appear during the summer. The white marlin, T. 

 albidus, is likely the most abundant, as is supported 

 by data in Ueyanagi et al. (1970) and Robins (1974). 

 Moreover, a photograph sent by Maul in 1961 was 

 identified by Robins as that of a white marlin. (This 

 and other photographs were destroyed in a fire in 

 1967, but a surviving letter from Howard to Maul, 3 

 March 1961, discussed this photograph in detail.) 

 This species has long pectoral fins in adults, 19-27 

 percent of body length for eastern Atlantic speci- 

 mens vs. 10-13 percent of body length in adults of T. 

 belone (Robins and de Sylva, 1963. Table 4), these 

 data agreeing well with point two in Lowe's descrip- 

 tion. Valenciennes, in Cuvier and Valenciennes 

 (1831), made no mention of scales in T. belone and 

 thus there is no solid basis forjudging Lowe's use of 

 "peculiar." Compared to the naked Xiphias or to 

 more typical fishes, the long needle-like scales of 

 most istiophorids are indeed peculiar. T. albidus is 

 unique in the family for the unblemished record of its 

 specific name. It has always gone under Poey's 

 name, although for many years it was referred to as 

 Makaira and by some authors as Lamontella before 

 Robins and de Sylva (1960) returned it to Tetrap- 

 turus. If it is judged that T. georgei is most likely 

 the white marlin, the author would petition the In- 

 ternational Commission of Zoological Nomencla- 

 ture to reject the earlier name T. Georgii Lowe and 

 preserve the well known junior name T . albidus 

 Poey for this important game and food fish. 



The roundscale spearfish as noted below occurs in 

 the eastern Atlantic, not far from Madeira, as well as 

 in the Mediterranean. No doubt it reaches Madeira 

 and many, if not all, of the eastern North Atlantic 

 records of T. pfluegeri in Japanese literature 

 (Ueyanagi et al., 1970) may be referable to it. Its 

 pectoral-fin length varies from 20-26 percent of body 

 length, also agreeing with Lowe's value. Its scales 

 along the sides are rounded with posterior spikes, 

 thus being less specialized than other istiophorid 

 fishes. Whether these less modified scales are more 

 "peculiar" depends on one's viewpoint. T. georgei 

 easily could apply to this species which otherwise 

 has no scientific name. In the interests of avoiding 

 the need for a new name in a family with a cluttered 

 nomenclatural history and in the interest of avoiding 

 any possibility of applying T. georgei to T. albidus 

 the author here restricts the name T. georgei to the 

 roundscale spearfish. 



Other species of Istiophoridae are judged to be 

 less likely candidates. T. pfluegeri also has a long 

 pectoral fin in adults (19-22 percent of body length) 



though not so long as in the two species already 

 discussed. Further, its occurrence as far east as the 

 Azores (Ueyanagi et al., 1970: Fig. 7) may in fact be 

 based on the roundscale spearfish. The sailfish, Is- 

 tiophorus platypterus Shaw and Nodder, has a short 

 pectoral fin in the small-sized Atlantic fishes (14-19 

 percent of body length), and its remarkable dorsal fin 

 surely would have elicited a comment from Lowe. 

 The blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) is rare in the 

 eastern North Atlantic but does occur at Madeira. 

 G.E. Maul, in a letter (24 February 1961) to John K. 

 Howard, refers to istiophorids in excess of 1,000 lb. 

 These could be nothing else but blue marlin. This 

 species has a fairly long pectoral fin (adults of Atlan- 

 tic fish usually 18-24 percent of body length). The 

 Mediterranean spearfish, T. belone Rafinesque, is 

 not known to occur outside of the Mediterranean but 

 may do so. It, of course, was the fish Lowe used as a 

 basis of comparison and it has a short pectoral fin as 

 already noted. Perhaps the most decisive statement 

 that can be made of T. georgei is that it is not T. 

 belone, and that authors like Albuquerque (1956), 

 who treated it as a synonym of T. belone and thus 

 extended the range of T. belone to Madeira, were in 

 error. 



Synonymy. Tetrapturus Georgii Lowe, 

 1840:36-37 (original description; type locality: 

 Madeira) 1841:93; 1849:3 (original account re- 

 peated). 



Tetrapturus georgii Robins and de Sylva, 

 1960:397-398 (name discussed, regarded as unidenti- 

 fiable). 



No other name has ever been applied to the 

 species although the reference by Rodriguez-Roda 

 and Howard (1962:495) to two unidentified speci- 

 mens under study by Robins refers to this species. 



The name is here modified to Tetrapturus georgei 

 for reasons discussed by Bailey et al. (1970:5). 



Taxonomy. The roundscale spearfish is referred 

 to Tetrapturus Rafinesque (1810:51-55; type 

 species T. belone by monotypy) as defined by Ro- 

 bins and de Sylva (1960:403-404 and in key). 



Lowe's specimen of T. georgeii and his notes on 

 it were apparently destroyed. Lowe perished in a 

 shipwreck in the Bay of Biscay in 1874, and it is said 

 that he had a large collection of Madeiran specimens 

 and his manuscripts with him. 



Diagnosis. Scales on sides of body round an- 

 teriorly usually with two or three posterior projec- 

 tions, the scales only slightly imbricate and soft. 

 Scales dorsally and ventrally elongate imbricate and 

 stiff, more typical of the Istiophoridae. Anterior lobe 



55 



