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Fishery Bulletin 88(2), 1990 



Maine. Overall, dorsal ray counts for A. dithiu:^ varied 

 from 56 to 67 rays. Specimens examined had means of 

 62.4 and 64.4 for Labrador and Quebec-Nova Scotia, 

 respectively, compared with 61.5 in Maine-Massachu- 

 setts and 61 .3 in the New York-North Carolina region. 

 Anal rays, the least successful character for separat- 

 ing specimens (Table 4), provided only 75.7% separa- 



tion of individuals (at a line of separation between 29 

 and 30 anal rays). Means for A. americanus ranged 

 from 29 in southern regions to 29.7 off the coast of 

 Quebec northward to Labrador, with total number of 

 rays varying between 26 and 33 (overall x 29.4). Geo- 

 graphic variation was again evident in anal ray counts 

 for A. dubius. Counts averaged between 30 and 31 rays 



