ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



815 



RUNNER. 



The ground color of the Porkfish is bright 

 golden. Across this a broad bar of a jet black 

 extends diagonally from the nape across the eye, 

 and another encircles the body vertically behind 

 the gills. Behind this the color pattern changes 

 abruptly and narrow dark bars run horizontally 

 to the tail. All the fins are deep yellow. The 

 species ranges from Brazil to Florida. 



In naming the species Linnaeus was mistaken 

 as to the natural range of the porkfish, for it 

 does not extend as far north as Virginia. It is 

 included in the list of the New Jersey fishes on 

 the authority of Dr. Abbott who found a speci- 

 men in the Trenton fish market said to have 

 come from Barnegat, but there are no positive 

 records of the occurrence north of Florida. Of 

 course almost any of the West Indian fishes may 

 be swept northward in the Gulf Stream and Dr. 

 Abbotts record is not beyond the range of pos- 

 sibilities. The Porkfish is the commonest of the 

 genus in the West Indies, 

 and reaches a weight of two 

 pounds. The twenty-three 

 specimens brought to the 

 Aquarium from Key West 

 make a striking and beauti- 

 ful display. 



Lutianidae or Snappers. 

 This family is richly repre- 

 sented in the West Indian 

 region by seven genera and 

 twenty species. Among 

 these are the well known 

 Red and Gray Snappers 

 which frequently reach the 

 northern fish markets. While 

 none of this family is resi- 

 dent or regularly migrant 

 north of Florida, a number 



o f t h e species have been 

 noted as stragglers, having 

 probably been carried out of 

 their regular range in the 

 warm waters of the Gulf 

 Stream. Thus, at Woods 

 Hole, Massachusetts, five 

 species of the genus Neo- 

 maenis have been taken. 



Among the fishes received 

 from Key West the past 

 summer were two of this 

 genus which deserve men- 

 tion. One of these, the Mut- 

 tonfish (Neomaenis analis) , 

 k n o w n also as Pargo or 

 Pargo criollo, has never be- 

 fore been exhibited at the 

 fish, which is the most impor- 

 tant food fish of the Havana market is found 

 normally from Brazil to Florida and has been 

 taken as far north as Woods Hole, Massachus- 

 etts, but has not been recorded for New York 

 or New Jersey waters. It is a large species 

 reaching a weight of twenty-five pounds. It is 

 not so striking in its coloration as some others 

 of the genus, but is a very handsome fish with 

 its dark olive green background and irregular 

 bluish stripes. The fins are mostly brick red, 

 while the iris is fiery red giving the eyes a fero- 

 cious, gamy look. There are at present five of 

 these at the Aquarium. 



The other species, Neomaenis apodus, the 

 Schoolmaster, has been rarely represented in our 

 collections. Its range is about the same as that 

 of the preceding species and it has also been 

 taken at Woods Hole, but not in this immediate 

 region. The Schoolmaster is one of the most 



Aquarium. Tin 



MLTTONFISH. 



