112 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Larvae are found at or near the surface in or 

 near the edge of the Gulf Stream (fig. 6), which 

 undoubtedly influences their distribution. 



Many small specimens, approximately 23 to 58 

 mm., from the coasts of New Jersey, Long Island 

 (N.Y.), and from the south shores of the Cape Cod 

 region were examined (table 1). As their appear- 

 ance resembled that of offshore-caught specimens 

 (and from partial data provided with some), it 

 was presumed that these specimens actually were 

 stragglers washed inshore from and by the north- 

 ward-flowing currents. In fact, P. alius was 

 originally described from a L2-inch specimen 

 which, according to the author (Gill, 1862: p. 133), 

 probably arrived in Narragansett Bay, R.L, the 

 type locality, via the Gulf Stream. Recently, 

 Scattergood and Coffin (1957: p. 156) and Morrow 

 (1957: p. 241) noted small specimens taken under 

 conditions which indicated that they were settling 

 to the bottom (the one record in a trap set at 10 

 fathoms, the other in an oyster dredge in 3.3 

 fathoms). As no adults have been recorded from 

 these waters, it is presumed that these specimens, 

 too, would not have survived. I have examined 

 Morrow's specimen (BOC 3738, table 1), and find 

 that it resembles the pelagic forms. The speci- 

 men reported by Scattergood and Coffin unfortu- 

 nately disappeared from a public display tank 

 (Scattergood, personal communication). The 

 color they describe suggests a pelagic form. Both 

 of these specimens had probably just settled to 

 the bottom after arrival inshore. Offshore, pre- 

 juveniles have been taken by dip-net or other 

 nets at or near the surface. One collection ex- 

 amined indicates that at least the prejuveniles maj' 

 occur in considerably deeper waters (though they 

 are still pelagic). A series of 24 specimens, 12.4 

 to 19.9 mm., was collected in an Isaacs-Kidd 

 midwater trawl at 24 fathoms over a depth of 

 approximately 1300 fathoms (see table 1, WHOI 

 collection, Aug. 19-20, 1953). Dr. Richard H. 

 Backus wrote me in August 1958 that this is not 

 a closing net and that "there is no assurance that 

 the catch actually came from 24 fathoms but 

 statistically speaking the chances are great that 

 it did." 



South of Cape Hatteras, juveniles and adultg 

 are apparently bottom dwellers and show a pref- 

 erence for hard, especially coral or rock, bottoms 

 in depths up to about 60 fathoms (rarely to 110 

 fathoms). The adults are frequently taken by 



handlines or traps from in or near rocky areas or 

 hard bottoms. This is particularly true of the 

 larger specimens. It may be that the juveniles 

 just arriving at the bottom from the pelagic 

 habitat may be less restricted in their preferences, 

 as most specimens taken from other than a rock 

 bottom (or one with limited spots for the fish to 

 hide in) were the smaller bottom forms. 



The juveniles and adults apparently are very 

 secretive. I have observed this in aquarium 

 specimens, and Winfield Brady of Florida's 

 Gulfarium, Fort Walton Beach, found this to be 

 the case in his observations of wild specimens at 

 depths of about 100 feet. Brady further stated 

 that the fish would remain perfectly motionless in 

 a niche in the rocks while he captured it without 

 the aid of a net. 



The preference of P. alius for a hard rocky 

 bottom is well illustrated by its distribution in the 

 Gulf of Mexico. The known Gulf distribution of 

 P. alius is spotty (fig. 1; tables 1 and 2), as shown 

 through extensive fishing by the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service throughout most of the Gulf in 

 all depths, in all seasons, and on all types of 

 bottoms. Other collectors' findings substantiate 

 this (table 1). When a chart of this distribution 

 (fig. 1) is compared with the chart of the sedi- 

 mentary provinces of the Gulf of Mexico as pro- 

 vided by Lynch (1954: p. 79), a similarity is 

 shown (particularly where coral and limestone 

 occur) . 



The short bigeye probably occurs on the entire 

 Campeche Bank oft' the north and west coasts of 

 Yucatan and in limited areas in the vicinity of 

 Tampico and Vera Cruz, Mexico (areas of coral 

 and limestone) . P. alius is known from the entire 

 Gulf coast of Florida, some Alabama and Missis- 

 sippi waters, and certain areas in the north- 

 western Gulf (fig. 1) — all areas of hard bottom on 

 I^ynch's chart. Off the south Atlantic coast of 

 the United States the bottom in areas where P. 

 alius has been most regularly taken is also hard 

 (sec Moore and Gorsline, 1960: p. 18). Breaks 

 in the range of P. alius in the Gulf correspond to 

 Lynch's charted areas of soft mud bottom. 

 Hildebrand (1954, 1955) did not list this species 

 from shrmip fisheries conducted on soft bottoms 

 in the western Gulf and western Yucatan areas. 

 The West Indian specimens (table 1) were taken 

 in areas where coral and rock are abundant. 



