102 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
partitions (in II. browni). Species probably numerous, but most of them have not been examined as 
to the characters which separate this genus from Hyporhamphus. 
a. Upper lobe of pectoral orange in life; length of pectoral scarcely greater than depth of body. D. 14; A. 12; scales 
53 brasiliensis , 52 
«a. Upper lobe of caudal dull-bluish in life; scales rather smaller; length of pectoral one-fifth greater than depth of 
body balao 
52. Hemirhamphus brasiliensis (Linnaeus). “Balaju” ; Balao; Escribano. 
Head 4.2; depth 6.2; eye 3.8; snout 2.9; maxillary 3.6; mandible 3; interorbital 3.9; D. 13 or 14; 
A. 12 or 13; pectoral 1.5; ventral 3.1; lower lobe of caudal 1.1; scales 53. 
Body much elongate, evenly compressed, the sides parallel, so that a cross section of the body is 
nearly rectangular; mandible produced into a very long beak, longer than head, and ending in a fleshy 
tip; upper jaw not produced. Lower lobe of caudal the longer. 
Color in life: Back uniform dark-greenish, the scales very slightly paler on edges; top of head like 
back; upper lobe of caudal yellow, lower olivaceous, the inner edge of both lobes dark; green color of 
the back ceasing abruptly at level of middle of base of caudal and upper edge of base of pectoral; sides 
and under parts silvery white. The yellow on caudal and the orange on tip of beak are color markings 
that distinguish it from Hyporhamphus unifasdatus or roberti. 
Very common; edible; its distribution and habits similar to Hyporhamphus; 14 specimens, 9 to 14 
inches, from San Antonio Bridge, Aguadilla, Mayaguez, Boqueron, and Fajardo; 2 from SanGeronimo. 
Pig. 19. — Ilemirhamphus brasiliensis. 
Esox maxilla inferiore producla, Browne, Hist. Jamaica, 143, 1756, Jamaica. 
Esox brasiliensis Linnaius, Syst. Nat., ed. X, 314, 1758, Jamaica; after Browne. 
Hemirhamphus marginatus Le Sueur, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., II, 1823, 135, Lesser Antilles; not of ForskS.1. 
Hemirhamphus browni Cuvier & Valenciennes, XIX, 13, 1846, Guadaloupe.; Martinique. 
Ilemirhamphus pleii Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., XIX, 19, 1846, Martinique; Santo Domingo. 
Macrognathus brevirostris Gronow, Cat., 148, 1854, Jamaica; after Browne. 
Ilemirhamphus filamentosus Poey, Mem., II, 297, 1861, Cuba; Poey, Fauna Puerto-Riquena, 337, 1881; Stahl, 1. c., 166,1883. 
Ilemirhamphus brasiliensis , Jordan & Evermann, 1. c., 722, 1896. 
Family XXIV. EXOCtETID/E. The Flying-fishes. 
Body oblong or elongate, covered with cycloid scales, which are rather deciduous. Lateral line 
running very low, along side of belly. Head more or less scaly, with vertical sides. Mouth moderate, 
terminal, the jaws not prolonged into a beak. Premaxillaries not protractile, hinged at base mesially; 
margin of upper jaw chiefly formed by premaxillaries, the short maxillaries entering the lateral margin; 
maxillary free from premaxillary, its edge slipping under front of preorbital. Dentition various, teeth 
small and weak. Dorsal fin without spines, inserted on posterior part of body, opposite anal and 
more or less similar to it; ventrals abdominal, of several soft rays, inserted posteriorly; pectoral fin 
inserted high, used as an organ of flight; shoulder-girdle and pectoral muscles very strong; caudal fin 
forked, lower lobe the longer. No finlets. Vent close in front of the anal. Nostrils large, double, 
near eye. Lower pharyngeals enlarged and fully united, forming a large, transversely concave plate, 
covered with large, close-set, blunt, tricuspid teeth; third upper pharyngeal greatly enlarged, not united 
with its fellow, both covered with large, blunt, tricuspid teeth; fourth superior pharyngeal wanting in 
adult (probably coossified with the third) ; (these characters verified on Exocoetus californicus ) ; vertebrae 
without zygapophyses. Gill-membranes not united, free from isthmus. Pseudobranchiae hidden, 
glandular. Gillrakers various. Gills 4, a slit behind fourth. Air-bladder very large, not cellular, so 
far as known, and extending far backward among haemapophyses of the caudal vertebrae. Vertebrae 
about 50. Intestinal canal simple, without caeca. 
