REVIEW OF LOCAL FISHES 59 



anterior spiny part of that tin. '1 heir scales are variable althouj^h usually 

 of moderate size and vough or "ctenoid." There is no bony stay across 

 the cheek as there is in the sculpin-like fislu^s, and their small heads and 

 more compressed bodies will separate them from thes(^ latter at a fijlance. 

 Their opercles are furnished with one or more spines which arc sometimes 

 weak. 



A number of strictly fresh-water species and several that are marine 

 occur locally. We will first consider the former, twelve of which belong 

 to the Sunfish family. In all of these the spiny and soft portions of the 

 dorsal are joined into one fin. and in the Crappie and Calico Bass the 

 anal fin also is preceded by several spines and the compound dorsal is 

 scarcely longer than the anal. These are small pond fishes not native to 

 our region but introduced from the west. Their tail fins are emarginate 

 and there is a concavity in the profile over the eye which is decidedly the 

 stronger in the Crappie. These two species, which are closely related, 

 may further be differentiated as follows: the Crappie has six, rarely five, 

 dorsal spines and the anal fin is not strongly marked; the Calico Bass 

 has seven dorsal spines, rarely eight, and the anal fin is strongl}^ reticu- 

 lated with dark markings. 



The two Black Bass, Large-mouthed and Small-mouthed, belong to 

 this famil}^ and may be recognized from other species of Sunfishes by 

 their comparatively elongate bodies, their greatest depth being contained 

 about three times in the length from the tip of the snout to the base of 

 the tail fin. Also their spiny dorsal fin is low, separated from the soft 

 rayed part by a deep notch, connected with it only at the base, and their 

 tail fins are slightly iorked, that is, concave behind. The Small-mouthed 

 Black Bass has the smaller scales, about seventy-eight in a longitudinal 

 count, and seventeen rows on the cheek. The ordinary weight of the adult 

 Small-mouthed Black Bass is two and one-half to three pounds, though 

 they are sometimes taken in the north weighing six to seven pounds. 

 The Large-mouthed Black Bass has about sixty-eight scales and tan rows 

 on the cheek. Its young may usually be recognized at a glance by a 

 bold longitudinal stripe, but this becomes less reliable as the fish increases 

 in size, and the decidedly larger mouth of this species is not always a 

 satisfactory character for its identification, as the size of the mouth in 

 Black Bass varies a good deal, particularly with age. The Large- 

 mouthed Black Bass reaches a greater size, especially southward. A 

 seven or eight-pound fish is not unusual in Florida, where it is said to 

 have been taken weighing as much as nineteen and one-half pounds. 



