MASTERS OF THE WATER-BONY FISHES 



251 



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Fig. 141. Atlantic croaker. 



Fig. 142. Southern king whiting 



Similar Species: The southern king whiting, Menticirrhiis americanus, has 

 six or seven wide dark crossbands sloping forward and downward over the back 

 and sides. It replaces the northern whiting south of the Chesapeake Bay and 

 ranges from New Jersey to Texas. It reaches 15 inches. 



The Gulf king whiting, Menticirrhiis littoralis, has no blotchings or barrings. 

 It reaches 15 inches and 2 pounds, and ranges from the Chesapeake to Texas, 

 tending to replace the southern whiting in the Gulf of Mexico. 



The California corbina, Menticirrhiis undiilatus, is a steely blue above, 

 changing to white below, and has wavy, oblique lines of dark spots on the 

 scales. It reaches 2 feet and ranges from San Francisco to the Gulf of California. 



ribbonfish: Eques lanceolatus 



Size: Up to 8 to 10 inches. 



Distribution: West Indies to southern Florida. 



Identification: There are three stripes: a vertical one through the eve, an 

 oblique one from the forehead to the pectoral fin, and a horizontal one from 

 the spiny dorsal to the tail fin. A similar species is shown in figure 12. 



Habits: This fish is the exception to all croaker rules. It is a solitary reef fish 

 which can be seen holed up in reefs by day. It is a crustacean feeder, but 

 probably takes small invertebrates in general. 



Similar Species: The cubbyu, Eques acuminatus, has a size and shape similar 

 to the ribbonfish but has seven narrow horizontal stripes of dark brown running 

 along the silver to gray sides. It ranges from the West Indies to Cape Hatteras. 



Surf Fishes: Suborder Holconoti {"furrowed back^') 



This group of twenty-odd species is found only off the Pacific Coast of North 

 America (with three species in Japan). All are small, compressed fishes which 

 closely resemble the porgies, but they do not have such a steep profile. They also 

 have long soft dorsal anal fins composed of many fine rays, and a furrow running 

 along the back on each side of the dorsal fin (hence the name "Holconoti"). The 

 marine species all travel in schools in bays or shallow water over rocky or sandy 

 bottoms, or in surf where they bear their young. A few live in the large California 

 rivers. Surf fishes bear a maximum of a dozen living young which are about 

 one fourth to one third the length of the mother. The species are hard to 



