THE FISHES OF NEW JERSEY. 247 



Genus Trichiurus Linnaeus. 



The Hair Tails. 



Plate 23. 



Trichiurus lepturus (Linnaeus). 



Cutlass Fish. Hair Tail. Ribbon Fish. 



Head 7% ; depth 15}^ ; D. 134; A. CVH; mandible 2 in head; 

 pectoral 3^^ ; fiftieth dorsal ray 2^ ; snout 2^ in head measured 

 from tip of upper jaw ; eye 7 ; maxillary 2% ; interorbital space 7. 

 Body extremely elongate, band-like, and tapering to a very 

 slender tail. Head long with wide mouth. Snout long, pointed, 

 and curved a little. Eye circular, high and a trifle anterior. 

 Mandible well protruding and w^ith a horny tip. Maxillary 

 reaching past front of pupil and its distal expansion a little less 

 than latter. Jaws armed with very strong knife-like unequal 

 teeth, upper with 4 long strongly compressed barbed fangs. 

 Palatine teeth uniserial, small, none on vomer. Nostrils a little 

 above center, but close to front rim of orbit. Interorbital space 

 a little convex. Gill-rakers 10-I-15, short, slender sharp- 

 pointed, and some with small pointed basal cusps. Gill-filaments 

 longer, equal about diameter of pupil. Body naked. Lateral 

 line curving down after pectoral and then concurrent with ventral 

 profile. Dorsal inserted nearly midway between middle of orbit 

 and origin of pectoral, fin highest in middle of its length, though 

 soon sloping down behind. Anal inserted about first ^ ifi 

 entire length of fish, of short imbedded spines and first but trifle 

 larger than those following. No caudal. Pectoral short and 

 pointed. Color bright silvery. Dorsal grayish marginally, 

 dusky anteriorly. Length 38/^ inches. Beesley's Point. 



I have 2 examples from the above locality taken many years 

 ago, though the species has been reported to me from the deep- 

 sea pounds off various points along our coast several times. 

 Other examples are from Barnegat, Atlantic City and Cape May. 



Lephirns argent ens Abbott, Geol. N. J., 1868, p. 812. 



