FISHES OF THE GULF OF MAINE 



389 



anglers troll for them in Cape Cod Bay in seasons 

 when there are enough of them to be worth fol- 

 lowing; also many are caught in the surf in good 



years by anglers casting from the beach, as far 

 northward along the coast as the outer shore of 

 Cape Cod. 23 



THE SEA BASSES. FAMILY SERRANIDAE 



The sea basses are an extremely numerous tribe 

 of perchlike fishes, with both the spiny portion 

 and the soft rayed portion of the dorsal fin well 

 developed, either as separate fins, or at least 

 divided by a deep notch. The ventral fins are 

 under the pectorals, technically thoracic, in 

 position. The anal fin is nearly or quite as long 

 as the soft part of the dorsal; the caudal peduncle 

 is deep and the tail is broad. In most of the 

 species the anal fin is preceded by 3 stout spines ; 

 the margin of the gill cover bears one or two sharp 



conical spines in most, and the maxillary bone is 

 not sheathed nor hidden by the preorbital bone 

 when the mouth is closed. Smoother cheeks are 

 a ready field mark to distinguish any of the sea 

 basses from the rockfish family (p. 430); the 3 

 anal fin spines distinguish them from the croaker 

 family (p. 417) which have 1 or 2 anal spines only; 

 the spiny gill cover from the porgy family (p. 411); 

 and the large mouth from the cunner and tautog 

 tribe (p. 473). 



KEY TO GULF OF MAINE SEA BASSES 



1 . There is one continuous dorsal fin, its front part spiny, its rear part soft rayed 3 



There are two separate dorsal fins, the first spiny, the second soft-rayed 2 



2. The two dorsal fins are separated by a distinct inter-space; the sides are distinctly striped Striped bass, p. 389 



The two dorsal fins are joined at their bases; the sides are not distinctly striped White perch, p. 405 



3. The scales are large; the space between the eyes is naked; no bony ridge on the gill covers Sea bass, p. 407 



The scales are small; the space between the eyes is scaly; there is a bony ridge on the gill covers.- Wreckfish, p. 409 



Striped bass Roccus saxatilis (Walbaum) 1792 and keelless caudal peduncle, stout body, the 



presence of two well-developed dorsal fins (spiny 

 Striper; Rockfish; Rock; Linesides and soft rayedi and the one about as long as the 



Jordan and Evermann, 189&-1900, p. 1132, as Roccus other), its lack of dorsal or anal finlets, and a tail 



lineatus (Bloch). only moderately forked, separate it from all the 



_ . . __ , . . mackerel tribe, from the bluefish, and from the 



Description. — No one character alone character- rpi „ *„ + *u„+ :+„ „„„i «„ i,„„ o ™;~,«, 



, ... , , , ,. pompanos. Ihe lact that its anal nn has 6 spmes 



lzes the striped bass, but rather the combmation 



of fin structure and arrangement with general ,T%T fte ^ toL J^ m rf- lM ^vT f °^™?^ t8 TJ!!!! 



f ° of bluefish tag methods and localities, also of tho natural history of the 



outline and structure of the jaw. Its rather deep bluefish. 



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Figure 209. — Striped bass {Roccus saxatilis), Chesapeake Bay region. From Goode. Drawing by H. L. Todd. 



