60 



FISHES OF THE VICINITY OF NEW YORK 



According to Goode: '' The flesh of the Bass is hard, white and flaky, 

 and not particularly remarkable for its flavor. When suflficiently large 

 it is, perhaps, better that it should be broiled and served with white 

 sauce. The smaller Bass may be treated as pan-fish. They are not well 

 suited for broihng except in the hands of the most judicious cooks." 



Our other eight species of sunfishes have bodies comparatively short 

 and deep, the depth usually more than two -fifths of the length. They may 

 be divided into two groups according to the size of the mouth. Large- 

 mouthed forms with the maxillary reaching distinctly past the middle 

 of the eye have teeth on the tongue. The Mud Sunfish, a representative 

 of this group, may be differentiated from other species by its smooth 

 scales and convex tail fin. It is a small dark greenish fish of sluggish 

 coastwise southern waters, uncommon in this vicinity. The Rock Bass, 

 which resembles somewhat a black bass in general appearance but is 

 deeper in form with large eyes which are usually more or less red in color, 

 is our other representative of the large-mouthed group, not native but 

 rather generally introduced. 



Of the small-mouthed sunfishes three have convex tail fins. The 

 Black-banded Sunfish has ten dorsal spines, some of the median elevated, 

 giving the fin a rather pointed outline. It is pale in color with conspicu- 

 ous though rather irregular black vertical bars. The Spotted-fin Sunfish 

 and Holbrook's Sunfish are very closely related. They sometimes have 



V"-> 



COMMON SUNFISH 



