MASTERS OF THE WATER-BONY FISHES 



249 



Fig. 140. Black drum. 



CHANNEL BASS (redfish, RED drlim) :' Sciaenops oceUata 



Size: Up to 5 feet. 



Weight: Averages 5 pounds. Common to 15 pounds. Up to 85 pounds. 



Distrihiitiou: Atlantic Coast from Delaware to Texas, straggling to Cape Cod. 



Identification: The shape is slim, but this fish shows the beginnings of the 

 blunt snout common in many croakers. The color is reddish to brassy. The black 

 spot above the caudal peduncle is distinctive. 



Habits: This very common and popular fish schools or swims solitarily over 

 sandy shores and bays. It enters brackish and fresh water. It feeds on small 

 fishes and invertebrates on the surface or at the bottom. 



BLACK DRUM (sEA drum) : Pogonjas croviis 



Size: Up to 4 feet. 



Weight: Averages over 10 pounds. Up to 146 pounds. 



Distribution: Massachusetts to Argentina. 



Identification: The body is very heavy, deepest at the shoulder. There are 

 four or five dark crossbands on a dull silver ground color, and the chin bears 

 a series of short pendant barbels. 



Habits: This is a very powerful, rather slow-moving fish. It feeds chiefly 

 on shellfish, which are located by the sensitive barbels. Among all members of 

 the family, this fish is the one most famous for the sound it produces, which is 

 a loud drumming noise. The drumming is probably done to attract the opposite 

 sex since it is loudest in the males and done chiefly during the breeding season. 

 Schools swim over beaches, inlets, and bays and migrate during the colder 

 months to ofil^shore waters. 



CROAKERS: Genera Leiostonins, Microfogon, Sciaena, Roncador, 

 Genyonenms, Umbrina 

 These are the central members of the family. They are all moderately small 

 fishes which have the fairly deep bodies and the rounded, somewhat projecting 



