166 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



2 4 6 10 20 40 60 



STANDARD LENGTH MINUS SNOUT LENGTH, IN MM 



Figure 38. — Relation of snout, extension to standard 

 length minus snout length. Large black dots represent 

 the unidentified species. 



3. Specimens between 6 and 10 mm. long were 

 taken during July and August off Georgia, and 

 during August and September off the Carolinas. 

 Specimens between 10 and 20 mm. long were 

 taken during June off Elbow Cay, Bahamas, July 

 off Miami, August off Georgia, August and Sep- 

 tember off the Carolinas, and August oft' Virginia. 



4. A 37.5-mm. specimen was taken in July off 

 southern Florida, one 38.8 mm. long in August 

 off South Carolina, one 29.5 mm. long in Septem- 

 ber off North Carolina, one 101 mm. long in 

 October off South Carolina, and one 20.9 mm. 

 long in October in the Tongue of the Ocean, 

 Bahamas. 



5. Tlu-ee specimens of the unidentified istio- 

 phorid (34.5, 45.0, and 45.0 mm.) were taken off 



Settlement Point, Grand Bahama Island, during 

 late August. 



6. A 208-mm. specimen was taken during March 

 off South Florida, and one 374 mm. long in August 

 off South Carolina. 



The association of larval specimens with the 

 Gulf Stream indicates that theii- early develop- 

 ment takes place in the warm Stream waters. 

 The larger southern specimens could conceivably 

 have been spawned below Cuba, and the smaller 

 North Carolina specimens off North Carolina. 

 Thus, spawning appears to extend from AprU 

 to September from south of Cuba north to 

 Carolina waters, and beyond the 100-fathom 

 line. LaMonte and Marcy (1941) suggest May 

 to August for the Atlantic, and Voss (1953) 

 suggests April through August for Florida. 

 There is a northward shift in size occurrences as 

 the season progresses, indicating a corresponding 

 northward shift in general spawning season. 



Gulf of Mexico 



1. Specimens were taken in the northern and 

 eastern Gulf, all of which were east of the Missis- 

 sippi River except for one group (fig. 1). 



2. Specimens less than 6 mm. long were taken 

 from late April to the middle of August. 



3. Specimens 6 to 10 mm. long were taken from 

 June into August. 



4. .A. 64.1-mm. specimen was taken in May, and 

 several between 23 and 64 mm. long were taken 

 during August and September. 



From information given by Leipper and Drum- 

 mond (1952), it appears that surface Gulf of 

 Mexico waters are divided ; and it may be assumed 

 that two separate spawning areas exist, one west 

 and one east of a line from the Mississippi River 

 to the eastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. The 

 distribution of larval specimens in the south- 

 eastern Gulf indicates that spawning took place 

 in the area. The small specimens taken in the 

 northwestern Gulf off the Texas and Louisiana 

 coasts indicate that spawning occurred in this 

 area, which was not necessarily associated with 

 spawning in the southeastern Gulf. In view of the 

 surface currents (Leipper and Drummond, 1952) 



