THK RED DRTM. 



THE RED DRUM. 



Long as a salmon, if not so stout. 



And springy and swift as a mountain trout, 



Innes Randolph, The Drum-fish. 



' I ^HE family Scia^nidce is distributed along the coasts of temperate and 

 tropical countries, the world over, though most abundant in the Western 

 Atlantic, the Eastern Pacific and Indian Oceans, and in the Mediter- 

 ranean Sea. In general form many of the members of this family are not 

 unlike the salmon, and are sometimes mistaken for it. They are, how- 

 ever, true spiny-rayed fish, and they may be distinguished from all others 

 by the presence of the comparatively short, spiny, dorsal fin, and a very 

 long, soft-rayed fin upon the posterior portion of the back. 



Many of them are ground-loving species, are provided with barbels by 

 which they feel their way over the bottom, and with strong, pavement- 

 like teeth for crushing shell-fish and strong shelled crustaceans. To this 

 group belong the fresh-water Drum, the King-fish, and others. 



Another group, typified by the Squeteagues, are without the barbels and 

 possess long, sharp teeth, being rapid swimmers, and voracious surface 

 feeders. 



Many of the species are most abundant about the mouths of rivers, and 

 there are several species, such as the fresh- water Drum, Haploidonotus 

 ,g7-tinniens, of the Mississippi Valley, which are found only in fresh water. 

 Nearly all have the power of uttering loud sounds. This, as lias been 

 demonstrated by M. Dufosse, is accomplished through a peculiar structure 

 ■of the air-bladder. 



