundance or scarcity, and states 

 that it comes in July. In 1854 the species had very little im- 

 portance in the New York market, but at the present time it is 

 one of the most highly prized fishes and is obtained in large 

 numbers. Spanish mackerel have been sparingly caught by 

 trolling off Fire island inlet. We did not obtain the species in 

 Great South bay, but Erastus Gordon of Patchogue informed 

 us that it is obtained in moderate numbers. In 1884 the fish 

 was not plentiful and the average price was about |1 each. 

 They appear in New York waters in July and usually leave in 

 September. The spawning season at Long Island begins late 

 in August and continues about a month. The Spanish mackerel 

 congregate in enormous schools. Mr Earll records the appear- 

 ance of a school off Long Island which was estimated to contain 

 several million individuals. The fish are taken principally in 

 traps; a few are caught by trolling, but this is an unsatisfactory 

 method of capture. 



199 Scomberomorus regalis (Bloch) 

 Cero 



Scomher regalis Bloch, Ichth. pi. 333, 1795, Martinique. 

 Cylium regale Gunther, Gat. Fish. Brit. Mus. II, 372, 1860. 

 ScomMromorus regalis Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 426, 



1888; Jordan & Evermann, Bull. 47, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 875, 1896, pi. 



CiXXXV, fig. 369, 1900. 



Very similar in shape and general appearance to S. m a c u - 

 1 a t u s ; the greatest depth of body one fifth of total length 

 without caudal, the greatest width two fifths of length of head ; 

 the least depth of caudal peduncle one half the length of 

 «nout; head longer than in S. maculatus, two ninths of 

 total without caudal; the snout long and very acute, three 

 eighths as long as the head ; the interorbital space scarcely con- 

 vex, its width two sevenths of length of head; jaws equal in 



