36 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



with the natural history of the Rhode Island fishes has been published 

 in the annual reports of the Commission. These articles, collectively- 

 included under the title "The Fishes of Rhode Island," were written 

 from two different points of view. Four of these were concerned with 

 particular groups of fishes and were intended to state, in as complete 

 a way as possible, the most important facts which have been ascer- 

 tained regarding their life histories. The other papers of the series 

 were primarily intended to contain such data regarding the fishes of 

 the State as had been secured bj^ the Commission in the course of its 

 examination of the biological conditions of Narragansett Bay. 



The most inclusive of these papers was that entitled "A List of 

 the Fishes of Rhode Island," published in the annual report of the 

 Commissioners of Inland Fisheries for the year 1905. This Ust 

 enumerated systematically those species which had been authentically 

 recorded from the waters of Rhode Island. In it were also included 

 brief statements regarding the geographical distribution, spawning 

 habits, food, rate of growth, etc., of the different species mentioned, 

 as well as many new observations regarding their occurrence and life 

 relations in Rhode Island. This list proved to be quite generally 

 useful for reference purposes, and the limited number of the reprinted 

 copies has now been exhausted. It therefore seems advisable at this 

 time to revise the paper, and bring it up to date by including in it 

 those additions which have in the meantime been made to our knowl- 

 edge of the fishes of this vicinity. An opportunity is thus given for 

 the publication of numerous observations and data collected by the 

 writer and others connected with the Rhode Island Fish Commission. 



In this revision of the list of the fishes of Rhode Island, the nat- 

 ural history notes have been entirely rewritten and much new mate- 

 rial added. References have been given to the most important and 

 most accessible papers in which information regarding particular 

 species can be found. Details regarding the geographical distribu- 

 tion of the different species have been added, especially in the cases 

 of those fishes which are particularly rare or whose distribution is 

 of particular interest. The occurrence of such species in the waters 



