SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 315 



pupil; teeth in lower jaw in a close-set series, with a few smaller teeth in front, teeth in upper 

 jaw in a, villiform band, with a series of small canines outside; preopercle serrate; gill-rakers 

 long and slender, 24 in number, 16 on lower arm; scales in lateral series about 50, in transverse 

 series 20; dorsal rays xi + l,22; anal rays ii, 10; caudal, double truncate; soft dorsal and anal 

 scaled for about half their height. Color: dull greenish above, silvery below; upper parts with 

 minute dark specks which form streaks along sides; fins mostly yellow; peritoneum white. 

 {chrysura, golden-tailed.) 



The yellow-tail, which is known as "perch", "silver perch", "white perch", 

 "yellow finned perch", and "sand perch" in North Carolina, frequents the shore 

 of the Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Gulf States. It abounds in the 

 North Carolina sounds, estuaries, and salt waters generally from early spring 

 to late fall, and may be present in winter on the southern part of the coast. 

 Its maximum length is only about 8 inches, and it is therefore too small to be 

 of great economic value, but it is an excellent pan fish, comparable with the 

 spot. The male yellow-tails make a faint drumming sound, which usually lasts 

 5 to 10 seconds; while the sound continues the abdomen is flattened and the 

 sides rise slightly. The air-bladder is similar to that of the squeteagues, con- 

 sisting of a long cylindrical body, a head, and two short horns. The drum- 

 ming muscles are connected by a stout tendon or aponeurosis. 



Spawning of the yellow-tails at Beaufort occurs during late April and early 

 May. By June the young of the year are about an inch long, and during summer 

 specimens of all sizes from 1 to 7 inches long are observed. 



Genus STELLIFER Oken. 



Small American fishes, allied to Bairdiella, chiefly distinguished by the 



spongy and cavernous structure of the skull, which is broad and flattened 



between the eyes. Of the numerous species, only 1 is known from the United 



States coasts. {Stellifer, star-bearing, in allusion to the radiating lines on the 



suborbital.) 



373. STELLIFER LANCEOLATUS (Holbrook). 



Homoprian laTiceolatits Holbrook, Ichthyology of South Carolina, ed. i, 168, pi. 23, 1856; Port Royal Sound, 



Beaufort, S. 0. 

 Stellifer lanceolatus, Jordan & Evermann, 1898, 1443, 



Diagnosis. — Body elongate, compressed, depth contained about 3.33 times in length; 

 head short, deep, equal to depth; mouth moderate, maxillary extending to pupil; snout short, 

 about .25 length of head; eye .2 length of head; 6 to 8 spines on preopercle; teeth in upper 

 jaw in broad bands; interorbital space .33 length of head; gill-rakers .75 diameter of eye, 35 

 in number, 22 on lower arm of first arch; scales in lateral series 47 to 50, in transverse series 

 13; dorsal fins continuous; dorsal rays xi+i,20 (to 23), the spines slender, the soft rays low and 

 of uniform length; anal rays ii,7 or ii,8; caudal fin with its central rays longest; first ventral 

 ray filiform. Color; bluish gray above, silvery white below; a series of small black spots at base 

 of dorsal fin; fins more or less yellow, {lanceolatus, lanceolate, in allusion to the shape of the 

 caudal.) 



This small, rare drum, heretofore known from South Carolina to Texas in 

 rather deep water, was found at Beaufort in the summer of 1903, and 2 specimens 

 about 3 inches long are now in the laboratory museum. The maximum length 

 appears to be only 6 inches. 



