THE SAIL-FISH. 357 



In a paper printed in 1833, Dr. Nardo, of Venice, proposed the establishment of a new genus 

 allied to Tetrapturus and Xiphias, to be called Slceponopodus. In this he included the fish described 

 by Marcgrave under the name Slceponopodus guebucu, and also a form observed by him in the 

 Adriatic in 1829, which he called 8. typus. I am not aware that ichthyologists have yet learned 

 what this may have been.^ 



From the time of Marcgrave until 1872 it does not appear that any zoologist had any oppor- 

 tunity to study a Sail-fish from America, or even from the Atlantic; yet in Giinther's "Catalogue" 

 the name H. americanus is discarded and the species of America is assumed to be identical with 

 that of the Indian Ocean.^ 



Giinther restores Lac6p^de'8 name, H. gladius, for the Indian species. Possibly, indeed 

 probably, this name will be found to include the Sail-fish of our own coast. At present, however, 

 it seems desirable to retain a separate name. To unite species from widely distant localities 

 without ever having seen them is very disastrous to a proper understanding of the problems of 

 geographical distribution. 



The materials in the National Museum consist of a skeleton and a painted plaster cast of the 

 specimen taken near JJ^ewport, Ehode Island, in 1872, and a drawing made of the same, while fresh, 

 by Mr. J. H. Blake. 



The occurrence of the Sail-fish is, as has been already stated, very unusual, Marcgrave saw 

 it in Brazil as early as 1648. Sagra and Poey mention that it has been seen about Cuba, and 

 Schomburg includes it in his Barbados list. The specimen in the United States National Museum 

 was taken off Newport, Ehode Island, in August, 1872, and given to Professor Baird by Mr. Samuel 

 Powell, of Newport. No others were observed in our waters until March, 1878, when, according 

 to Mr. Neyle Habersham, of Savannah, Georgia, two were taken by a vessel between Savannah 

 and Indian Eiver, Florida, and were brought to Savannah, where they attracted much attention 

 in the market. In 1873, according to Mr. E. G. Blackford, a specimen in a very mutilated condi- 

 tion was brought from Key West to New York City. 



Movements of Sail-fishes. — No observations have been made in this country, and recourse 

 must be had to the statements of observers in the other hemisphere. 



In the life of Sir Stamford Raffles there is the following account from Singapore, under date of 

 November 30, 1822: 



"The only amusing discovery we have recently made is that of a sailing fish, called by the 

 natives Ikan layer, of about ten or twelve feet long, which hoists a mainsail, and often sails in the 

 manner of a native boat, and with considerable swiftness. I have sent a set of the sails home, as 

 they are beautifully cut and form a model for a fast-sailing boat. When a school of these are 

 under sail together they are frequently mistaken for a fleet of native boats." 



The fish referred to is in all likelihood Histiophorus gladius, a species very closely related to, 

 if not identical with, our own. 



The Spear-fish — TBaEAPTUEUs albidus. 



This species appears to be limited to the waters of the Mediterranean. It was not noticed by 

 Linnaeus, or indeed by any of the binomial writers before Schneider. In his posthumous edition 

 of the writings of Bloch, the latter has made reference to a figure and description in Duhamel, 

 and has given to a fish, which he figures in Plate XXI of this work, the mame Xiphias imperator. 



^IsU, 1833, Heft iv, pp. 415-419. 



» The speeimens in the British Museum are catalogued as follows : a. Eight feet long ; stuffed. Indian Ocean. 

 Type of the species, b. Seven feet long ; stuffed. Cape of Good Hope. o. Dorsal fin. N. S. Wales (?). Presented 

 by Dr. G. Beanett. d. Snout ; dried. 



