320 



FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



276. SOI^NOPS OOELLATUS (Linnaeus). 



"Drum"; "Red Drum"; "Puppy Drum" (young); "Spotted Bass"; Channel Bass; 

 Red-fish; Branded Drum (S. C). 



Perca ocellata Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. xii, 483, 1766; South Carolina. 



Scicenops ocellatus, Yarrow, 1877, 210; Beaufort. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 378; Beaufort. Jordan & Ever- 



mann, 1898, 1453, pi. ccxxii, fig. 567. Linton, 1905, 390; Beaufort. 

 iScioswi oceZZata, Jordan, 1886, 28: Beaufort. Jenkins. 1887, 90; Beaufort. Earll, 1887, 486; Beaufort. 



Diagnosis. — Form rather robust, depth contained 3.5 times in length; head long, equal 

 to depth, profile rather steep; snout blunt, .25 length of head; eye .14 length of head; mouth 

 large, horizontal, maxillary extending nearly to posterior edge of eye; jaw teeth in villiform 

 bands, the outer teeth in upper jaw enlarged; gill-rakers very short, less than diameter of pupil, 

 12 in number, of which 7 are below angle; scales in lateral series 45 to 50, in transverse series 

 16, those on breast deeply imbedded; dorsal fins scarcely separate, rays x + i,24; anal fin long, 

 rays ii,8; caudal margin square or slightly concave. Color: silvery red; each scale with a 

 dark center, these marks forming obscure lateral stripes; a jet black spot at base of caudal fin 

 above; sometimes several such spots, and occasionally a line of them along the sides, (ocel- 

 latus, having eye-like spots.) 



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Fig. 143. Red Drum; Red-fish. Scioeno'ps ocellatus. 



The red drum is one of the largest and most valuable fishes of the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts; it occurs as a straggler as far north as Massachusetts, 

 but is not regularly taken in any numbers north of Chesapeake Bay. It 

 reaches a length of 5 feet and a weight of 75 pounds; the average weight, 

 however, is about 10 pounds. The food consists of small fish and crustaceans. 



In North Carolina, where this fish is called "drum", "red drum", and 

 "spotted bass", it is abundant and is a food fish of moderate importance, being 

 caught with nets and lines in the spring, fall and winter. The fishery is most 

 extensive in Carteret County. In the Cape Fear region the fish is taken chiefly 

 from September to March. Mr. George N. Ives states that it is found in Neuse 

 River throughout the year. It is abundant about Roanoke Island in spring, 

 especially in May, going in large schools. There is a record of a 59-pound fish 

 caught with a line at Manteo. 



The value of the red drum varies much in accordance with the size. At 

 Beaufort four grades are recognized by fishermen and dealers : " Puppy drums ", 



