THE FISHES OF NEW JERSEY. 363 



without distinct openings. Gill-opening nearer snout than dorsal. 

 its length 3J^ in head. Body mostly smooth, but belly covered 

 with large subequal 3 -rooted spines, no smaller ones intermixed, 

 and well separated. Dorsal falcate, inserted nearly midway be- 

 tween origin of pectoral and base of caudal. Anal opposite. 

 Caudal lunate, upper lobe a little longer. Pectoral broad, a little 

 less than half way to dorsal. Olive-greenish above, below white. 

 Length 20 inches. Atlantic City. 



Color when freshly caught beautiful olive-brown above, becom- 

 ing more or less dusky on upper surface of caudal peduncle. 

 Lines of demarcation of darker color on head and back distinct, 

 and color just below this more or less silvered. Side of body on 

 same region, and also extending well below, beautiful citron- 

 yellow or green. This latter bounded below by lateral keel, and 

 above color between is seen to have a beautiful pale plumbeous 

 shade in some lights. Lips pale brownish-yellow, and upper 

 much paler than rest of upper surface of head. Lower surface 

 of body chalky-white, and on posterior portion or on lower sur- 

 face of caudal peduncle, chalky-white with an ochraceous-yellow 

 tinge. Anal chalky-white. Inside of gill-opening black. Beak 

 pale horn-color. Eye slaty, and marginally iris with a narrow 

 greenish-yellow ring. Dorsal and caudal olive-brown, upper 

 margin of latter dark and lower lobe a little pale. Pectoral dilute 

 olive-gray. One taken x\ugust 13th, 1904, in Delaware Bay. A 

 letter states that it grunted like a pig and fought hard for its life 

 when hauled on board. It also inflated its body and was more 

 or less transparent, similar in shape to a large basket. Length 

 about 2 feet. Another example showed the following when 

 fresh. Slaty-brown on back, side becoming paler, and median line 

 of back more or less nebulous with dusky-slate. Side of body to 

 lower lateral fold gilded or washed with metallic silvery and 

 grayish reflections, below opaque chalky or milky-white. Dorsal 

 dusk3^-brown, anterior edge dark and posterior or upper edge 

 paler. A tinge of dusky dots submarginally on dorsal. Caudal 

 more or less slaty, tip of each lobe milky-white. Anal pale 

 brownish. Pectoral pale brownish, darker basally. Inside of 

 gill-opening slaty. Iris pale or citron-white. Length lyi 

 inches. Sea Isle City. Wm. J. Fox. 



