424 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Figure 219. — Kingfish (Menticirrhus saxatilis), Pensacola, Florida. From Goode. Drawing by H. L. Todd. 



Description. — The kingfish resembles the weak- 

 fish in the general arrangement and the relative 

 sizes of its fins, the second dorsal being much 

 longer than the first or than the anal. But its 

 first dorsal (10 spines) is relatively much higher 

 and more pointed than that of the weakfish, with 

 the third spine not only much prolonged but 

 filamentous at the tip in the adult (a noticeable 

 character) ; the rather blunt nose, and snout over- 

 hanging the mouth, give the kingfish a very char- 

 acteristic cast of countenance (fig. 219). Its upper 

 jaw, furthermore, projects beyond the lower, 

 whereas the reverse is the case in the squeteague. 

 Its chin bears a barbel, which the weakfish lacks, 

 its lips are fleshy, and it has no canine teeth. 

 Its tail, too, is of very characteristic outline, with 

 the lower half rounded but the upper half concave 

 suggesting (though not exactly parallelling) the 

 tail of the sea bass (p. 407). Its body is about as 

 slender, proportionally, as that of a squeteague, 

 but the kingfish carries its weight farther forward 

 (it is deepest below the first dorsal fin), and it 

 has a weak-tailed appearance remotely suggesting 

 a hake (p. 222). We need merely note further 

 that the filamentous spine of the first dorsal is 

 longer in large fish than in small ones; that the 

 second dorsal (one stout but short spine followed 

 by 24 to 27 rays) occupies more than one-third 

 of the length of the back and tapers slightly 

 from front to rear; that the anal fin (one long 

 spine and 8 rays) stands under the middle of the 



soft dorsal; and the pectorals are pointed and 

 relatively much longer than those of the sque- 

 teague. 



The Kingfish and its immediate relatives have 

 no air bladder, hence makes no sounds, in which 

 they differ from other members of their family. 



Color. — Leaden or dusky gray above, (some- 

 times so dark as to be almost black) with silvery 

 and metallic reflections; milky or yellowish-white 

 below. The sides are cross marked irregularly 

 with dark bars. These run obliquely forward and 

 downward behind the spiny dorsal fin, but the 

 foremost one or two bars run in the opposite direc- 

 tion, so that they form a V-shaped blotch or two 

 dark V's below the fin. The pale belly is bounded 

 above by a dark longitudinal streak on either side. 

 The fins are dusky or blackish; the first dorsal fin 

 anal, pectorals, and ventrals are tipped with dirty 

 white. 



Size. — Kingfish grow to a maximum length of 

 17 inches and a weight of about 3 pounds, but the 

 general run are from 10 to 14 inches long, weighing 

 y 2 to \)'i pounds. 



Habits. — Kingfish, like squeteague, are summer 

 fish, appearing on the coast in May, to vanish in 

 October. They are confined to the immediate 

 vicinity of the coast during their stay, frequenting 

 inclosed as well as open waters, even entering 

 river mouths, and they are unknown on the off- 

 shore banks. They run in schools, keep close to 

 the ground, prefer hard or sandy bottom, and feed 



