Notes on the American species of the genus <I>Cybium</I>

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PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

3

the twolateralspresent varied characters; the third uDciuus,counting outward, isusually spatulate; while theremainderare mere bosses,or scales.

The

widedifferences found in the few figuresof the dentition of Chitons extantappear to be dueto erroneous interpretation of the objectsrepresented.

The

figuresof

Loven

arethe mostsatisfactory.

rOSTPIilOCElVE

FOSSIL.SIIV

THE COAST BAIVOE OF CAI^IFORNIA,

By

"W, II.

DAL,L.

The

National

Museum

has received from Mr. G. F. Merriam, of

San

Luis Eey,Cal.,specimensof

Donax

cali/ornicus,Chionesuccincta, Olivella biplicata,au(l Cerithidea sacrata,in asemi-fossilized condition.

The

first

mentioned retaineda considerable part ofitspinkishinteriorcoloration.

These fossils (probably with otherspecies) are stated by Mr.

Merriam

to befoundin greatabundance at thehead of acahon in that vicinity, inthe heart of theCoast Range, twelve miles from the sea in adirect line,

and

sixhundredfeet above tide-water. All thespeciesare found living in

abundance

on the present sea-coast. This indicates a very recent elevation for this part of the coast, if the facts are correctly interpreted,

and

further specimens

and

details will be awaited with interest.

NOTES ON TnE AMERICAN SPECIES OF

TIIE

GENUS

CYBIUItl.

By FELIPE POEY.

[TranslatedbyG.BrownGoode,fromMS.memorandumofProfessorFelipe Poey.J

Cybium caballa,Cuv.

&

^Val.

Cybium cahalla, Cuvier

&

Valenciennes, Histoire Natnrelle des Poiesons, viii,18:51,p.187.

—

Guntiier, Catalogueoftbe Acantboi)terygian Fishesin the Collectiouof the BritishMuseum,ii,1860,p. 373.

—

Poey,Repertorio Fisico-NaturaldelaIsladeCuba,i,1867, p.322; ii,p.13^;audinSynopsia PisciumCubensiuiu,op.cit.,ii,p.362.

CyUumacervum,Cuvier

&

Valenciennes,Ioc. cit.,p.186 {neeti/puii).

Vulgo^:

—

Sierra.

Differential Characters.

—

First dorsal with fourteen spines, without a blaclcspotanteriorly.

Body

immaculateintheadult, spotted with yel- lowish in the

young

fish.

The number

of teethincreases with the age; inlargespecimens,it is If.

The

larger teeth are placed upon the middleof the jaw, those in thelower

jaw

being atriflethe longer.

Tbe

lateral lineisvery sinuous upon the posterior portion of the body.

The

eyeislarger than in Cy- biumregale.

Bluish

upon

the back, whitish under the belly. First dorsal white;

second dorsal andcaudal dusky-bluish {hlen-noiratre)_; pectorals bluish, as is also the anal, which, however, becomes white at its extremity

;

ventrals whitish.

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4 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

Id the

young

fish, underthe length of two or threefeet, thesidesare coveredwithround,irregular spots, ofratherdirtyyellow {jaune unpeu

sale).

Cuvier described aspecimen which weighed twenty-two pounds; at thatsize, thefish is stillyoung, andretainsits yellowspots.

Those ordinarilytaken range in weight from twelve to twenty-five pounds,though they reach theweight of onehundred iiounds. Ihave seenonewhich measured 285"^™.

Cybiumregale,(Bloch) Cuvier.

Scomberregalis, Bloch,Naturgeschichte der ausliindischen Fische,taf.333.

Cybiumregale,Cuvier

&

Valenciennes,op.cit.,p. 184.

—

Gunther,op.cil., p.

372.—PoEY,op.cit.,i,p.322; ii,p.362.

Vnlgo^:

—

Pintada.

Differential Characters.

— Thefirstdorsal has seventeen spines andthe spotuponitsanterior portion. Thelateralbandsandspotsare persistent throughlife.

The

teetharef^{^} ⁱⁿaspecimenofmoderatesize. In theupperjaw, the median teeth are thelarger; inthelower, theirsizeis

more

nearly equal.

The

back is bluish, as are also the top of the head, the second dorsal

and

itsfinlets,thecaudal,

and

the pectorals.

The

first dorsal is white, havingin fronta spotof deep-blue, whichis prolonged far back upon the upper edgeof the tin.

The

anal

and

the ventrals are white.

