1196 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [4 2] 



Shar,p-nosed sturgeon. — Acipenser oxyrhynchus Mitch. 



Ovaries. Block Island, August 2, 1874. 15,224. U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission. This species spawns in the larger rivers of the Atlan- 

 tic slope during the spring and early summer. During the 

 spawning season great numbers of them are taken by the fish- 

 ermen, who fish for them exclusively during several months. 



Short-nosed sturgeon. — Acipenser brevirostris Le S. 



Ovaries. Noank, Conn., July 25, 1874. 15,225. U. S. Fish Coin- 

 mission. This species visits the larger rivers tributary to the 

 Atlantic between Cape Cod and Florida for the purpose of 

 spawning. The spawning season begins in March in the south 

 and closes about the 1st of August in Southern New England. 



Gar-pike — Lepidosteus osseus (Linn.) Ag. 



Ovaries. Potomac Eiver, "Washington, D. C, May 20, 1875. 15,461. 

 J. W. Milner. This species has a wide geographical range, and 

 probably spawns in all of the larger rivers of the Mississippi 

 basin, as well as those of the Atlantic coast. 



Goose-fish. — Lophins piscatorius Linn. 



Ovaries. Wood's Holl, Mass., July 2, 1875. 16,104. Gelatinous 

 masses, 20 to 30 feet long and 2 or 3 feet wide, in which are 

 imbedded the eggs of this species, are found floating at the 

 surface of the New England waters in midsummer. 



Drum. — Pogonias chromis La Cep. 



Spent ovaries. Fulton Market, N. Y., July 23. 16,221. E. G. 

 Blackford. The principal spawning grounds for this species 

 occur in the salt and brackish waters of the coast between Ma- 

 ryland and Georgia, although the species undoubtedly breeds 

 beyond these limits. 



Cobia, or crab-eater. — Elacate Canada (Linn.) Gil!. 



Fragment of ovary. New York Market, July 30, 1875. 16,283. E. 

 G. Blackford. A number of females with the eggs well ad- 

 vanced were taken in Chesapeake Bay June 30, 1880. The 

 species probably spawns along the coast from New Jersey to 

 South Carolina in summer. 



Mud-fish. — Amia calva Linn. 



Ovaries. September 30, 1875. 20,527. The mud-fish spawns in 

 the fall in the fresh-water streams of many portions of the 

 United States. 



Burbot. — Lota maculosa (Le S.) Eich. 



Ovaries. Seneca Falls, N.Y., Nov., 1877. 20,847. E.G.Blackford. 

 This species is said to spawn in the great lakes and their trib- 

 utaries in the fall. 



