SCOMBRI >IJ)S. 
105 
THE STRIPE-BACKED PELAMIS. 
SARD A PELAMIS. 
Fiar. 30. 
Back bluish, with clarh, transverse bands, which begin to disappear in adult specimens, or at least traces of them, 
and with oblique, longitudinal stripes, starting anteriorly low down and gradually rising till they reach the dorsal 
profile. Ventral side silvery or brass-coloured. Length of the lower jaw considerably greater than both the base 
of the anal fin and the length of the pectoral fins. 
Fig. 30. Stripe-backed Pelainis from Stromstad Fjord. //., natural size. 
2 3 2 3 
R. hr. 7; D. 22—24/— -/VII— IX; A. —/VII— VIII; 
12—14 11— 13 ; 
P. 2 + 24—26; V. C. *+17 1. 18+*. 
Syn. Scomber pelamis, Brunn, Ichtli. Massil. , p. 68 (nec. Lin.); 
Risso ( Thynnus , ex specim. adult.), Enr. Mew, vol. 3, p. 
415; Gill ( Sarda pelamys ), Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 
1862, p. 126; Lillj. ( Orcynus ), Sv., Norg. Fisk., vol. I, 
p. 259. 
Scomber sarda, p. p., Bloch. Ansi. Fische, part. VII, p. 44, 
tab. 334; Risso ( Thynnus , ex specim. jun.), Fur. Mir., vol. 
3, p. 417; Cuv., Val., (Pelamys). Hist. Nat. Poiss., vol. 
VIII, p. 149; R'egn. Anim. Illustr., Poiss., tab. 48, fig. 2; 
Nordm., Demid. Voy. Russ. Mer., p. 392; Gthr, Cat. Brit. 
Mas., Fish., vol. II, p. 367 ; Malm, Ofvers. Vet.-Akad. 
Forb. 1870, p. 837; Id., Gbgs., Boh. Fa., p. 418; Cederstr., 
Ofvers. Vet.-Akad. Forb. 1879, No. 2, p. 60; Coll., Vid. 
Selsk. Forb. Christ. 1879, No. 1, p. 19; Day, Fish. G:t 
Brit., Irel., vol. I, p. 102, tab. 38; Mor., Hist. Nat. Poiss. 
Fr., vol. II, p. 430; Lillj. {Orcynus), 1. c., p. 239. 
Scomber mediterraneus , Bl., Schn., Syst. Ichth., p. 23; Jord. 
et Gilb. {Sarda) Syn. Fish. N. Amer., Bull. U. S. Nat. 
Mus., No. 16, p. 427. 
Obs. It was Linnasus’s mistaken use of the name pelamis for 
the Bonito, which had already been described by Osbeck under a 
binomial specific name {Scomber pulcher), that caused the blunder 
of which Brunnich was guilty, and the confusion which existed until 
Cuvier solved the question. The Bonito was not known to the old 
writers, while the Pelamis, even if the name was originally given to 
young Tunnies, was well described by Rondelet and received the 
name pelamis from Salvianus and that of pelamys from Willugiiby. 
It was also called pelamide by the Italians and in Marseilles. The 
disadvantages of having the same specific name within two genera 
so closely related to each other as Orcynus and Sarda, especially as 
the names of Bonito and Pelamis are often confounded, need no re- 
mark. But they are a natural consequence of the current laws of 
nomenclature, and can only be removed by the recognition, in defi- 
ance of these laws, of Bloch’s specific name, Sarda mediterranea , 
as Jordan and Gilbert have proposed. 
The Stripe-backed Pelamis, which attains a length 
of from 5 to 7 dm., is distinguished externally from 
the preceding species chiefly by the straight, or even 
slightly concave, upper margin of the first dorsal fin, 
but there is no anterior flap-like elevation of this fin 
in either species. The second dorsal and the anal fins, 
too, are lower, the pectoral shorter and the hind mar- 
gin of the preoperculum, as well as of the whole gill- 
cover, more rounded, thus causing a resemblance, espe- 
cially in the preoperculum, to the next genus and 
species. The head, too, is longer, the eye being com- 
pletely situated in the front half of its length. The 
jaw-teeth are pointed, but somewhat compressed, and 
thus remind us of Scomber omorus. In the front of the 
lower jaw there are a few (from 2 to 4) large teeth 
which are almost distinct canines. The membrane on 
the margins of the preoperculum and operculum is 
Scandinavian Fishes. 
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