FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSIOX. 45 1 



in Gravesend Bay in October, by Mr. W. I. De Nyse, who stated that the roundish 

 black spot in the soft dorsal fin remains fixed under all conditions, while the band 

 extending from it to the anal fin sometimes disappears. The whole body of the 

 fish at times appears to have an orange tinge, but at other times it is gray. At 

 Woods Hole, Mass., according to Dr. Smith, a few specimens are taken nearly every 

 year in October and November while seining in eel grass. Three have been caught 

 at one haul of the net, and 5 is the largest number taken in one season until 1900, 

 when 123 specimens were obtained, the fish being found in Katama Bay on 13 

 different occasions between August 15 and October 26 ; on September 8, 26 were 

 seined, and October 3, 21.' 



Family TEUTHIDID^. Surgeons. 



181. Surgeon ; Doctor Fish {Tcnthis licpatus Linnjeus). 



The Surgeon, or Doctor Fish, is a West Indian species, common from Florida to 

 Bahia, straying northward in summer as far as Cape Cod, where a few specimens 

 were recorded by Dr. Smith, in 1900. A young individual about 3 inches long, was 

 caught in Gravesend Bay in ]\Ir. John B. De Nyse's pound in October, 1897. 

 DeKay publishes a description and figure of the fish, which he borrowed from 

 Cuvier, who had New York specimens from Milbert. The fish reaches the length of 

 at least i foot. The name Surgeon is derived from the presence of a sharp, 

 depressible, lancet-like spine on each side of the tail. 



Group PLECTOGNATHI. 



Suborder SCLERODERMI. 



Family BALISTIDiE. Trigger Fishes. 



182. Leather Jacket ; Turbot {Balistes carolinensis Gmelin). . 



The Leather Jacket, or Turbot, is a common species in the tropical part of the 

 Atlantic, ranging northward occasionally in the Gulf Stream. It is abundant on our 

 coast and in the Mediterranean, and rarely extends north to England. 



DeKay describes it under the nam.e of the Dusky Balistes. In 1820, he had a 

 specimen from the harbor of New York. He said it is a rare species. His specimen 

 was 12^ inches long. This fish is uncommon in Gravesend Bay, but is seen 

 occasionally in the bays of Long .Island opening into the Atlantic. At Woods 

 Hole, Mass., it is very rare, and is not found every year. The young have not been 

 observed there. 



