REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 69 



Reproduction: Little is known about this. It is possible that they spawn 

 in early spring or winter in deep water or along more southerly coasts. 

 Then the young, under the influence of migratory instinct, move north- 

 ward along the coast, growing rapidly as they proceed. This explains 

 the presence of the young fishes 4 to 6 inches in length in August. Well 

 developed spawn is found in a small proportion of the bluefish when they 

 first arrive. (Smith, The Fishes of Woods Hole, Bull. U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission, 1897, 98.) 



Food: A very voracious, carnivorous fish, feeding particularly on menhaden 

 and squeteague. Stomachs also sometimes contain herring, cunners, 

 squid, scup, butter-fish, marine worms, and Crustacea. 



Size: They reach a length of 5 inches in the middle of August; 6 or 7 inches 

 in September; 9 inches in November; and at a year old are from 12 to 14 

 inches in length. 



NOMEID/E. The Nomeids. 



99« Nomeus gronovii (Gmelin) . Portuguese Man-of-war- fish. 



Geog. Dist.: Tropical parts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in rather 

 deep water, swimming near the surface, very abundant in the Sargasso 

 Sea, common north to Florida and Bermuda, straying to Panama and 

 Woods Hole. 



Season in R. L: Found living under Portuguese man-of-war. 



STROMATEID.^. The Butter-Fishes. 



100. Palinurichthys percif ormis (Mitchill) . Rudder-fish; Pole-fish. 

 Geog. Dist. : Atlantic coast of North America from Cape Hatteras to Maine. 

 Season in R. I. : Specimen from Newport in U. S. National Museum. (Proc. 



U. S. Nat. Mus., 1886, 91.) 

 Food: Small squids, snails, Crustacea. 



101. Pep rilus paru (Linnaeus) . Harvest-fish. 

 Geog. Dist. : Cape Cod to Jamaica. 



Season in R. L: Rare, only a few appearing each season in June or July 

 with the butter-fishes. A large specimen taken July 24, 1905. 



