THE FOOD AND GAME FISHES OF NEW YORK. 



379 



young Bluefish were abundant in all the waters visited in Peconic Bay and Great 

 South Bay and were taken as late as October i6. 



During the warm season they often run up the rivers, the young, called Snappers, 

 frequently into nearly fresh waters. (After Eugene Smith.) 



The Bluefish is so active in its movements that it is difficult to keep it in 

 captivity. As with the species of Caraiix and Scriola, however, its longevity 

 depends on range and temperature ; in a large body of water, not colder than 60° in 

 winter, it can be maintained easily. 



94. Crab-eater ; Cobia {Rachycciitrou canadus Linnaeus). 



Centronotus spinosus Mitchill, Trans. Lit. & Phil. See. N. Y., I, 490, pi. Ill, fig. 9, 1815, 



New York. 

 ^/(;<:a/tf (///(/////Vf? CuviER & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., VIII, 334, pi. 233, 1S31, 



Brazil; DeKay, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 113, pi. 25, fig. 77, 1842. 

 jS/rtc^/c ««a^/rt Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus., 418, 1883; Bean, Bull. 



U. S. F. C, VII, 144, pi. II, fig. 13, 1888 ; 19th Rept. N. Y. Comm. Fish., 270, pi. 



XJi, fig. 25, 1890, young, Great Egg Harbor Bay. 

 Rachycentron canadus Jordan & Evermann, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus., I, 948, 1896, pi. 



CXLVIII, fig. 401, 1900 ; Smith, Bull. U. S. F. C.. XVII, 98, 1898. 



crab-eater. 



Color olive brown ; sides with a distinct broad dark band and a less distinct band 

 above and below it ; lower parts silvery.' 



The Crab-eater inhabits all warm seas, occasionally appearing on our northern 

 coast in summer and ranging northward to Massachusetts Bay. Individuals are 

 occasionally taken at Woods Hole, Mass. 



Dr. Mitchill had a specimen of the Crab-eater which was caught in New York 

 Bay June 11, 1815. He found in its stomach 20 spotted Sand Crabs and several 

 young I'lounders. The fish was eaten at his table, and pronounced one of the best 

 he had ever tasted. This example was 31 inches long. Dr. DeKay styles it the 

 Northern Crab-eater. The specimen described by him was captured in Boston 

 Harbor, and placed in a live car v;ith other fish, chiefly Yox^\Q9,(Stcnotoiiuis clirysops). 



