THE SHORT POMPANO {Trachynoius ovatus) , 

 AND THE AMBER FISH {Serbia sp). 



U. S. Fish Commission, Fish and Fisheries, 1 

 Smithsonian Institution, >- 



Washington, D. C, Feb, 7th, 1870. S 

 Editob Forest and Stream:— 



The pompanoes from Pentacola, Fla., referred to in your last issue, 

 one of which was sent by Mr. Blackford to the National Museum, be- 

 long to a species not nearly so common on our coast as the Trachynoius 

 Carolinus. The short pompano {'Jrachynotus ovatus) is easily distin- 

 guished by the greater height of its body, which is nearly or quite equal 

 to the half of its length, and by the prolongations of the anterior rays 

 of the dorsal and anal fins; the lobes of the caudal, dorsal, and anal are 

 blackish, whilethe general hue of the body is more golden than in the 

 ordinary species. The short pompano is cosmopolitan; it has been ob- 

 served in Australia: in the seas of China and India; in the Moluccas and 

 about Ceylon; in the Maylayan Peninsula and the Red Sea. It occurs 

 on the coast of South America and in the West Indies. It is probably 

 the "pompynose" of New Orleans, though the other species probably 

 also occurs in those waters. While at Wood's Hole last Summer, the 

 seining party of the United States Fish Commission took three speci- 

 mens of this species at the head of Vineyard Haven (Holme's Hole) 

 Harbor; these were very young, not exceeding one inch in length, and 

 were preserved in the aquaria for some days. 



Mr. Blackford has recently sent to the museum another interesting 

 fish belonging to the genus Seriola, one of the Cararigidce, and not very 

 remotely related to the banded rudder-fish {Klalatvactus zonaius), which 

 is frequently seen in our waters. It is very closely related to the fish 

 known as the "amber fish" in the Bermudas, and as the ''yellow tail" 

 about St. Helena. This fish, which came from Key West, was forty- 

 seven inches in length and weighed thirty-two pounds. Its specific re- 

 lations are not yet determined. G. Brown Goode. 



Rarest md £trtxni -jj" , XO 



FEBRUARY 17, 187<$. 



