438 
BULLETIN OE THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
side with numerous small, round, coffee-brown specks, disposed chiefly on the edges; median line of 
back with a darkish stripe; middle of side with a broad silvery band, plumbeous above, especially 
anteriorly, more silvery below; top of head and snout with numerous dark brownish or black specks; 
side of head silvery, opercle somewhat dusky, sides and tip of lower jaw dusky; dorsals and caudal 
somewhat dusky, other fins pale; pectoral without dark tip. 
This small fish is common inside the reef in shallow bays everywhere in the Hawaiian Islands. 
Many individuals were seen off the wharf at Lahaina on Maui. Jordan & Evermann’s collections of 
1901 contain 20 specimens from Kailua, from 1.5 to 3.5 inches long; 43 from Hilo, 1.5 to 2.25 inches 
long; and 1 from Honolulu, 2.25 inches in length. Numerous specimens were obtained by the Albatross 
at Honolulu in 1902, 1 of which is taken as the type and 3 others as cotypes. 
Five Specimens were obtained by me in 1889. 
Atherina insularum Jordan & Evermann, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm, for 1902 (April 11, 1903), 170, Honolulu. (Type, 
No. 50819, U. S. N. M.; coll. Albatross, 1902.) 
Family XX. MUGILM. 
48 . Mugil cephalus Linnaeus. “Amaama” ; Mullet. 
This is the most highly prized food-fish about the islands, always bringing good prices in the 
market. Besides being caught in nets as they run in schools, they are kept in large ponds from which 
they are taken to supply the market. These are portions of the sea inclosed in favorable places by 
walls with openings through which the fish are allowed to run, but from which they are prevented 
from escaping. They remain here feeding until of sufficient size to market. Many of these ponds 
have been maintained from times previous to the discovery of the islands by Captain Cook. Other 
fishes accompany the mullet into the ponds and are likewise restrained with it, notably the “Awa,” 
Chanos chanos. The natives have different names for different sizes of the mullet. The very small, 
about! inch or less, is “Pua”; about 6 inches is “ Pua-ama-ama ” ; the larger ones are “Anae.” 
My collection contains 70 examples from 2.5 to 7.2 inches in length. I have also examined a 
specimen !0 inches long, collected by Mr. P. C. McGregor, and Dr. Wood’s collection contains one 
(field No. 6114), 9 inches. The Hawaiian specimens compared with specimens in Leland Stanford 
Junior University Museum identified as Mugil cephalus, from Naples; La Paz, Mexico; Callao, Peru; 
and Japan, show no structural differences. The older individuals have a greater mandibulary angle, 
it being more acute in the small ones. 
Mugil cephalus Linnteus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, 316, 1758, Europe. 
Mugil dobula Gunther, Cat., in, 420, 1861, Aneiteum, Australia; Fische der Siidsee, Vi, 214, 1877 (Hawaiian Islands); Stein- 
dachner, Denks. Ak. Wiss. Wien, lxx, 1900, 501 (Honolulu). 
49 . Chsenomugil chaptalii (Eydoux & Souleyet). 
Color in life, gray above, white below, golden spot on upper part of base of pectoral, upper por- 
tion of iris golden, the remainder white. Four specimens were obtained, the longest being 10 inches. 
It seems fairly common at Honolulu and is highly prized as a food-fish. 
Mugil chaptalii Eydoux & Souleyet, Voyage Bonite, Zool., I, 171, pi. 4, fig. 1, 1841, Hawaiian Islands. 
Myxus ( Neomyxus ) sclateri Steindaehner, Sitz. Ber. Ak. Wiss. Wien, lxxviii, 1, 384, 1878, Kingsmill and Sandwich Islands. 
Family XXI. SPHYRyFNIILE. 
50 . Sphyraena commersoni Cuvier & Valenciennes. 
This species was described by me as S. snodgrassi in a former paper, but an examination of a larger 
number of specimens has led to the decision that this is the same as the East Indian species. This 
species reaches a large size, individuals 5 feet in length having been brought to the market. 
Sphyrxna commersoni Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., m, 352, 1829. 
Sphyrxna snodgrassi Jenkins, Bull. U. S. F. C. 1899 (June 8, 1900), 388, fig. 2, Honolulu. (Type, No. 49693, U.S.N.M.) 
51 . Sphyraena helleri Jenkins. 
This comparatively small species is fairly common about Honolulu, being frequently taken in the 
mullet ponds, where it preys on that fish. But one specimen (16 inches long) was taken. Apparently 
it is not often in the market. 
Sphyrxna helleri Jenkins, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm. 1899 (June 8, 1900), 387, fig. 1, Honolulu. (Type, No. 49692, U.S.N.M.) 
