170 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



Key to the North Carolina pipe-fishes. 



i. Body rings 17 to 19, caudal rings 31 to 33; dorsal rays 29 to 31, dorsal base covering 1, 



rarely 2, dorsal rings; snout contained 1.66 to 1.8 times in head floridoe. 



a. Body rings 20 or 21, caudal rings 36 to 38; dorsal rays 32 to 41, dorsal base covering 3 to 5 

 dorsal rings. 

 a. Snout more than half length of head; belly fiat or concave; dorsal fin shorter than head, 



its rays 32 to 37 and its base covering 3 dorsal and 5 caudal rings louisiame. 



aa. Snout half length of head; belly convex; dorsal fin longer than head, its rays 38 to 41 and 

 its base covering 4 or 5 dorsal rings and 4.5 or 5 caudal rings juscum. 



(Siphostoma, tube-mouthed.) 



146. SIPHOSTOMA FLORIDA Jordan & Gilbert. 

 Pipe-fish. 



Siphostoma floridoe Jordan & Gilbert, Proceedings U. S. National Museum, 1882, 263; Pensacola, Fla. Jordan, 

 1886, 30; Beaufort. Jenkins, 1887, 87; Beaufort. Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 766; Beaufort. Wilson, 

 1900, 355; Beaufort. Gudger, 1905a, 449; Beaufort. 



Diagnosis. — Bony rings 17 to 19 on body, 31 to 33 on tail (i. e., posterior to vent); head 

 contained 6 to 6.5 times in total body length; snout contained 1.66 to 1.8 times in length of 

 head; dorsal fin low, shorter than head, its rays 29 to 31, covering 1 to 2 body rings and 5 to 6.5 

 caudal rings; tail longer than trunk and .55 total length; pouch involving about 18 caudal 

 rings ; caudal fin about .4 length of dorsal base. Color : dark or light green ; sides with gray specks; 

 tail marked with dark bars and pale oblong spots; snout mottled; dorsal yellowish as base; 

 anal plain; caudal yellow with dusky tip. 



Inhabits sandy shores from North Carolina to Texas. It is abundant at 

 Beaufort, and is probably the most numerous species in that region. A favorite 

 locality is about Bird Shoal, but it may be found almost everywhere in eel-grass. 

 The color is subject to considerable variation, depending on that of the plants 

 among which the fishes live. The food consists of minute organisms, mostly Crus- 

 tacea. 



The breeding habits of this species at Beaufort have been described in a 

 paper by Gudger (19056). The breeding season of this and other pipe-fishes in 

 that region is June to August, and the transfer of eggs from the female to the 

 male takes place at night, so far as observed. The egg-laying occurs while the 

 bodies of the two fishes are mutually entwined in such a way as to bring the 

 oviduct into relation with the marsupial pouch at its anterior end, the eggs 

 being fertilized as they enter the cavity. The transfer of eggs is repeated from 

 time to time until the pouch is well filled; in one pair of fishes under observation in 

 an aquarium at the Beaufort laboratory, the copulatory act was repeated 4 

 times in an hour. The eggs are at first loose in the male's pouch, but later they 

 become attached in several rows on each side. Hatching ensues in about 10 

 days. ^ 



Adult fish reach a length of 9 inches, but may be only 3 inches long, the 

 females being a little the larger. Among a dozen mature specimens from Beau- 

 fort, the body rings number 18 or 19, and the caudal rings 31 to 33 (34 in one 

 specimen); the dorsal fin covers 16 dorsal rings and 5 to 6.5 caudal rings; and the 

 dorsal rays number 29 to 31. In 2 males, one with eggs and the other with 

 young, the dorsal base covers 2 dorsal and 5.5 caudal rings. 



