582 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



D. X, I, 30 to 32; A. II, 12; P. I, 17; scales 9-60 to 70-12 to 14. 



Color bluish above, silvery below; about 13 to 15 narrow dark 

 lines extending from the dorsal fins downward and forward to* 

 below the lateral line; a roundish black humeral spot about two- 

 thirds as long as the eye; fins plain olivaceous. 



This little fish was formerly known on the New York coast as- 

 lafayette. Mitchill calls it the little porgee. According to De- 

 Kay its appearance on the New York coast in the summer of 

 1824 happened to coincide with the arrival of General Lafayette 

 and his name was bestowed upon the species. The name spot 

 is derived from the presence of a dark blotch about as big as the 

 eye near the root of the pectoral fin. Other names for the 

 species are goody, oldwife, roach and chub. . 



The spot is found from Cape Cod to Florida and is sometimes- 

 abundant as far north as New York. In Great South bay 

 several specimens were taken early in October in Great river. 

 A single example was seen among some fishes taken in a pound- 

 net in Islip, Oct. 1, 1890. In 1898 the species was not obtained 

 by the writer, and in 1901 only a few specimens, mostly adults,, 

 were secured at Quantic bay, Duncan's creek, and Widow's- 

 creek. 



Kather common in Gravesend bay from July to as late as- 

 December, and is well adapted to captive life. It is most abund- 

 ant usually in September. 



Dr Mearns states that the fish, locally known as the sand 

 porgee, is of frequent occurrence in summer in the Hudson river 

 and its estuaries. H. M. Smith records it as common in the fall 

 in the vicinity of Woods Hole Mas>s. leaving in October or 

 November, when the water temperature reaches 45 F. All the 

 specimens observed there were about 6 inches long. 



It is a small fish, seldom exceeding 10 inches in length, but 

 is one of the favorites among the panfishes. The spot feeds 

 on the bottom on small invertebrates, and can be taken readily 

 with hook and line. In Great South bay it is caught in seines 

 and pound nets. It ascends creeks into brackish water and is- 

 a common associate of the white perch. In Great Egg Harbor 



