140 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
of flavor of its flesh render it superior not only to all other members of the family to which it belongs, 
but to any other fish. On the east and west coasts of Florida and about Key West it is held in the 
highest esteem and is most assiduously sought by the commercial fishermen, to whom it brings the 
highest price. It reaches a maximum length of nearly 2 feet and a weight of 6 or 8 pounds. The 
average weight of those taken in Indian River, Florida, probably does not now exceed 2 pounds, 
though before commercial fishing on that coast was so vigorously prosecuted the average weight 
was much greater; one was seen 21.5 inches long, weighing 4.5 pounds. At Key West the average 
weight is said to be about 1.5 pounds and the maximum 5 pounds. 
The habits of this important fish have never been carefully studied, and its life-history therefore 
is not well known. It occurs in the Indian River throughout the year, but is said to be most abundant 
in the winter months. The best fishing is from January to early April. It is probably common in the 
summer months, but is not fished for then. It is most abundant about the inlets, playing in and out 
with the tides. It runs in bunches or schools and is easily influenced by changes in temperature, 
seeming to prefer rather warm water, and continued cold weather causes them to leave the river 
temporarily. At Key West the pompano is found only in the winter when the cold weather drives 
it south. It is fished for there with hook and line, while in Indian River nets are used. 
The food of this fish seems to consist very largely of small bivalve shells and small crustaceans. 
They feed extensively about the inlets, in the surf outside, and are often seen feeding near shore. 
They are said to have the habit of digging in the mud or sand, which is probably done in their search 
for food. Not much definite information could be obtained concerning the abundance or the habits of 
the pompano in Porto Rico. The species was not found in any of the markets of the island nor were 
any large individuals seen. Our examples are smaller than any we have seen from Florida, but are 
about the size of those usually observed at Woods Hole in August and September, and from which 
they do not seem to differ. 
The Porto Rican fishermen seem to recognize the species as an important food-fish, but not as 
being at any time abundant. The shore of the island is, in most places, unfavorable to this fish and 
it is probably not found in considerable numbers except on the more sandy, protected portions. 
Gasterosleus carolinus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. XII, 490, 1766, Carolina. 
? Trachynotus argenteus Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., VIII, 410,1831, New York and Rio Janeiro. 
Trachynotus cupreus Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., VIII, 414, 1831, Martinique. 
Trachynotus pampanus Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., VIII, 415, 1831, Brazil and Charleston, S. C. 
Trachinotus carolinus, Jordan & Evermann, 1. e., 944, 1896. 
Family XXXVII. STR0MATEIDA2. The Fiatolas. 
Body compressed and more or less elevated, covered with small or minute cycloid scales. Profile 
anteriorly blunt and rounded. Mouth small. Premaxillaries not protractile. Dentition feeble; no 
teeth on vomer or palatines; pharyngeals little developed; oesophagus armed with numerous horny, 
barbed, or hooked teeth. Opercular bones smooth, not serrate. Gills 4, a slit behind fourth. Gill- 
membranes either separate and free from ( Stromateinx ) or broadly joined to isthmus (Stromaleoidinx ) , 
restricting gill-openings to sides, as in Chsetodipterus. Gillrakers rather long. Pseudobranchite present. 
Cheeks scaly. Preopercle entire or serrate. Lateral line well developed. Dorsal fin single, long, 
with the spines few or weak, often obsolete; anal fin long, similar to soft dorsal, usually with 3 small 
spines, which are often depressible in a fold of skin; ventrals thoracic, i, 5 in the young, but reduced 
or altogether wanting in the adult; caudal fin well forked. Usually no air-bladder. Pyloric caeca 
commonly numerous. Vertebrae 30 to 36. 
a. Dorsal and anal fins very high in front, anterior lobe falcate: body suborbicular Peprilus, 62 
aa. Dorsal and anal fins moderately elevated in front, anterior lobe scarcely falcate; side with a series of large, wide-set. 
pores above lateral line Pokonotus 
Genus 62. PEPRILUS* Cuvier. The Butter-fishes. 
Body ovate or suborbicular, strongly compressed, tapering into a.slender caudal peduncle, which 
is not keeled or shielded. Head short, compressed, profile obtuse. Mouth small, terminal, jaws 
subequal. Premaxillaries not protractile. Jaws each with single series of weak teeth. Scales very 
*The name Rhombus LacdpOde (1800) , which has long been in use for this genus, is preoccupied by Rhombus Humph- 
reys (1797), a genus of mollusks. The next available name is Peprilus of Cuvier (1817). 
