FISHES OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
17 '.) 
Thyrsitcs promethean, Gunther, Cat., II, 351, 1860 (Madeira); Gunther, Challenger Kep. XXII, 268. 1887, and XXXI, 7, 1889 
(north of Hawaiian Islands); Goode, Amur. Journ. Sci. Arts, XIV, 291, 1877 (Bermuda). 
Promethickthys promcthens, Gill, Mem. Nat. Ac. Sri., VT, 1893, 115: Goode & Bean, Oceanic Ichthyology. 200, 1S96; Jordan & 
Evermann, Fish. North & Mid. Amer.. I, 882, 1896. 
Genus 105. LEMNISOMA Lesson. Snake Mackerels. 
Body very elongate, compressed and band-shaped, approaching the form of Lepidopus; head 
long, pointed anteriorly, the lower jaw projecting, the anterior teeth in upper jaw very long, canine¬ 
like; scales minute or obsolete; spinous dorsal very long, of about 30 spines; soft dorsal low, but 
with a distinct lobe, similar to anal, and each followed by 5 to 7 finlets; ventrals I, 5, but extremely 
minute; caudal fin rathersmall, well forked; lateral line single, arched anteriorly; vertebra* 28+25=53; 
air-bladder present. The young have the “ Dicrotus" form, with large head, spinous ventrals, and 
spinigerous preopercle. Deep sea. 
Lemnisoma Lesson, Voyage Coquille, Poissons, 160, 1S30 ( thyrsitoidcs ). 
Gempylus Cuvier A Valenciennes, Hist Nat. Poiss., VIII, 207, 1831 (serpens). 
Zifphothyca Swainson, Nat. Hist. Fishes, II, 239, 1839 (coluber). 
132. Lemnisoma thyrsitoides Lesson. “HatUiuli puhi.” 
Head 5.25 in length; depth 17; D. xxx-i, 13-v; A. ii-i, 11-vn; V. i, 5; vertebra* 28 + 25=53; 
eye 7 in head; maxillary nearly reaching front of pupil; each jaw with a series of compressed triangu¬ 
lar, trenchant teeth; about 6 long canines in front of upper jaw, some of these with an emargination, as 
in Sphyrrrna; palatines with a row of small teeth, none on vomer; usually a single canine at tip of 
lower jaw; lateral line st raight except anteriorly; dorsal spines slender; soft dorsal and anal small, with 
numerous finlets; pectoral pointed, rather long; ventrals minute. 
Color dark metallic blue. Flesh firm. Deep seas; a rare fish, widely distributed, reaching a 
length of 3 feet or more. 
A painting of this species made in Hilo by Andrew Garrett is preserved by Dr. Francis Wetmore, 
resident in Hilo. The specimen came from Puna to the south of Hilo. D. xxix-ii-vir; caudal forked; 
ventral very short; dorsal divided. There is also a painting in the collection of Mrs. ,T. B. Dillingham, 
in Honolulu, called “ Hauliuli Puhi.” 
Lemnisoma thyrsitoides Lesson, Voyage Coquille, II, 160,1S30, South Pacific, near Paumotu Islands, lat. 17 0 S-, long. 108 0 E. 
Gempylus serpens Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., VIII, ‘207, 1831, Martinique; Gunther, Siidsee, 10G, pi. 68, tig. B., 
. 1875 (Sandwich Islands). 
Gempylus coluber Cuvier & Valenciennes, op. fit., 211, Otaite. 
Gempylus ophidianus Poey, Memorias, II, 246, tab. 18, fig. 1, 1861, Cuba. 
Family LY. CARANGIDJE.—The Patnpanos. 
Body more or less compressed and often elevated, sometimes naked, or more usually covered witli 
small, thin, cycloid scales; head compressed, the occipital keel prominent, usually trenchant; mouth 
of varying size, the dentition various, the teeth generally small; premaxillaries usually protractile; 
maxillary with or without a supplemental bone; preopercle usually entire in the adult, in the very 
young armed with 3 or more spines; lateral line complete, anteriorly arched, the posterior part 
straight, sometimes armed with bony plates; dorsal fins more or less separated, the spinous part rather 
weak, the spines usually depressible in a groove; anal fin long, similar to the soft dorsal, always pre¬ 
ceded by 2 stiff spines, usually separate, but in the young often more or less connected with the fin or 
with each other; these sometimes disappear with old age, and sometimes the spinous dorsal also van¬ 
ishes; often a procumbent spine before the dorsal fin; ventral tins thoracic, well developed, i, 5; caudal 
peduncle very slender, the fin widely forked; pectoral fins narrow; gill-openings very wide, the mem¬ 
branes usually not united, free from the isthmus; gills 4, a slit behind the last; gillrakers usually long; 
branchiostegals commonly 7; air-bladder present, often bifurcate behind; pseudobranchiae large, 
present in all our genera, sometimes disappearing with age; oesophagus unarmed; pyloric coeca gen¬ 
erally numerous; vertebrae fewer than in the Scombridse, usually 10+14 = 24 in number; first superior 
pharyngeal without teeth; second, third, and fourth separate, with teeth; lower pharyngeals separate. 
Coloration generally metallic and silvery or golden. Genera 29, species about 200, abounding 
