THE FISHES OF NEW JERSEY. 219 



Distinguished from the following species by the naked, or 

 almost naked, soft dorsal and anal fins. 



They are apparently not as abundant at Cape May as formerly. 

 They run in at night and disappear in the day.. Last fall several 

 big ones were taken in the surf. I have no New Jersey examples. 

 The references to Mugil petrosiis and Miigil plnmievi by Dr. 

 Abbott are entirely provisional, as such species are not yet known 

 from our coast. 



Mugil cephahis Moore, Bull. U. S. F. Com., XII, 1892, p. 360. 



Mugil lincatiis Abbott, Geol. N. J., 1868, p. 816. 



Mugil alhiila Bean, Bull. U. S. F. Com., VII, 1887, p. 145. 



Mugil curema Valenciennes. 

 Mullet. White Mullet. 



Head 32^ ; depth 314 ; D. IV-I, 8; A. Ill, 9; scales 38 to base 

 of caudal, and 12 between origins of second dorsal and spinous 

 anal; snout 4^ in head; eye 3^; width of mouth 3J4 ; inter- 

 orbital space 2^/7; second dorsal spine lYs ; first dorsal ray lYs ; 

 third anal spine 2j^ ; first anal ray i^; lower caudal lobe i; 

 least depth of caudal peduncle 2^^ ; pectoral 1^/7; ventral i^. 

 Body elongate, compressed, and lower profile more convex than 

 upper. Head large. Snout short, comparatively narrow and 

 obtuse. Eye rounded, near first third of head, and mostly hidden 

 by broad adipose eyelids. Jaws about equal, and rami of man- 

 dible would form an equilateral triangle. Teeth minute. Inter- 

 orbital space broad and convex. Gill-rakers about 15 -f 40, 

 slender, and a little shorter than filaments, which equal orbit. 

 Soft dorsal, anal and base of caudal densely scaled. About 23 

 scales before dorsal. Scales on side of head large. Spinous 

 dorsal inserted midway between tip of snout and base of caudal, 

 second spine longest and close to first. Rayed dorsal inserted a 

 little nearer origin of spinous fin than base of caudal, highest in 

 front and margin concave. Anal inserted before soft dorsal, 

 spines graduated to third which is longest, and fin otherwise 

 similar to soft dorsal. Caudal large, broadly emarginate, and 

 tips of each lobe pointed. Pectoral small, broad, inserted level 

 with orbit and reaching about 5/^ of space to spinous dorsal. 



