. California fish and game . past the anal spines. The backis yreenisli shading downward to silvery on the lower parts. The horse mackerel is found abundantly from San Francisco south-ward. As a food fish it is inferior to the mackerel, being rather coarsefieshed. Little has been done in preserving it. THE MARLIN-SPIKE FISHES. (Family Istiophoridoe.) In this family are the sailfishes {Istiophorus), and spearfishes ofthe Atlantic, and the marlin-spike fishes of the Pacific. The spearfishesand marlin-spike fishes belong to the same genus () thoughof difl^erent species. The fishes of
. California fish and game . past the anal spines. The backis yreenisli shading downward to silvery on the lower parts. The horse mackerel is found abundantly from San Francisco south-ward. As a food fish it is inferior to the mackerel, being rather coarsefieshed. Little has been done in preserving it. THE MARLIN-SPIKE FISHES. (Family Istiophoridoe.) In this family are the sailfishes {Istiophorus), and spearfishes ofthe Atlantic, and the marlin-spike fishes of the Pacific. The spearfishesand marlin-spike fishes belong to the same genus () thoughof difl^erent species. The fishes of this family differ from the trueswordfishes in having small granular teeth in the mouth, in havingventral fins, and in having two keel-like projections on each side ofthe tail. The Marlin-Spike Fish (Tetrapterus mitsukurii). This species may be known by its upper jaw being prolonged into asword together with its having long ventral fins composed of oneray each. The first dorsal fin is high in front where it rises to a point,. Fig. TIk marlin-siiikr fish (Tctral^tcrns iiiitsiikiirii). and is as liigh or a litth,* higher than the depth of the body. The dorsal(juickly becomes lower and runs for nearly the whole length of the backas a low fin, gradually growing lower and disappearing. The seconddorsal is small and short; the front of it elevated to a point. Tlie pec-toral fin is al)out as long as the is high. The anal fin is divided CALIFORNIA PISH AND GAME. 127 into two parts, both parts with the front elevated as in the dorsals. Thefirst anal is about three times as high as the second, which is a little infront of the second dorsal. The sword is not sharp edged but rounded,and the point of the lower jaw reaches nearly half of the distance fromthe eye to the tip of the sword. The body is crossed by narrow lightstripes extending down from the back. The marlin-spike fish reaches a length of 12 feet or more. Thelargest one recorded by the Tuna Club taken under their specifica
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectfi, booksubjectfishes
