RUDDER FISHES IN THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC 



461 



species but iniiy represent the oi)tiiiuiiu ranf^es for 

 developing juveniles. Bean (1897) reported tliis 

 species to be hardy in the aquarium but unable to 

 endure winter temperature. 



At Woods Hole, Mass., in April, the month 

 Smith (1898) reported this species, the highest 

 daily surface water temperature taken over an 

 11-year period was 11.67° C. (U.S. Department 

 of Commerce, 1955). At Montauk, N.Y., about 

 25 miles from Orient where Nichols and Breder 

 (1927) reported this species taken on November 

 2, 1915, the highest November surface water 



temperature recorded during 8 yeai-s of sampling 

 was 15.55° ('. These records indicate a tolerance 

 of these low temperatures for at least a short 

 period. The scarcity of this species in fish col- 

 lections made north of Cape Hatteras suggests 

 K. sectatrix cannot endure low temperatures. 



Size frequency data for small specimens show 

 tliat specimens under 20 nun. were taken during 

 several parts of the year (fig. 5). This possibly 

 would indicate that spawning occurs over a wide 

 period of time during the year, which is common 

 among many fishes in tropical and semitropical 



JAN. 



FEB. 



MAR 



APR. 



MAY 



JUNE JULY 



AUG 



SEPT 



OCT 



NOV. 



DEC. 



Figure 5. — Size di.stribution, by months, of 90 specimens of Kyphosus sectatrix taken along the Atlantic coast of the 

 United States and the northern Bahamas. X's denote specimens having only month and year recorded in date of 

 capture, and circles denote specimens captured in the northern Bahamas (including Antilles Current and excluding 

 Florida Current). 



