252 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



THE SHEEPSHEAD 



(Arckosargus probatocephalus) 



In his account of the fishes in the vicinity of 

 New York, in 1 788, Schopf, a surgeon in the Brit- 

 ish army, placed the sheepshead in the European 

 genus Sparus, but gave it no specific name. 

 From his description the ichthyologist Walbaum, 

 in 1792, named it probatocephalus, which being 

 translated means "sheep head." This fish in- 

 habits the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Cape 

 Cod to Texas, where it is common during the 

 summer months, but it is especially abundant in 

 the bays of Florida during the entire year. Its 

 body is nearly half as deep as long, is much com- 

 pressed, and elevated and arched over the shoul- 

 der. The head is large, about a third of the 

 length of the body, with a steep profile, rounded 

 in front of the eyes, which with its incisor teeth 

 bears a slight resemblance to the profile of a 

 sheep. The mouth is large, with strong incisor 

 teeth in front, and several series of molar teeth 

 in both jaws. The general tint is dusky gray, 

 with silvery lustre, paling to the belly; about 

 half a dozen broad, black bars cross the body, 

 from above downward, very distinct in the young, 

 but becoming fainter with age. 



