THE FISHES OF PORTO RICO. 
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anterior part of trunk and along lateral line; caudal peduncle long and slender, with lateral keel; 
weak conical teeth in jaws only; first dorsal of flexible spines, the first three elevated, the rest 
graduated to last, which is very short; soft dorsal and anal small, somewhat falcate, followed by 
detached iinlets; caudal widely forked. 
Color in spirits: Bluish above, very deep purple, almost black, on upper part of head; oblique dark 
bars and stripes, somewhat as in Scomber, on sides of back; silvery white below; several large, regular, 
dark blotches, not sharply circumscribed, on the lower part of side of trunk anteriorly; pectoral and 
ventral purple, black on inner side, on outer side pectoral paler, ventral white. 
This species is found in all warm seas, occasionally northward to Cape Cod. It is very erratic in 
its movements, swimming in large schools. It rarely reaches the coasts of the United States, but 
occasionally comes in immense numbers. It is a poor fish, of little value as food. It is probably not 
rare about Porto Rico; examples were seen at Arecibo, where one 15 inches long was obtained. 
Scomber thazard Lac6pMe, Hist. Nat. Poiss., II, 9, 1802, between 6° and 7° S. lat., off coast of New Guinea. 
Scomber rochei Risso, Ichth. Nice, 165, 1810, Nice. 
Scomber bisus Rafinesque, Caratteri, etc., 45, 1810, Palermo. 
Thynnus rocheanus Risso, Eur. M<Srid., Ill, 417, 1827, Nice. 
Auxis vulgaris Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., VIII, 139, 1831, Mediterranean. 
Auxis tapeinosoma Bleeker, Fauna Japon., 408, 1854, Japan. 
Auxis thynnoides Bleeker, Ternate, V, 301, 1855, Ternate. 
Auxis thazard , Jordan & Evermann, 1. c., 867, 1896. 
Genus 51. SCOMBEROMORUS Lacepede. 
Body elongate, wholly covered with rudimentary scales, which do not form a distinct corselet. 
Head pointed, comparatively short and small. Mouth wide, the strong teeth in the jaws more or less 
compressed or knife-shaped; villiform or sand-like teeth on the vomer and palatines; maxillary 
not concealed by preorbital. Gillrakers few. Caudal peduncle with a single keel. Spinous dorsal 
low, of 14 to 18 feeble spines. Soft dorsal and anal short, similar, somewhat elevated and falcate, 
each followed by 7 to 10 finlets; ventrals small; pectorals moderate, near level of eye. Air-bladder 
present. Vertebrae normally formed, 45 in number. 
Fishes of the high seas; graceful in form and beautiful in color, and among the best of food- 
fishes. 
a. Soft dorsal inserted in advance of anal 
aa. Soft dorsal inserted over anal. 
b. Body deep, the depth about 5 in length; teeth about 40 in each jaw 
66. Body more slender, the depth about 6 in length 
80. Scomberomorus maculatus (Mitchill). “ Carita Spanish Mackerel. 
(Plate 6.) 
Head 4.5; depth 4.5; D. xvii-18-ix; A. ii-17-ix; maxillary 1.8 in head; eye 4.75; pectoral 1.75; 
ventral 4.5; dorsal and anal lobes subequal, 2. Body elongate, its dorsal and ventral outlines equal; 
profile straight from snout to dorsal; head small and pointed; mouth large, oblique, jaws equal; max- 
illary reaching posterior margin of orbit; teeth large, compressed, and sharp, their formula being 24-24 
to 32-32; gillrakers 2 + 11. Soft dorsal inserted in advance of anal a distance about equal to diameter 
of eye; lateral line undulating, with about 175 qiores. 
Color silvery, bluish above; sides with many elliptical spots of dull orange-color, two rows of 
these spots below lateral line and one row above; spinous dorsal white at base, black above; soft 
dorsal tinged with yellowish, its margins black; anal white; posterior side of pectoral black, anterior 
side yellowish with black borders; caudal blackish. 
This species is found on both coasts of North America, appearing in large but very irregular 
schools in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Carolina coast; ranging north in the fall as far as Cape 
Ann, and south to Brazil. It is rare or unknown in Cuba, but is known from Jamaica and Porto Rico. 
It reaches a weight of 8 or 9 pounds and is one of the very best food-fishes in the United States. 
Scomber maculatus Mitchill, Trans. Lit. & Philos. Soc. N. Y., I, 1815, 426, New York. 
Scomberomorus maculatus, Jordan & Evermann, 1. c., 874, 1896. 
maculatus, 80 
... regalis, 81 
. . . cavalla, 82 
