1200 FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. [46] 



Spanish mackerel.— Scomberomortis maculatus (Mitch.) J. & G. 



Ovaries. (Specimen taken from a fish 19£ inches long, weighing 

 34 ounces.) Crisfield, Md., June 28, 1880. E. Edward Earll. 

 This species is known to spawn in the coastal waters between 

 Long Island Sound and North Carolina in summer, and it is 

 probable that it breeds as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The 

 principal spawning grounds are in the vicinity of Sandy Hook, 

 1ST. J., and in Chesapeake Bay. The eggs average about one 

 twenty-eighth of an inch in diameter, and in water of 80° Eahr. 

 hatch in eighteen to twenty hours. Their specific gravity is 

 slightly less than that of salt water. An average sized female 

 produces during the season from 500,000 to 750,000 eggs, though 

 as these are deposited at intervals during several months, the 

 number that can be taken at one time for batching purposes 

 seldom exceeds 100,000. 



Spotted squeteague. — Cynoscion maculatum (Mitch.) Gill. 



Ovaries. (Specimen taken from female 18 inches long, weighing 

 2 pounds 1 ounce.) Crisfield, Md., June 30, 1880. E. Edward 

 Earll. This species spawns in the shoal water of the brackish 

 sounds and bays along the Carolina coasts in May and June, 

 and in the upper portions of Chesapeake Bay in June and July. 

 The principal spawning grounds are on the Carolina coast. 



Plaice. — Paralichthys dentatus (Linn.) J. & G. 



Ovaries. Wood's Holl, Mass., January 15, 1874. 14,140. Col- 

 lected by Vinal N. Edwards. This species spawns along the 

 New England coast and northward in winter. 



Gray pike. — Stizostedium canadense (Smith) Jordan. 

 Ovaries. Memphis, Tenn. 



Common Smelt. — Osmerus mordax (Mitch.) Gill. 



Fish showing ovaries in position. Earitan Eiver, N. J., April 6, 

 1875. 15,232. J. E. Shotwell. This species enters the fresh 

 and brackish waters of the New England coast in the fall and 

 early winter for the purpose of spawning, the principal spawn- 

 ing-grounds being along the coast of Maine and Massachusetts. 



Lump-fish. — Cyclopterus lumpus, Linn. 



Spent ovaries. Eastport, Me., September 13, 1872. 10,471. The 

 lump-fish spawns among the rocky ledges and alga? beds of 

 the New England coast during the winter months. The eggs 

 are adhesive, and bunches of them weighing a pound or more 

 are often washed upon the beach during heavy gales. Bunches 

 of naturally impregnated eggs have been taken and hatched 

 out in floating boxes by the U. S. Fish Commission. 



