'THE STRIPED BASS 



elongate and stout body, while the peduncle of the 

 tail is slender. 



The greatest depth of the body of this bass 

 equals the length of the head, and it is two sevenths 

 of the entire length of the fish without the tail-fin. 

 The eye is small, one half as long as the snout, and 

 contained from six to eight times in the length of 

 the head; it is placed high, near the top of the 

 head. The jaw-bone reaches to below the middle 

 of the eye. The anal spines are slender, the third 

 and longest about one fifth as long as the head. 

 The fourth and fifth spines of the first back-fin are 

 the longest, about two fifths as long as the head. 

 The breast-fin (pectoral) is a little longer than the 

 belly-fin (ventral) and one half as long as the head. 



There are nine spines in the first fin on the back, 

 one spine and eleven or twelve rays in the second 

 dorsal fin. The anal fin has three spines and ten 

 or eleven rays. There are seven rows of scales be- 

 tween the lateral line and the first dorsal fin, nine- 

 teen rows between the lateral line and the ventral 

 fin, and sixty-five scales in the lateral line itself. 

 This is an average number, of scales, which will 

 be bound to vary among individuals. 



The sides are greenish or oUvaceous above, sil- 

 very below, sometimes with a brassy lustre. They 

 are marked by seven or eight longitudinal streaks, 

 none of which are half as wide as the eye, one of 

 them passing along the lateral line. The lower- 



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