210 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
along the continental shelf from La Have Bank to Georges Bank, Nantucket Shoals, and Block 
Island. Swordfish are harpooned. Rarely it is caught on a halibut or cod trawl and in a few in- 
stances it has been taken on hand lines baited for other fish. The fishery is a valuable one, for in 
1919 there were landed in Maine and Massachusetts 1,136,542 pounds, valued at $270,164. 
The swordfish attains a length of 16 feet and a weight of about S00 pounds. Fish of this size 
are very rare, however, and usually only two or three weighing more than 500 pounds are taken each 
year. The usual size' ranges from 200 to 350 pounds. 
Habitat . — Both coasts of the Atlantic Ocean; also found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 
Known on the Atlantic coast of America, from Newfoundland southward beyond the Tropic of 
Capricorn. 
Chesapeake localities.— -(a) Previous record: Sometimes entering Chesapeake Bay (Uhler and 
Lugger, 1876). (6) Specimens in collection: None. The species was not seen or reported by 
fishermen from Chesapeake Bay during the present investigation. 
Family LII. — STROMATElDi^E. The butterfishes 
Body compressed, moderately to extremely deep; head more or less blunt; mouth moderate or 
small; premaxillaries not protractile; teeth weak, usually present in the mouth only on jaws; 
oesophagus with lateral sacks provided with hooked or barbed teeth; pseudobranchiae present; gills 
4, a slit behind the fourth; scales small, cycloid; lateral line well developed; dorsal fin single, long, 
preceded by a few weak and often obsolete spines; anal similar, usually with three spines; caudal 
fin well forked; ventral fins thoracic, often wanting; pectoral fins usually rather long. 
KEY TO THE GENERA 
a. Body very deep, ovate, the depth about 1.2 to 1.4 in the length; dorsal and anal fins anteriorly 
prominently elevated, falcate; no conspicuous pores on back Peprilus, p. 210 
aa. Body more elongate, the depth about 1.7 to 2.1 in the length; dorsal and anal fins not promi- 
nently elevated, never falcate; a row of conspicuous pores on back near base of dorsal 
_ - _ - _ Poronotus. p. 212 
83. Genus PEPRILUS Cuvier. Starfishes or harvestfishes 
Body ovate or more or less elongate, strongly compressed; head short; snout very short and 
blunt; mouth small, terminal or nearly so; premaxillaries not protractile; opercles and preopercles 
entire; teeth small, in a single series on jaws; gill membranes separate, free from the isthmus; 
lateral line high, following the outline of the back; scales small, cycloid; rather loosely attached, 
small scales present on the dorsal and anal and sometimes on the caudal; dorsal and anal similar, 
elevated anteriorly; caudal deeply forked; ventrals represented by a single short spine attached to 
the pubic bone; pectorals long and narrow. 
109. Peprilus alepidotus (Linnaeus). Harvestfish; “Starfish”; “Star”; “Butterfish”; “Diamond.” 
Chsetodon alepidotus Linnasus, Syst. Nat., ed. XII, 1766, p. 460; Charleston, S. C. 
Peprilus gardenii Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 115; ed. II, p. 97. 
Slromateus paru Bean, 1891, p. 88. 
Stromateus alepidotus Smith, 1892, p. 71. 
Head 3 to 3.6; depth 1.2 to 1.4; D. Ill, 45 or 46; A. Ill, 42 to 44. Body very deep, oval, 
strongly compressed; dorsal profile anteriorly more strongly convex than the ventral; head short, 
deep; snout very blunt, 3.65 to 5.1 in head; eye 3 to 3.4; interorbital 2.15 to 3.1; mouth rather 
small, terminal or slightly inferior; maxillary scarcely reaching anterior margin of eye, 3.3 to 3.9 in 
head; teeth in the jaws minute; gill rakers rather short, 14 to 16 on lower limb of first arch; 
scales small, thin, deciduous; lateral line arched, following the curvature of the back; dorsal and anal 
similar, notably elevated anteriorly; caudal fin deeply forked; ventral fins wanting; pectoral fins 
long, 2.5 to 3.35 in length of body. 
Color greenish-silvery above; lower parts of sides plain silvery or with a tinge of yellow; dorsal 
and anal dusky, slightly yellowish in some specimens; caudal and pectorals plain or slightly dusky, 
and sometimes slightly yellowish. 
