FISHES OP NEW YORK 



239- 



Coregotius tulUbee Gunthee, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VI, 199, 1866; Jordan & 

 Gilbert, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 301, 1883; Jordan, Cat. Fish. N. A. 

 43, 1885; Bean, Fishes Penna. 70, pi. 27, fig. 49, 1893. 



Argyrosomus tulUhee Jordan, Man. Vert. ed. 2, 361, 1878; FiVERMANN & 

 Smith, Kept. U. S. F. C. XX, 320, pi. 28, 1896; Jordan & EverMann, 

 Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 473, 1896; Bean, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 

 IX, 343, 1897. 



The body of the tullibee is very short, deep and compressed; 

 its greatest hight about one third of the length without caudal. 

 The head is pointed, as in the blackfin, the mouth large, with 

 the lower jaw scarcely longer than the upper. The maxilla 

 extends to below the middle of the eye. The eye equals the 

 snout in length and is two ninths of length of the head. Scales 



if 



much larger on front part of body than on the caudal peduncle.. 

 The gill rakers are long, slender and numerous, about 30 below 

 the angle on the first arch. D. 11; A. 11. Scales in lateral line 

 74, eight rows above and seven below lateral line; pyloric caeca,. 

 120. The upper parts are bluish; sides white and minutely 

 dotted. The spermary, according to Richardson, is wood brown. 



This species is usually called the tullibee, but in Lakes Erie 

 and Michigan it is sometimes styled the mongrel whiteflsh on 

 the supposition that it is a cross between the common white- 

 fish and the lake herring. 



The tullibee has been taken recently in Lake Michigan; and 

 Dr E. Sterling had a specimen from Lake Erie. It is found occa- 

 sionally in others of the Great lakes and extends northward into 

 British America; but is comparatively little known to the fisher- 

 men and is very rare in collections. This fish grows to a length 

 of 18 inches. 



The late F. C. Gilchrist was the first to describe the habits of 



the tullibee, and this he did in Forest md Stream in the following 



language. 



In September they will again be found gradually nearing the 

 shoal water, feeding heavily, and plump with fat and the now 

 swelling ovaries. Later on they appear to eat little or nothing 

 and devote all their time to playing until about the 25th of 

 October, when they have settled down to the business of propa- 

 gation, which they have finished by November 10. They prefer 

 shallow water close to shore with clean sand to spawn on, and 



