23 



The strange habit of this fish, in common with other members 'of 

 this family, of bringing forth its young alive, has attracted consider- 

 able attention, since this phenomenon is rare in the fish world. As 

 many as 36 young in various stages of development have been found 

 in the brood sack of the mother animal. 



FAMILY 29. CROAKERS; SCIAENIDAE. 



The only representative of this large family of southern fishes that 

 extends its range into our territory is the California White Sea Bass, 

 Gynoscion nobilis (Ayres). As might be expected, it is rare with us. 

 It is a large fish, attaining a weight of 20 to 80 pounds. The body is 

 compressed and is covered with ctenoid scales. The head is large and 

 scaly and the caudal fln is rounded. The dorsal fin is notched to make 

 two distinct parts. The color is bluish with fine spotting. Lacking a 

 picture of this species, we have used a drawing of an allied but some- 

 what different species belonging to the same genus (Pig. 42). 



FAMILY 30. HEAD FISHES; MOLIDAE. 



On several occasions in recent years specimens of the immense 

 Head-fish, Orthagoriscus mola (Bloch), (Fig. 43) have been brought 

 into Seattle from the Straits of Fuca and from the open sea beyond the 

 Cape. Specimens are on record weighing nearly a ton. The name of 

 the species is derived from the curious formation of the body, which 

 has the appearance of a great head minus the major part of the trunk. 

 The great dorsal and anal fins stand one above the other, while the 

 tail fin has a sinuous outline. 



FAMILY' 31. ROCK-PISHES; SCORPAENIDAE. 



This family constitutes one of the most important and valuable 

 groups of fishes found on the Pacific Coast. About 260 species are on 

 record throughout the world, of which 13 are known to inhabit Puget 

 Sound. They are bass-like in appearance with spines on the operculum. 

 The dorsal is continuous but notched so as to mark the two portions 

 of the fin. The head is crossed by ridges which in many cases termi- 

 nate in spines. In this, as in several of the families that follow, a 

 characteristic feature is the presence of a bony bar extending from 

 beneath the eye across the cheek. All of our Puget Sound Rock-fishes 

 belong in the genus Sebastodes. 



The Black Rock-fish, Sebastodes melanops (Girard), (Fig. 44) is 

 one of our abundant species. It is 20 inches in length and is a valu- 

 able food fish. It is dark greenish brown in color blotched with slaty 

 black. 



The Priest-fish, Sebastodes mystinus (Jordan and Gilbert), (Fig. 

 45) is very much like the preceding but has a spine over each eye. It 



