[43] FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 1197 



Smooth flounder.-^ Plenronectes glaber (Stor.) Gill. 



Ovaries. Portland, Me., December 15, 1877. 20,873. Dr. Tarleton 

 H. Bean. This fish spawns in midwinter off thfc New England 

 coast. 



Silver hake. — Merlucius bilinearis (Mitch.) Gill. 



Ovaries. Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 8, 1877. 21,016. TJ. S. 

 Fish CommissioD. 



Cow-nosed ray. — Rhinoptera quadriloba (Le S.) Cuv. 



Uterus after young has been removed. Pensacola, Fla., April. 

 21,221. Silas Stearns. This ovoviviparous species breeds 

 along the Southern Atlantic coast and in Gulf of Mexico, in 

 the spring and early summer. 



Menhaden. — Brevoortia tyrannies (Latrobe) Goode. 



Ovaries. August 18, 1878. 25,133. Until recently little or noth- 

 ing was known regarding the spawning habits of this species. 

 August 18, 1878, several ripe females were taken off the coast 

 of Ehode Island. It is claimed by the fishermen of Virginia 

 and the Carolinas that the species spawns off that portion of the 

 coast from December to March. Young menhaden, an inch or 

 more in length, are very abundant in the shore waters between 

 Sandy Hook and Cape Cod in midsummer. 



Pollock. — Pollachkis virens (Linn.) 



Ovaries. Noinan's Land, November 21, 1877. 25,137. Vinal N. 

 Edwards. The spawning grounds of this species off our coast 

 extendsjroin Cape Cod to New Brunswick. The spawning sea- 

 son begins about the middle of May and lasts till the middle 



or last of November. 

 i 

 Eook. — Boccus striatus Mitchill. 



Wood's Holl, Mass., 1876. 25,139. Ovaries. Vinal N. Edwards. 

 This species spawns in spring in the bays and lower river- 

 courses of the Atlantic coast. 



Toad-fish. — Batraclms tau Linn. 



Ovaries. Wood's Holl, Mass. 25,142. Vinal N. Edwards. Eipe 

 toad-fish were taken in Chesapeake Bay, June 1, 1880. It is 

 probable that the species spawns along all portions of the At- 

 lantic coast during the summer months. 



Swell-fish. — Tetrodon turgidus Mitchill. 



Ovaries. Wood's Holl, Mass., July 1, 1877. 25,147. Vinal N. Ed- 

 wards. This species spawns along the outer Atlantic coast in 

 the spring and early summer. Eipe females are frequently 

 taken in Virginia in June, and in the Long Island region in 

 July. 



