RUDDER FISHES IN THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC 



459 



and Tniitt, Bciui, aiul Fowler, 1929); I.oiifjlcy 

 and Hildi'braiid (1941) do not mention i^ray in 

 tlieir descriplion of this sppcies. 



DISTRIBUTION ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST OF 

 THE UNITED STATES AND THE NORTHERN 

 BAHAMAS 



Ki/phosus sectatrix has previously been reported from tlie 

 following specific localities in this area: Tortugas, Fla., by 

 Jordan and Thompson (1!)05), and Longley and liilde- 

 brand (1'.I41); Key West, Fla., by Jordan (1884), Jordan 

 and Fesler (189:5), F-vermann and Kendall (1900), and 

 Fowler (1929; 1945); Card Sound opposite Key Largo, 

 Fla., by Fowler (1945); Andros Island, Bahamas, by Rosen 

 (1911); Fish Market at Nassau, Bahamas by Lee (1889); 

 West Palm Beach, Fla., by Fowler (1929); Palm Beach, 

 Fla., by Fowler (1915); East Coast of Fla., by Goode 

 (1879); 31°13' N. Lat., 74° W. Long., by Bean (1905); 

 Charleston (pilot ship) and Magnolia Beach, S.C., by 

 Fowler (1945); South Carolina, by Lacepede (1803); 

 Beaufort Harbor, N.C., by Jordan and Gilbert (1879); 

 Beaufort and Cape Lookout, X.C., by Smith (1907); 

 Fisherman's Island, Va., by Hildebrand and Schroeder 

 (1928); Worcester Co., Md., by Truitt, Bean, and Fowler 

 (1929); Atlantic City, N.J., by Fowler (1952); Gravesend 

 Bay, N.Y., by Bean (1897; 1903); Orient, N.Y., by Nichols 

 and Breder (1927); Newport, R.I., by Kendall (1908) 

 and Fowler (1917); and Woods Hole, Mass., by Baird 

 (1873) and Smith (1898). 



Some of tliese records may be of Kyphosus 

 incisor since my study revealed that several others 

 identified as K. sectatrix were actually K. incisor. 



Figure 4 shows the location of capture of 

 specimens examined from collections of cruises 

 of the Theodore N. Gill, Combat, and Silrer 

 Bay; University of Florida specimen, Jupiter 

 Inlet, Fla.; Charleston Museum specimens from 

 Charleston and MagnoUa Beach, S.C.; and U.S. 

 National Museum specimens from the Bahamas, 

 Angel Fish Creek, Fla., Broad Creek, Fla., and 

 Beaufort, N.C. 



Specimens of K. sectatrix taken from the fol- 

 lowing locations along the Atlantic coast of the 

 United States are not shown in figure 4: Dry 

 Tortugas, Fla., east of Delaware (38°25' X., 

 72°40' W.) and Woods Hole, Mass. 



E.xcept for some specimens from the Bahamas 

 and Tortugas, all taken from the locations indi- 

 cated (fig. 4) were juveniles, and most of these 

 were taken imder ])atches of Sar(jassiiiti. 



There is probably a northward drift in tlu- C.ulf 

 Stream and Antilles Current of many of the 

 developing young from adult populations in south 

 Florida, the Bahamas, and the West Indies. 



Most of llie Bahama, Bei'nuida, and Antilles 

 Current specimens I examined had liigher scale 

 and pectorid ray counts than tiie south Florida 

 adults and most of the juveniles from other areas 

 (tables 4 and 7). Most of the drifting juveniles 

 cauglit nortii of soutli Florida and the Bahamas 

 were j)i-()bably from soutii Florida or another 

 location not sanipled. Since the specimens from 

 the Caribbean Sea also had higher scale counts, 

 though not as distinct, it is doubtful that nnmy 

 of tile more northern juveniles came from tliere 

 either. The specimen from Turks Island, de- 

 scribed by Piirr (1930) had a higli scale count, as 

 did the specimens I examined from tlie nortiiern 

 Bahamas. 



The largest specimen from north of the Bahamas 

 whicli I examined (133.0 nun., from Woods Hole, 

 Mass.) approaches the size of the largest reported 

 from the ssime region, about 6 inclies (or about 

 150 nun.) by Smitii (1898) at Woods Hole, Mass. 

 There is no evidence that fully grown adults 

 inhabit the Atlantic coast of the Ignited .States 

 north of the Bahama Islands. 



Table 8 shows the surface temperatmes niul 

 salinities of the open waters along the Atlantic 

 coast of the United States and the northern 

 Bahamas at locations from which several juveniles 

 were taken. Unfortunately, these data are not 

 available for the specimens captured along the 

 slioreline of the U.S. coast. Therefore, the indi- 

 cated ranges of temperature, 23.61° C. to 29.02° 

 (\, and salinity, 35.39 °/oo to 36.53 °/oo, probably 

 do not represent the ranges of tolerance for this 



Table 8. — Surface temperatures and salinities for times and 

 locations of capture of 1? specimens of Kyphosus 

 sectatrix 



[Data taken from the Theodore N. QUI cruise reports ;iiul unpublished station 

 lists of the Silver Bay; specimens arranged imiiviilually by size) 



