FISHES OF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
53 
cc. Teeth none; an accessory branchial organ behind the gill-cavity Chanidx, p. 56 
bb. Lateral line wanting; no gular plate. 
d. Mouth moderate, terminal, the maxillary of about 3 pieces; stomach' not gizzard-like Clupeidse, p. 58 
dd. Mouth subinferior, very large, below a tapering pig-like snout; maxillary very long Engraulidse, p. 59 
II. Iniomi : Mesocoracoid, usually abortive or obsolete, the connection of the shoulder-girdle with the cranium imperfect. 
a. Post-temporal connected with back of cranium near sides; no photophores or barbel; adipose fin present; body not 
very elongate; anal distinct; scales present. 
b. Maxillary very narrow, rudimentary or obsolete; hypocoracoids not divergent; pseudobranchiae present. 
Synodontidse, p. 61 
bb. Maxillary well developed, dilated behind; pseudobranchiae present; pectorals normal Aulopidse, p. 66 
aa. Post-temporal impinging upon occiput. 
c. Vertebrae and neural spines normal, not projecting from the flesh in front of the dorsal fin; photophores present; 
barbel wanting. 
d. Premaxillaries forming entire margin of upper jaw; body scaly; opercles complete Myctophidx, p. 67 
dd. Premaxillaries not forming the whole margin of upper jaw, the maxillary entering into it; body naked; oper- 
cular apparatus incomplete Maurolicidx, p. 70 
cc. Vertebrae or neural spines projecting through skin of back in front of dorsal fin; body short, deep, compressed; 
photophores present; mouth obliquely cleft or subvertical Sternoptychidas, p. 72 
Family XII. ELOPIDJE. — The Tarpons. 
Body elongate, more or less compressed, covered with silvery cycloid scales; head naked; mouth 
broad, terminal, the lower jaw prominent; premaxillaries not protractile, short, the maxillaries form- 
ing the lateral margins of the upper jaw; maxillary composed of about 3 pieces, extending back- 
ward beyond the eye; an elongate bony plate between the branches of the lower jaw (analogous to 
the gular plate in Amia ) ; bands of villiform teeth in each jaw and on vomer, palatines, pterygoids, 
tongue, and base of skull; no large teeth; eye large, with an adipose eyelid; opercular bones thin, 
with expanded membranaceous borders; a scaly occipital collar; gill-membranes entirely separate, 
free from the isthmus; branch iostegals numerous (29 to 35); gillrakers long and slender, pseudo- 
branchiae present or absent; belly not keeled nor serrated, rather broad and covered with ordinary 
scales; lateral line present; dorsal fin inserted over or slightly behind ventrals; caudal fin forked; no 
adipose fin; dorsal and anal depressible into a sheath of scales; pectorals and ventrals each with a 
long accessory scale; parietal bones meeting along top of head; pyloric cseca numerous. Genera 3, 
species about 5, forming 2 well-marked subfamilies, both widely distributed in the tropical seas. The 
species are not much valued as food, the flesh being dry and bony. 
Genus 18. ELOPS Linnaeus. The Tenpounders. 
Body elongate, covered with thin, small, silvery scales; dorsal fin slightly behind ventrals, its 
last rays short, the fin depressible into a sheath of scales; anal fin smaller, similarly depressible; 
pectorals and ventrals moderate, each with a long accessory scale; opercular bones thin, with 
expanded, membranaceous borders; a scaly occipital collar; lateral line straight, its tubes simple; 
pseudobranchiae present, large; vertebrae 43+29=72. Large fishes of the open seas, remarkable for 
the development of scaly sheaths. The young are ribbon-shaped and elongate, passing through a 
series of changes like those seen in Albula. 
Elops Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., Ed. XII, 518, 1766 ( saums ). 
Mugilomorus Lacepdde, Hist. Nat. Poiss., V, 398, 1803 (anna-carolina) . 
Trichonotus Rafinesque, Analyse de Nature, 88, 1815 ( anna-carolina ; substitute for Mugilomorus , considered objectionable.) 
19. Elops saurus Linnaeus. Fig. 8. 
Head 3.75; depth about 5; D. 25 (counting rudiments, of which there are 7); A. 16; P. 18; V. 15; 
vertebrae 47 + 19 = 66; scales 14-96-17, counting to middle of belly; eye nearly 5 in head, or 1 in snout 
or interorbital space; mouth a- little over 1.75 in head; pectoral 1.75; ventral a little more than pec- 
toral, less than 2; least depth of caudal peduncle 3 in head. 
Body elongate, compressed; head compressed, elongate, pointed; snout short, pointed, more or less 
rounded above; eye rather large, with broad adipose eyelid covering a good portion; maxillary very 
long, expanded backward beyond the eye, and with several longitudinal ridges; teeth in broad patches 
or bands in the jaws, also along edge of maxillary, and on the vomer and palatines; tongue large 