The

sides are sky-blue, with silvery lustre; thebelly is white,with a bluish tinge.

The

sidesare

marked

with brokenlongitudinalbandsand round spots; these bands

and

spots are yellow,

more

orless golden,

and

with a reddishtint.

The

ordinary size is about twelve pounds, though they sometimes reach the weight of twenty.

Cybiumacervum, Cuv.

&

Val.

Cybiumacervum, CuviER

&

Valenciennes,op.cit.,p. 186.

The

specimensdescribed by Cuvier were of fivepounds weight.

He

claimstohavereceivedspecimensfromMartinique,from SantoDomingo,

and

from Cuba, those from the latterplace sent by me. I can only say that I have not been able to find this species,

and

that Ihave not includedit in.

my

manuscript " Ichthyologie".

According to Cuvier, ithas seventeen spines in the first dorsal,and also theblack spot.

The

body isimmaculate, evenin the specimens of fivepounds weight.

Cybium

maculatum, (Mitchill) Agassiz.

Scomhermaculatus,Mitchill,Transactions of the LiteraryandPhilosophical Society ofNewYork,i,1815,p.426,pi. vi,fig. 8.

Cybium maculatum, Agassiz,inSpix,SelectaGenera et Species Piscium,1829, p.103,tab.Ix.

—

Cuvier

&

Valenciennes,op.cit.,p.181.— GtJNTHER,op.

cit.,p. 372.

The

Cyhium maculatum of the United Stateshasthe teeth

somewhat

conical and verypointed. It has seventeen dorsal spines and a black spotupon the firstdorsal.

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PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 5

Cybium immaculatum, Cuv.

&

^Val.

Cyhiinnimmaculatum,CuviKR

&

Valknciennes,oj).cit, p. 191.

—

Gi'NTnER,op.

clt.,p.370, uote5.

The

Cijhium immaculatum of Cnvier has the body immaculate in spe- cimensonly six orseven inches long.

Acanthocybiumpeto, Poey.

Acanthocijbium Petua,Poey,Memorias sobre laHistoria Natural clelaIslade Cuba, ii,18G0,p.234,pi.xvi,fig. 1^; Report.,ii,p.363.

Vulgo^:

—

Peto.

Thisgenus differs from Cyhiumby itsnumerousdorsal spines,twenty- five in number.

The

type taken

by

Professor Gill has the teeth com- pressed, triangular.

The Cuban

species has the points of the teeth rounded.

The

caudal is very small.

The

^lower

jaw

has its sides deeply notched and ^itsextremity lower than ^itslateral edges. Inspe- cimens of less than threefeet,the

body

iscovered with vertical bands of avitreous lustre {(/lacees). Itgrowsvery large, sometimes attaining the weight of onehundred pounds.

THE CI>UPEA

TYBAIVNITS

OF I^ATROBE.

By

a.

BROWJV CiOODE,

Mr. Benjamin H. Latrobe, a surveyor of public lands, published, in 1802, adescription of a clupeoid fish theaffinities of which havenever been satisfactorily determined.* Dr.

DeKay,

misled bythe

name

^"ale- wife", applied thespecific

name

tyrannus tothe northern species

known

to

him

bj' that popular

name

{Pomolohus pseudo-hareyigus), a usftge which

was

concurred in by Dr. Storer

and M.

Valenciennes. In his earlier writings. Professor Gill referred the

same name

to the shad {Alosa sapidissinia). Latrobe's paper, and the

name

therein proposed, have latelybeen lost sight of; but there is little doubtthat they refer to the menhaden,or mossbunker {Clupea menhaden,Mitchill,

and

Bre- voortia menhaden.,Gill).

The

lawsof priority

demand

that thisspecies shall hsnceforth be designated Brevoortiatyrannus.

The

fishes of the Chesapeake anditstributarieshave beenverylittle

studied until within the past three years,

and

the habits of the menhaden areso different in these watersand inthe north that it does not seem surprising for Northern ichthyologists to have

made

mistaken identification of Latrobe's specific name.

A

^{few years} ^ago ^the^Capes ^of Delaware were thought to define the southern range of the menhaden, while its peculiar parasite

and

its

habit of ascending southern rivers were

unknown.

*A Drawing and Description of the Clupea tyrannus and Oniscus prwgusfator. By Benjamin H. Latrobe, F. A. P. S. <^Transactions of theAmerican Philosophical Societyheldat Philadelphiaforpromoting useful knowledge,vol. v, 1802,p. 77.