16 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



The salt-water fishes of North Carolina are well known, chiefly as a result 

 of observations and collections made at and in the vicinity of Beaufort. Beau- 

 fort has long been a favorite place of resort for persons interested in ichthyology 

 and other branches of zoology. Here, in the spring of 1860, Dr. Theodore Gill, 

 in company with Dr. Wm. Stimpson, spent several weeks making collections of 

 fishes and other marine animals; among the fishes then obtained were a labroid 

 described as new under the name Halichceres grandisquamis but now regarded 

 as identical with Halichceres hivittatus, and Branchiostoma, not previously 

 known from the United States coast. Here, in 1871-2, while stationed at Fort 

 Macon, at the entrance to Beaufort Harbor, Drs. Coues and Yarrow gave atten- 

 tion to the fish life, their observations being recorded by Yarrow in a paper, 

 " Notes on the natural history of Fort Macon, N. C. , and vicinity — No. 3, Fishes ", 

 published in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 

 for 1877. Here, in 1878, came Drs. Jordan and Gilbert, with assistants, to make 

 collections of fishes, which were described in "Notes on the fishes of Beaufort 

 Harbor", in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum for 1878, in which 

 paper are included also the species listed by Yarrow. Here again, in the sum- 

 mer of 1885, Dr. Jenkins collected fishes of which a partial list was published in 

 Johns Hopkins University Circular for October, 1885, and a full account, under 

 the title " A list of the fishes of Beaufort harbor, N. C. ", in Studies from the Bio- 

 logical Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, vol. iv, 1887. Jenkins' collec- 

 tion was made the basis of a short paper by Dr. Jordan, "Notes on fishes col- 

 lected at Beaufort, N. C, with a revised list of the species known from that 

 locality", in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum for 1886. 



By far the most complete collections and observations on the fishes of the 

 Beaufort region have been made by assistants of the U. S. Bureau, of Fisheries 

 since the establishment at Beaufort of the government biological laboratory in 

 1899. The collections and records of the laboratory have been freely drawn on 

 for information regarding numerous species, and the data furnished by Prof. H. 

 V. Wilson, Dr. Caswell Grave, Dr. R. E. Coker, and Mr. H. D. Aller while con- 

 nected with the laboratory have been especially valuable. Prof. Wilson, in his 

 paper on "Marine biology at Beaufort," published in The American Naturalist 

 in 1900, gave a running list of the commoner fishes and made the following general 

 statement in regard to the fish life of this section: 



The variety of fishes that may be taken in a short time in Beaufort harbor and the 

 adjoining waters is so great as to make it evident that the number recorded for the region will 

 be greatly increased when systematic collecting has been carried on for a few years. Some nine 

 miles from Beaufort inlet the coast line makes a sharp, right-angled bend, with Cape Lookout 

 at the angle. From the end of the cape a narrow line of shoals extends much farther out. The 

 cape and its submerged continuation form a wall, as it were, reaching seaward for fifteen 

 miles. Cape Lookout itself is so shaped as to embrace a bay, a quiet and Ijeautiful sheet of 

 water. Lookout Bight. The coast configuration thus forms a remarkable natural trap into 

 which fish, migrating northwards, fall. It is doubtful whether a better place can be found any- 

 where on our coast for the carrying out of observations on oceanic species and on bay and river 

 species during the oceanic period of their life. The seining that has been carried on at Cape 

 Lookout has been extremely interesting and successful, both as regards the variety of forms and 

 the number of individuals taken. 



