Family Macrorhamphosidae 

 Genus Macrorhamphosus 



(93) Macrorhamphosus scolopax (Linnaeus) 1758 

 Snipe fish, snipefish 



Specimens: (PLATE 32) 



This species is widespread off the coast of Morocco in the eastern 

 Atlantic, but is very rare in the region of the western Atlantic. 

 Bigelow and Schroeder (1953 b) state that the few records from the 

 western Atlantic have all been within the limits of the Gulf of 

 Maine and that the few they had seen were about 4 inches long. 

 On March 20, 1957, a 135 mm. (TL) snipefish was taken by the 

 trawler Dauntless on the edge of the continental shelf off Block 

 Island. This specimen is now number 39,926 in the fish collection 

 at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. 

 It appears to be the largest member of this species from the western 

 North Atlantic. It is also a new southern record for this species 

 in the western Atlantic. 



Family Atherimdae 

 Genus Menidia 



(94) Menidia menidia (Linnaeus) 1766 

 Silverside, white-bait, shiner, sperling 



Specimens: 



This small silvery fish is common throughout the year in salt 

 ponds and brackish water. Numerous specimens from three to six 

 inches (TL) were collected at Watch Hill with minnow traps, and 

 at Weekapaug with rotenone. The silverside is sometimes used as a 

 baitfish. 



(95) Menidia beryllina (Cope) 1866 

 Waxen silverside, tide-water silverside 



Specimens: 



This species is very similar in characteristics to Menidia menidia 

 except it has only about 17 or 18 soft rays in the anal fin, while 

 Menidia menidia has about 23. Specimens three to five inches 

 (TL) were taken in Winnapaug Pond in September, 1957. 



42 



