THE AQUARIUM BULLETIN 



Hints on the Study of Fishes 



By Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, C.M.Z.S. 

 Washington, D. C. 



Apart from studying fishes in their 

 natural habitats, and learning all we 

 can about them in nature — the impor- 

 tance of which no one will for a 

 moment doubt — there still remain not 

 a few other lines along which fish 

 should be subjects for research work. 

 For example, we may study food 

 fishes from their economic standpoint ; 

 we many consider them as objects 

 frequently employed for portrayal in 



If my memory serves me aright, he 

 once published an article on the study 

 of the fishes of one of our eastern 

 markets. Such a theme has a great 

 deal to recommend it ; not only may 

 the strictly scientific and technical 

 side of descriptive ichthyology be thus 

 entered upon, but likewise the popular 

 and economic ones ; habitats of food 

 fishes may also be more or less thor- 

 oughly studied in this way. 



Fiff. 1. Right lateral view of a market specimen of the Striped Bass (Roccus lineatus) . 

 with fins elevated. Photographed by the author, and much reduced, d, dentary of lower 

 jaw (inferior maxilla) ; c, eye: o-p, operculum; ni, maxillary; g. s., gill-slit; I. L, 

 lateral line : ;). /., pectoral fin ; v. j., ventral fin ; d. /., dorsal fin ; a. f.. anal fin ; c. p., 

 caudal peduncle ; e. /., caudal fin. 



the fine arts, including photography; 

 they may be investigated with respect 

 to their comparative morphology and 

 ecology, and so on. What I have to 

 say here about the study of fishes, 

 however, combines a little here and a 

 little there, and touches all of these 

 methods. 



Man)'- years ago, when I was 

 attached to the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion as Associate in Zoology, and 

 when Prof. Spencer F. Baird was the 

 then Secretary, I remember very well 

 the importance he attached to what 

 might be termed every-day science. 



In pursuing such a line of work, 

 one may commence with any common 

 fish one finds displayed for sale on the 

 stands, as for example the Striped 

 Bass here shown in Figure 1. This 

 is the Roccus lineatus of science, a 

 very abundant and well-known form. 

 A specimen fifteen inches long is large 

 enough for the purpose in view, and 

 in selecting it one must be sure to 

 choose as perfect a one as possible, 

 with respect to all of its external char- 

 acters and parts. We next make a 

 photograph of this fish, being careful 

 to obtain a direct lateral view, and 



