266 REPORT OF NEW' JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



eye. Interorbital space convex. Gill-rakers 3+11, slender, 

 longest I % in orbit. Scales below lateral line in horizontal series, 

 above in series parallel with its course. Rayed dorsal, anal, and 

 base of caudal covered densely with small scales. Scales on 

 cheek and opercle large. Lateral line not undulated, well on base 

 of caudal. Spinous dorsal inserted nearer tip of snout than base 

 of last dorsal ray, and third to fifth spines longest. Rayed dorsal 

 elevated in front and inserted about midway between origin of 

 pectoral and base of last dorsal ray. Anal similar, a little pos- 

 terior or nearer base of last ray than origin of pectoral. Caudal 

 ■emarginate. Pectoral three-fifths of space to anal. Ventral in- 

 serted a little behind pectoral, or well before spinous dorsal, and 

 a little less than half-way to anal. Color greenish-blue above, 



f-r-/;^-' 



Blue Fish. Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus). 



silvery below. A dusky blotch at base of pectoral. Length 12^ 

 inches. Beesley's Point. 



A large fish, reaching 3 feet in length, and extremely de- 

 structive tO' other fishes, especially the mackerel. As their flesh 

 is of good flavor they are highly valued as food. Reported as 

 not common at Cape May during 1903 and 1904. Schools are 

 sometimes seen in the mouth of Delaware Bay, and though the 

 big fish do not run in the young have been taken as far up the 

 Delaware as the Rancocas Creek. 



Temnodon saltaior Baird, 9th An. Rep. Smiths. List., 1854, 



P- 337. 



Pomatomus saltatrix Abbott, Geol. N. J., 1868, p. 814. — Bean, 

 Bull. U. S. F. Com., VII, 1887, p. 145.— Moore, Bull. U. S. F. 

 Com., XII, 1892, p. 361.— Smith, Bull. U. S. F. Com., XII, 1892, 

 p. 374. — Bean, Bull. Am. Mus. N. H., IX, 1897, P- 3^3- 



