OF THE UNITED STATES. 127 



throat cd^cd ; eyes large at the summit of the head, 

 silvery ; nostrils before the eyes, in a triangular ca- 

 vity. Base of the caudal fin depressed and carinated 

 as in the preceding species ; caudal fin truncated, 

 lobes arronnded. Anal and dorsal fins as in the pre- 

 ceding. First rays of the pectoral and ventral fins 

 flat and edged. Pectorals small, pointed. Ventrals 

 smaller truncated, situated between the tail and the 

 eye. 



Color, a deep blue on the back, with a deeper co- 

 lored band on each side. Scales very fine, silvery 

 upon the head and abdomen. 



B. —P. 16.— V. 6.— D. 16.— A. 19.— C. SO. 



Collected at New-York in October 1816; at Phi 

 ladelphia, and at Newport in Massachusetts. 



Observations. At New- York this species is 

 called Gar-fish or Bill-fish. I have also seen it some- 

 times in the market of Philadelphia. 



B. *carribcea. 



Mandibles equal, slender, and pointed ; dorsal fin 

 contiuued further backward than the anal, the last 

 rays also longer; caudal fin scalloped, lobes arround- 

 ed, the inferior twice as long as the superior. 



Body almost cylindric, more than four times the 

 length of the snout. Head depressed, long and 

 wrinkled above. Eyes large, at the summit of the 

 head, iris blue and silvery, pupil black and notched 

 above. Nostrils large, near to the eyes. Opercula 



