334 
Fishery Bulletin 108(3) 
12, one each with 15, 24, 26, and 30 individuals), and the 
single largest collection (314 individuals) of C. cornutus 
from this region (NCSM 47664) from off South Carolina 
(at 33°25.389'N, 77°02.234'W). Other notable collections 
are those of 16 specimens from the Dry Tortugas region, 
and another collection containing 24 specimens (USNM 
282789) made off the Bahamas. 
Citharichthys cornutus is found in relatively high den- 
sities in the Dry Tortugas region (Longley and Hildeb- 
rand, 1941). Although it is unclear how many specimens 
they encountered, Longley and Hildebrand (1941:43) 
noted that C. cornutus was “rather common” in this 
area, with sometimes 50 or more individuals taken to- 
gether. Other significant collections of C. cornutus from 
the eastern Gulf of Mexico containing 43, 47, 63, 100, 
103, 172, and 321 specimens are curated in the AMNH 
fish collection (see Additional material section). 
Citharichthys gymnorhinus 
Geographic distribution 
We identified 214 juvenile and adult C. gymnorhinus in 
a total of 42 different field collections from the continen- 
tal shelf off North Carolina to the Dominican Republic, 
Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico (Fig. 3; Appendix 2). 
Of collections containing C. gymnorhinus, five are from 
the shelf off North Carolina, including the northern- 
most capture of the species made off Cape Hatteras 
(35°05.51'N). Nine were made on the continental shelf off 
South Carolina, and at least two collections were made 
off Georgia. Most (n= 17) collections of C. gymnorhinus 
are from the continental shelf off Florida, including 
the Straits of Florida and the Dry Tortugas regions. 
Citharichthys gymnorhinus not only was less frequently 
captured at insular regions in the eastern Caribbean 
Sea than off the southeastern United States, but it is 
also known from relatively few specimens per collection 
at these Caribbean locations (e.g., five collections from 
Virgin Islands yielded only 21 specimens). Only two 
collections (n = 3 specimens) from off the Bahamas were 
found, and we note single captures of this species from 
off the northern coasts of Puerto Rico and the Domini- 
can Republic. 
The northernmost records for juvenile and adult C. 
gymnorhinus are those from the continental shelf just 
south of Cape Hatteras, NC (NMFS Survey specimens; 
NCSM records; Quattrini and Ross, 2006). Larval C. 
gymnorhinus have been collected from sites much far- 
ther north than those reported for adults. For example, 
Scott and Scott (1988) reported that a 13-mm larva of 
C. gymnorhinus , collected in 1982 at 41°21'N, 66°14'W, 
represented the first record for this species from Cana- 
dian waters and also was the northernmost record of 
occurrence for the species. Other captures of larval C. 
gymnorhinus from this general region include at least 
three lots (one taken at 41°35'28"N, 66°24'75"W; the 
others at 33°24'07"N and 32°58'37"N) curated in the 
Atlantic Reference Center (ARC) fish collection and one 
lot curated in the MCZ collection (MCZ 77935) taken 
at 41°33'N, 54°55'W. Scott and Scott (1988) considered 
that larval C. gymnorhinus occurring in Canadian wa- 
ters were strays from more southern locations. Museum 
records at ARC and MCZ document captures of larval 
C. gymriorhinus at or just beyond 41'N latitude over the 
course of several years, indicating that larval C. gym- 
norhinus at this latitude may be found more frequently 
than previously recognized. The record of C. gymnorhi- 
nus from off New Jersey (Able, 1992) is also based on 
larvae. Absence of adults in areas north of North Caro- 
lina may indicate that suitable habitat or appropriate 
environmental conditions are not available for juvenile 
settlement or for adult survival in these areas. 
Earlier occurrences of larval C. gymnorhinus in the 
South Atlantic Bight were detailed by Tucker (1982), 
who reported the northern range for larval C. gymnorhi- 
nus at about Cape Fear, NC. More recently, Powell et al. 
(2000) and Grothues et al. (2002) also listed this species 
among the larval fish assemblages off Cape Hatteras, 
NC, and Fahay (2007) reported collecting larvae in the 
area north of Cape Hatteras from January to November, 
with peak occurrence from August through September. 
Powell et al. (2000) considered that larval C. gymno- 
rhinus in Onslow Bay, NC, were most likely produced 
either by adults spawning in outer-shelf waters (55-185 
m) nearby or were larvae produced by fishes spawning 
south of their study area. Off Georgia, C. gymnorhinus 
is only a minor component of the larval fish assemblage 
in these waters (Marancik et al., 2005). 
Before the work of Quattrini and Ross (2006), stud- 
ies of fishes off North Carolina did not list adult or 
juvenile C. gymnorhinus among species occurring there. 
Although specimens cited in Quattrini and Ross (2006) 
represent the first published record of adult C. gymrio- 
rhinus taken on the continental shelf off North Caro- 
lina, these are not the first specimens known from the 
area. Examination of catalogued museum lots and un- 
catalogued specimens from NMFS-NEFSC groundfish 
surveys (USNM uncat., see Appendix 2) reveals that 
other specimens had been captured off North Carolina 
before the Quattrini and Ross (2006) study. The earli- 
est collection of C. gymnorhinus from off North Caro- 
lina that we can document is that of a 45.4-mm male 
(USNM 111520) taken 13 September 1914, off Cape 
Lookout by the RV Fish Hawk, at a depth of about 92 
m. Collection of this specimen pre-dates recognition and 
formal description of the species by Gutherz and Black- 
man (1970). Originally, Hildebrand (1941) misidentified 
this specimen as Citharichthys unicornis ( -C . cornutus-, 
see Norman, 1934); however, meristic features and color 
pattern, including dark pigment blotches on its dorsal 
and anal fins, reveal that it is an adult (45.4 mm SL) 
male C. gymnorhinus. 
One of the earliest reports of this species off South 
Carolina is that of Wenner et al. (1979a), who recorded 
a single specimen of C. gymnorhinus taken at 86 m 
during the 1973 fall trawl survey. Other specimens 
taken off South Carolina during the 1970s are curat- 
ed in several fish collections (AMNH, GMBL, UF; see 
Appendix 2). In his article describing larval develop- 
