2o8 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



reported abundant at Sandy Hook in September and October, 1897, by fishermen. 

 Tliree individuals were seined for the Aquarium October 8, and, at the time of writing, 

 one of them is ahve. 



A large amber-fish [Scriola sp.) was captured in August, 1896, at Gravesend Bay, 

 Long Island, and brought in for identification; its measurements are given in the 

 proper place. The runner {Elagatis bipinnnlatus), belonging to the West Indian fauna, 

 was once before recorded from Long Island ; a single example was taken in Gravesend 

 Bay in August, 1895. The banded larimus {Larhiiits fasciatus), which is not a com- 

 mon species, has been reported from Chesapeake Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Two 

 individuals were brought alive from Gravesend Bay in August, 1895, ^'^^1 lived in the 

 Aquarium until December, when they succumbed to the cold water at a temperature 

 of 43° Fahr. They fed freely upon shrimp. The parche {C/icetodon ocellatiis), a West 

 Indian species, occasionally found in summer in Rhode Island and New Jersey waters, 

 was obtained in Gra\esend Bay. 



A young sturgeon-fish {Teutliis licpatus) was captured in Gravesend Bay, October 

 20, 1897 ; this occurs in the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico; it was pre\'iousl_v' known 

 as far north as Charleston. Young trunk-fish {Lactopkiys trigonus), belonging to the 

 West Indian fauna, are carried occasionally by the Gulf Stream northward as far as 

 Massachusetts. An example was found in Gravesend Bay, August 28, 1897 ; 't could 

 not be kept alive long in a balanced jar, but it fed regularly for about ten days on 

 minced clam. The spotted codling {PZ/rns rcgius) is not an uncommon fish in Graves- 

 end Bay in October ; several indi\iduals were obtained this year. The species often 

 lies upon its side very much like the tautog and many flounders. 



Ptcroplirync histrio was found floating in New York Bay in August, 1897 ; it occurs 

 occasionally in summer as far north as Cape Cod, but belongs to the tropical parts of 

 the Atlantic. 



In this paper the species are arranged in the order in which they are given in 

 "A Check-list of the Fishes and Fish-like Vertebrates of North and Middle America," 

 by David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann. The names, almost without 

 exception, are written as they stand in that work. The notes were made from time to 

 time during the entire period mentioned in the title whenever suitable dead fishes 

 became available for observation ; and additional data were secured by a study of 

 living individuals. I am under obligations to Mr. L. B. Spencer and Mr. W. I. De 

 Nyse for many important notes upon the feeding habits. 



I. Petromyzon marinus (/.''/«a'«5). Sea Lamprey; Lamprey Eel. — The lam- 

 prey has been obtained in Gravesend Bay in March, April and June in small numbers. 

 It has never been kept alive long in the Aquarium because of the impracticability of 

 furnishing it with proper food. 



