REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 13 



atively short distance from our coast, also, is the edge of the conti- 

 nental shelf of the ocean bottom where it begins to slope off into the 

 great depths of the Atlantic ; this region is the source of the deep sea 

 forms, like the tile-fish, which are an important part of the fauna of 

 the State, particularly in the off-shore waters. It is therefore not 

 surprising to learn that a large number of different species of marine 

 fishes have been reported as present in the waters of this State. The 

 fishes enumerated in the present list represent 199 species, belong- 

 ing to 175 genera and to 84 families. Of these about 30 are important 

 food fishes; about 70 may be said to be rare as far as the present 

 records go ; of these latter, about 30 have been taken but once as far 

 as is authentically recorded. The type specimens of 6, or perhaps 7, 

 species were taken in Rhode Island waters. Of the species named, 24 

 are exclusively fresh-water forms and 175 are marine; of the latter, 14 

 regularly spend a part of the year in fresh water for spawning or 

 other purposes. 



The number of marine species will undoubtedly be increased in the 

 future by the capture on our coast of strays from the abyssal fauna 

 of the depths of the Atlantic, from the tropical fauna of the Gulf 

 Stream, and from the Arctic fauna of the region north of Cape Cod. 

 To these categories belong the 40 specimens taken at Woods Hole, 

 but not yet recorded from Rhode Island, as well as the 25 species 

 taken in New York waters w^iich have not been recorded from this 

 State, Of the fishes mentioned in the Rhode Island list, one species 

 has not been reported from Woods Hole, three other species have not 

 been taken in New York waters, and ten have not been taken at 

 either locality. The very rare species which sometimes stray to 

 our southern New England shores number over a hundred. They 

 should not, however, strictly speaking, be considered as a part of the 

 fauna of the State. Yet their occasional occurrence is of interest, 

 since by their presence we gain information regarding the geograph- 

 ical distribution and migrations of the species in question, and more 

 especially regarding the physical and biological conditions of the State 

 and the adjoining regions. 



