] 



72 



FirHES OF THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK 



Occasionally they rciich a length of about twenty inches and a weight of 

 about three pounds and a half. 1 he remaining six species have a 

 strong central peduncular keel. The Oceanic Bonito and the Little 

 Tunny have the skin of the body without scales except for a few small 

 ones along the lateral line, and large scales fused to form a corselet in 

 the thoracic region. 1 he Oceanic Bonito has four lengthwise dark 

 stripes on the side of the body below the lateral line, whereas the 

 little Tunny has a number of irregular dark stripes on the posterior 

 part of the back and usually a few oval black spots on the lower side. 

 Both species, though offshore fishes of tropical seas, occasionally straggle 

 to us in late summer or early fall. The Oceanic Bonito is one of the 

 pelagic species most frequently met with in the broad trade-wind belts 

 of all oceans where it roams in small hungry schools preying on the 

 flying fish, which there are the abundant, conspicuous and characteristic 

 form of fish life. 



The remaining four mackerels have the body covered with small 

 scales. The Spanish Mackerel is very different from the other three in 

 that its body is more elongate, compressed, with scattered oval yellowish 

 spots, lacking entirely the corselet which is present in the Tunny, Alba- 

 core and Bonito which approach the Oceanic Bonito type. New York 

 is near the northern summer limit of the Spanish Mackerel's range but it 

 is frequently common here in late summer having at that time much the 



SPANISH MACKEREL 



same habits as the Bluefish. Its flesh unusually rich and sweet, the 

 Spanish Mackerel is justly famed as a table fish. This species sometimes 

 occurs off our coast in fair numbers and is taken while trolling for Blue- 

 fish. Grown fish weigh from six to ten pounds. T he Altaccre can always 

 be recognized by its very long ribbon-shaped breast fins but the Tunny 

 and the Bonito have no readily appreciable superficial difference save 

 that of size. The Tunny is large, at times enormous, reaching a length of 



