ii8 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8- 



Identifications of Pisces — Continued 



Group 



Regalecidae . . . . 

 Trachypteridae . 

 Stylephoridae . . 

 Pleuronectidae ~|^ 

 Soleidae / 



Lophiidae 



Antennariidae . . 



Ceratiidae 



Ogcocephalidae . 



Number of 

 identifications 



30 



Percentage of 



identifications 



among those 



of all 



fishes 



.6093 



Percentage 



of species 



of this group 



among 



North 



American 



fishes 



•0327 



.0982 



.0327 



37983 



.03-27 

 .4912 



•3274 

 ■3274 



Total number of identifications of fishes, 4,923 ; percentage of iden- 

 tifications among those of all vertebrates, 36.9565 ; percentage of 

 species in this class among those of all nearctic vertebrates, 61.3253. 



Commenting on this table it is obvious that a wide range of fishes 

 is preyed upon, and that the families known to be most abundant in 

 individuals almost invariably are those most extensively consumed by 

 the birds. As to the bearing of this data on protective adaptations, we 

 see the spined catfishes well represented, more so in fact than the 

 equally abundant and only negatively if at all defended suckers. No 

 fewer than 36 small catfishes were found in the stomach of a single 

 belted kingfisher. The very spiny sticklebacks are eaten enough to 

 show that their spines are no deterrent to the attacks of birds; no 

 fewer than 1 50 of these little fishes have been taken from the stomach 

 of a great blue heron. Advancing to the true prickly-scaled and spiny- 

 finned fishes, we note that Centrarchids (sunfishes, bass, etc.) and 

 perches are freely taken. High counts of sunfishes in stomachs are 

 12 in that of a least bittern, 14 in an anhinga, and 18 in a little green 

 heron. Twenty yellow perch ha^'c been eaten at a meal by the least 

 bittern and the great blue heron and no fewer than 25 darters by the 

 little green heron. The Cottidae or sculpins often have a highly 

 developed armature of spines about the head, but there is no evidence 

 that it protects them from birds. Flatfishes (Pleuronectidae) repre- 

 sent almost the acme of protective coloration, especially of power to 

 simulate the background, but they seem to ])e pro]X)rtionally repre- 

 sented in our table. One double-crested cormorant had eaten t6 

 Symphurits plagiusa. 



The unidentified fishes were distributed among approximately 165 

 species of birds to which a considerable number would have to be 

 added to give the total mniil)cr of fish-coiistnning species. A family 



