336 FISHES OF NOKTH CAROLINA. 



The spade-fish is of excellent quality as food, and in the New York and 

 Washington markets is highly regarded. In Pamlico Sound it is sometimes taken 

 abundantly in pound nets, and on other parts of the coast it is caught incident- 

 ally in seines and other appliances. Of late it has not been numerous in the 

 Beaufort region. The quantity taken and sold in 1897 was 39,910 pounds, valued 

 at $472, and in 1902 was 16,800 pounds, valued at $269. The bulk of the catch 

 comes from Craven, Dare, and Pamlico counties. 



Family CH^TODONTID^. The Butterfly-fishes. 



A rather numerous family of mostly small, active, highly colored fishes of 

 tropical waters in all parts of the world. Form short, deep, and greatly com- 

 pressed; mouth small, terminal, and projecting; teeth long, fine, in dense narrow 

 bands in jaws, no teeth on vomer or palatines; eye lateral, of moderate size; gill- 

 membranes connected with isthmus; gill-rakers minute; branchiostegals 6 or 7; 

 pseudobranchiae large; preopercle either unarmed or with a strong spine; scales 

 ciliated or smooth, moderate or rather small, covering body, more or less of head, 

 and soft parts of vertical fins; lateral line present; air-bladder present; dorsal fin 

 single with rather numerous spines and soft rays; anal fin similar to soft dorsal, 

 with 3 or 4 spines; caudal rounded or truncate; ventrals thoracic, with rays i,5. 

 There are about 6 American genera, but only 1 is represented on the North Caro- 

 lina coast. 



Genus CH.S;T0D0N Linnaeus. Butterfly-fishes. 



This, the most numerous genus of the family, contains many strikingly 

 beautiful little fishes, with short, deep body much compressed, especially above; 

 short, pointed, scaly head; small mouth, with numerous long, flexible teeth in 

 bands; preopercle without spine; narrow gill-openings; ctenoid, moderate-sized 

 scales; Uteral line strongly arched; about 13 spines in dorsal fin, the spinous part 

 longer than the soft; 3 stout anal spines; caudal margin straight or rounded; ven- 

 tral spine strong. Of the 8 or 10 American! species, only 1 has yet been noted in 

 North Carolina. {Chcetodon, bristle tooth.) 



290. OH.a;TODON OOELLATUS Bloch. 



Butterfly-fisli. 

 CAostodon ocei;a(™ Blooh, lohthyologie, pi. 211, fig. 2,1787. Jordan & Evermann, 1898, 1674, pi. ocxlix, fig. 621. 



Diagnosis.— Depth equals length of body posterior to head or about .7 total length; 

 head .4 length of body; snout produced, about length of eye, and somewhat less th%n .33 head; 

 scales in lateral series about 34, in transverse series 21; lateral line terminating near end of 

 dorsal fin; dorsal rays xii,20, the longest spines (third and fourth) twice length of eye; anal rays 

 111,16; ventrals more than .8 length of head. Color: yellowish gray; a black band extends 

 from front of dorsal fin through eye and thence downward to throat; a black spot on opercle; 

 a large black spot on soft dorsal; a black vertical band from this spot to base of anal, {pcel- 

 latus, having eye-like spot.) 



A common West Indian species, occurring as a straggler along the Atlantic 

 coast as far as New, England; sometimes, however, taken in large numbers as far 



