Table 5. — Geojjraphit breakdown of Ihc slomach contents of wjlch flounder, Gfyprttcephalus cyno^lossus, in (he 

 northwest Allanlic. Data are e\pre!»sed as a percenlat^e weight for fish coUecled during) the spring and autumn 

 bollom trawl sune> cruises, l%M-72. t + indicates present but <O.I*o.) 



Polyphysia crassa (0.3%) and S. inflatum (<0.1Vo); in Western 

 Nova Scotia, S. ir\flatum ad.Vlo). Other groups of polychaetes were 

 preyed on by Georges Bank witcii flounder, but on a comparative 

 basis these were of secondary importance. The Lumbrinereidae, for 

 example, accounted for 5.0% of the diet, with both Lumbrineris 

 (0.1%) and Ninoe ( < 0. 1 %) having been found in the stomach con- 

 tents. In contrast, in the Gulf of Maine, the Lumbrinereidae were 

 the most important polychaete prey (10.5%), with three species 

 having been identified: Lumbrineris fragilis (5.2%), L. brevipes 

 (<0.1%), and Ninoe nigripes (<0.1%). In Western Nova Scotia, 

 much of the other annelid prey was unidentified (28.7%), and the 

 remainder of the polychaete prey was divided among many of the 



same taxa as found in the witch flounder stomachs from the other 

 areas. The most important family was, however, the Stemaspidae 

 (5.1%), with Stemapis scutata (3. 1 %) being the single most impor- 

 tant species. 



All taxa, other than the Annelida, were generally insignificant as 

 witch flounder prey. The only exceptions, apart from the previously 

 described squid predation by Southern New England witch 

 flounder, are the arthropods and echinoderms. In Southern New 

 England, arthropods accounted for 12.1% of the diet, and the most 

 important prey species was the rock crab. Cancer irroratus (3.7%). 

 In Western Nova Scotia, arthropods made up 1 1 .4% of the diet, 

 but amphipods were the most important prey in this phylum 



