40 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



of the tile-fish grounds. These grounds include an area between 69° 

 and 73° west longitude and between 40° and 40° 20' north latitude, 

 and are situated on the edge of the Gulf Stream, directly to the south 

 of the Rhode Island coast. These fishes are mostly surface forms 

 whose native waters are in the tropics. That such fishes form a large 

 part of the fish fauna of the Gulf Stream helps to explain the occur- 

 rence of so great a number of tropical species in our coast waters. 



Still another and quite a different source contributes to our varied 

 fauna. Our shores are relatively near the outer edge of the great con- 

 tinental shelf where it begins to slope off into the vast abyss of the 

 ocean. This region is the home of a remarkable and extensive fauna 

 from which stray individual sometimes reach our shores. These 

 fishes form a small but scientifically interesting element of the marine 

 life of the waters of Rhode Island. 



So many factors contribute to the fauna of our offshore waters 

 that it is not surprising that a very large number of marine fishes have 

 been reported from Rhode Island. Of the 199 species enumerated 

 in this list, 175 are salt-water fishes. About 70 of these may be con- 

 sidered as rare. This latter number, however, is by no means final 

 and will doubtless be increased in the future as the result of the cap- 

 ture of strays from the tropical and deep-water regions. Comparison 

 with similar lists from other States shows that from Long Island 217 

 marine species are reported (Bean, 1903), and from Woods Hole, 233 

 species (Smith, 1900). The marine fauna of Woods Hole and vicin- 

 ity has of course been much more thoroughly investigated than that 

 of our State or that of Long Island. There are thus something over 

 40 species which have been taken in neighboring waters but which 

 have not been reported from Rhode Island. On the other hand this 

 State reports ten species not taken at either Woods Hole or Long 

 Island; one species in this list is found at Long Island but has been not 

 taken at Woods Hole; three species reported from this State are found 

 at Woods Hole and vicinity but are not recorded from Long Island. 

 It is evident from these figures that there are known from the southern 

 shores of New England and from Long Island somewhat over a 



