FOURTEEN TELEOSTEAN FISHES AT BEAUFORT, N. C. 
459 
and in the same way in 1928 and 1929, no small amberfish was seen during the last 
two years. The larger fish have not been taken since 1915. Of course, large 
spawning fish must have visited the coast in 1927 or the fry would not have been 
present. It may be assumed, from the information at hand, that the occurrence of 
the amberfish is rather irregular locally, and it is not known that the mature spawn- 
ing fish enter the inside waters. At Key West, Fla., at least, the amberfish is 
pelagic in its habits, and it no doubt coidd be taken oftener off Beaufort Inlet by 
the employment of proper fishing methods. 
The amberfish occurs in sufficient numbers and is important enough to find a 
separate place in the statistical records of the United States Bureau of Fisheries in 
Florida only, where 20,675 pounds were marketed in 1927. This fish is rather com- 
mon at Key West, Fla., during the winter and is taken by trolling. It is considered 
a good game fish there, and individuals weighing from 50 to 70 pounds are not uncom- 
mon. The maximum weight attained is about 100 pounds. 
The adults of this species are elongate shapely fish with somewhat compressed 
bodies. The soft dorsal and the anal fins are long, the former having 30 to 36 rays 
and the latter 19 or 20, and they are not followed by a detached finlet, as in some of 
the related species. (See Decapturus punctatus, p. 453.) The lateral line has a long, 
low arch anteriorly and has no bony scutes in the straight portion, as in many related 
genera, although a keel is present in the adult. The gill rakers are well developed 
but rather few in number — only 11 to 14 being developed on the lower limb of the 
first arch. Large individuals are amber colored from which the animal derives the 
name — amberfish. The young — that is, fish ranging from about 30 to 325 milli- 
meters (1.25 to 13 inches) in length — are bluish-brown above and silvery on the sides, 
with black bars. The black bars in fish 13 inches or so in length when present in life 
are not especially distinct and generally fade quickly after death. 
SPAWNING 
The literature consulted contains nothing relative to reproduction in this species. 
No ripe fish were seen during the investigation. However, a female, 13 inches long, 
taken in May, 1915, has the ovaries somewhat distended and probably would have 
spawned within a few months. This shows that, although the fish reaches a large 
size, if correctly determined, it may be sexually mature at a length of only about 
13 inches. Two larger specimens (15 inches long) taken on the blackfish grounds in 
September, 1913, have the sexual organs entirely collapsed as if spawned out recently. 
The eggs, if taken, were not recognized. Small young, ranging from 4 to 12 milli- 
meters in length, were taken in August (1914) and September (1927). While the 
data are very incomplete, they do show that the spawning season on the coast of 
North Carolina occurs during the summer, probably from June through September. 
(See p. 463.) The fact that the fry were taken near Beaufort Inlet during only one 
season out of three, during which systematic collecting was carried on, seems to show 
that spawning does not occur there regularly. 
DESCRIPTIONS OF YOUNG 
Young Seriola are dark in color at a very early age, as seen with the unaided eye, 
this dark color being due to dark chromatophores variously distributed over the 
body. The mouth is large and oblique, and the body very early resembles in the 
general shape that of the adult, specimens 7 millimeters long already being elongate, 
shapely fish. Unfortunately no specimens of lengths between 14 and 30 millimeters 
