THE ROSE FISH AND ITS ALLIES. 



•73 



Tomales Bay. Northward the number of species decreases, while the 

 number of individuals is perhaj^s, equally great as far as the Gulf of 

 Georgia. Southward both individuals and species rapidly diminish in 

 number. 



•■ Their range probably extends from Cerros Island to Sitka; certaiidy 

 no further. Most of them live in shallow water, on a sandy bottom, both 

 in the open sea and in sheltered bays. A seine drawn in the surf will 

 often be filled with 'the silvery species {AniphisficJiits ; Holconotus), and a 

 seine drawn in a bay may be equally full of Ditrcma latcrale, Ditrcma 

 Jacksoni, etc. One species is confined to the fresh waters. Nearly all of 

 them feed chiefly on Crustacea, together with such small fish as they can 

 swallow. The species of Abcona are chiefly herbivorous, feeding on 

 seaweed. 



" The Embiotocoids are all ovi])arous. The young are fifteen to twenty 

 in number, and are brought forth in summer : when born, the little fish 

 are from three-fourths of an inch to two and a half inches in length, ac- 

 cording to the species. They are closely packed together in the uterus, 

 the inner surface of which forms folds partly separating the young from 

 each other. The young are at first excessively compressed, with the soft 

 parts of the vertical fins excessively elevated. As their development pro- 

 ceeds they resemble more and more the parent, and when born their form 

 is quite similar, the body, however, more compressed, the fins higher, and 

 the color usually red. 



" Impregnation probably takes place in the fall. In January most of the 

 species have the young half grown, as to length, and when the ])arent fish 

 is caught the young readily slip out from the ovary. From January to 

 June the fish-stalls where these fishes are sold are littered with these fcetal 

 fish. Little is known of the place of spawning, but I suppose that the 

 young are simply extruded in the water just outside the breakers and left 

 to sliift for themselves. As to the mode of impregnation, we have made 

 no ol)servations. Dr. Blake thinks that the fleshy thickening on the anal 

 fin of the male is to give the female something to hold to with the ventral 

 fins, and that the two sexes approach each other, ventral surfaces together, 

 and with their heads in opposite directions. They have no special enemies 

 except the larger predatory fishes and the fishermen, who destroy great 

 numbers at the breeding time. No diseases have been noticed. 



" The species are all, with the exception of two or three of the smallest, 

 used as food. Their flesh is watery, flavorless, and much inferior to that 

 of the Scorpcenoid, Scioenoid and Percoid fishes, and only their abundance 

 gives them value. Great quantities of them are consumed by the Chinese." 



