UNUTILIZED FISHES. 



85 



come forth. The fish is so ugly in appearance that it is rarely eaten. 

 Dr. Smith states, however, that it " is sometimes eaten by the negroes 

 and is said to be -well flavored." 



FOOD. 



Of the food of the toadfish Verrill and Smith (1873) say: 



Several specimens examined at Great Egg Harbor, N. J., April, 1871, contained 

 young edible crabs (Callincctcs hastatus) of various sizes up to those with the 

 carapax 2 inches broad; shrimp (Crangon vulgaris); prawn (Palcemonctes 

 vulgaris) ; Ilyanassa obsoleta ; various fishes, especially the pipefish (Syngnathus 

 peckianus), and the anchovy (Engraulis vittatus). A specimen caught at Woods 

 Hole in July contained the common rock crab (Cancer irroratus). 



Linton (1901), in his food notes of this species, records the fol- 

 lowing : 



Littorma littorea, Ilyanassa obsoleta, Tritia trivittata, Urosalpynx cinerea, 

 usually with hermit crabs: Crepidula fornicata. Pecten irradians. Cancer irro- 

 ratus, Palcemonetes vulgaris, En pan urns longicarpus; bones and other frag- 

 ments of fish ; a partly digested toadfish. I have seen a toadfish in the aqua- 

 rium in the act of swallowing another of its own species but little smaller than 

 itself. In the alimentary canal of a small specimen two shells of , TJtriculus 

 canal iculatus (Bulla) were found. 



EXAMINATION OF DIGESTIVE TRACTS. 



Great difficulty was experienced in getting in the vicinity of "Woods 

 Hole a sufficient number of toadfish for this study. Prior to 1902 

 the species was considered common in that locality, but since then 

 attempts to collect it have been almost in vain. Only very few 

 have been found in places where they were hitherto very common. 

 Nearly all of the 33 specimens examined in the present work were 

 collected at the mouth of the Wareham River. 



Statement of the Food of Toadfish Examined. 



Note. — Figure outside of parenthesis denotes number of toadfish ; number or amount of 

 the species eaten is included within parenthesis. 



