MULLIDAE OF THK WKSTEKN NOUTH ATLANTIC 



409 



that they were Oiirried there l)y :i l)raiich of tlie 

 Gulf Stream (Leipper, 1054). 



ECOLOGY 



Parr (1930) called attention to two color stages 

 of P. maculatus taken in the Bahamas and Turks 

 Island : a blue pelasric form that he took by surface 

 light at night and a more highly colored benthonic 

 stage obtained in a small bottom trawl and never 

 observed at the surface. He observed, ". . . it 

 would seem that the change from the pelagic exist- 

 ence of the j'oung to the benthonic life of the 

 adults does not occur until the fish has reached a 

 length without caudal fin of about 70 mm. . . ." 



Figure 3 shows two specimens of P. maculatius, 

 41.0 mill, and 59.5 mm., which exhibit distinctly 

 different body shapes and pigmentation. The 

 smaller one was taken with the aid of rotenone in 

 1 fathom of water, and the larger individual was 

 dip netted over deep water. Although the speci- 



mens are superficially unlike, they both show the 

 characters of P. vxiculntux (table 1 ) . The smaller 

 metamorphosed .specimen is tieveloping the three 

 dark blotches which, among the western North At- 

 lantic Mullidae. are peculiar to /-•. maculatus. 



Figure 4 shows a series of pelagic specimens dip 

 netted by night light. 



I examined anothei' series of 25 young P. hmcu- 

 lattis from the Bahamas that were apparently un- 

 dergoing metamorphosis when taken. All char- 

 acters were those of /*. macitlatus. and some were 

 developing indications of the three dark blotches 

 peculiar to this species (fig. 5. uppeiTnost). This 

 series (fig. 5) was light tan in color as opposed to 

 the dark dip-netted specimens, and for the most 

 part, more roi)ust in l)ody contour (fig. 5, upper- 

 most). Some of the smaller forms, however, had 

 the long slender .shape of the pelagic form (fig. 5, 

 lowermost ) . 



Figure .3. — ('i>iicr. Bottom-livins 41.0-iiiiii. P.-<( ioIiiikik us iiuiviiliitiiK. ("olIwitMl witli roteiiinic in li>ss tlian - 

 fathoms (.VXSP 848.'il : Biihlke loUei-tioii. Haliamiisl. Laiccr. I'clajric ."i!t.."i-iiiiii. I'si mliiin miis hinriihilii^ \H]i 

 netted over l.f)00-2.nOO fatiioms. l)y Oill ixTsoniiel. ( lilAU; \ 



