THETARPON 23 



"The very young or larvae will doubtless be 

 found to be like those of Elops and Albula elon- 

 gate ribbon-like animals of translucent and color- 

 less texture with a very small head and small fins. 

 They are probably so transparent that their eyes 

 alone are apparent in the water unless a very 

 close examination is made. The youngest of the 

 specimens (2.25 inches long) observed by Ever- 

 mann and Marsh were probably not long before 

 developed from the larval condition. Such are the 

 little fishes to be looked for as the very young of 

 the great tarpon. 



''Most of the large tarpons caught along the 

 Coasts of Florida and the Southern States have 

 attained full maturity * * * they are probably 

 nearly or over three years old. Growth, however, 

 is continued in some much above the average, one 

 of three hundred and eighty-three pounds it is 

 claimed having been harpooned." 

 It is not at all certain, however, that these fish breed 

 in pools or in rivers. The consensus of scientific au- 

 thority seems to be to the contrary, although Dr. Gill 

 has expressed the following opinion : 



' ' It apparently demands a temperature and con- 

 ditions which the reef-forming coral animals re- 

 quire and sheltered brackish or fresh water for 

 oviposition. ' ' 

 In some fishes there is a change in the young from 

 a larva to a true fish. This is termed a metamorphosis. 

 The first organisms are termed by naturalists, lep- 

 tocephali, which are semi-translucent, ribbon shaped 



