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BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF FISHERIES 
tions made by various investigators have not fully borne out the reputation it has as a destroyer of 
other fish. It is essentially carnivorous, however, and no doubt feeds largely upon other fish. 
According to Smith (1907, p. 59), it spawns in the spring in shallow water. The species is nowhere 
valued as food, but in some localities, at least, the negroes smoke the meat to a limited extent for 
winter use. 
Habitat . — From Vermont and the Great Lakes southward to the Rio Grande and west to 
Kansas and Nebraska. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: Common in the brackish water of the Potomac 
and Patapsco (Uhler and Lugger, 1876); common in the Potomac River and tributaries (Smith 
and Bean, 1899); Havre de Grace, Md. (Bean, 1883); Elk River and Northeast River (Fowler, 1912); 
“vicinity of Norfolk, Va.” (Moseley). ( b ) Specimens seen or captured during the present investi- 
gations: Bohemia River, Md., April, 1912, fyke net, length of specimen 33J4 inches; lower York 
River, Va., July 8, 1921, pound net, salinity 1.0145, length of specimen 22 inches; Lynnhaven 
Roads, Va., May 19, 1921, pound net, salinity 1.015, length of specimen 30 inches. 
Superorder TELEOSTEI. The bony fishes 
Order ISOSPONDYLI 
Family XV i i I . EL0P1D/E. The ten-pounders 
Body elongate, more or less compressed; mouth broad, the lower jaw projecting; maxillary 
extending beyond eye; premaxillaries protractile; an elongate bony plate between the branches of 
the lower jaw; villiform teeth on jaws, vomer, palatines, pterygoids, tongue, and base of skull; 
eye large, with an adipose eyelid; opercular bones with membranous border; gill membranes separate, 
free from the isthmus; branchiostegals numerous, 29 to 35; pseudobranchise present, large; lateral 
line present; scales small, wanting on head; dorsal fin inserted over or slightly behind ventrals, 
the last ray not produced, depressible in a scaly sheath; no adipose fin; caudal fin forked; axil of 
pectorals and ventrals each with a long accessory scale. 
22. Genus ELOPS Linnaeus. Big-eyed herrings; Ten-pounders 
Body elongate; opercular bones thin, with membranous borders; pseudobranchiae present, 
large; lateral line straight, with simple tubes; scales thin, forming a very high sheath on dorsal and 
anal; axil of pectoral and ventral each with an excessively long accessory scale; dorsal fin anteriorly 
elevated, the last rays short; anal fin similar but somewhat smaller. The species of this genus are 
rather large fishes of wide distribution. The young are flat, ribbon-shaped, and they pass through a 
metamorphosis like the eels. 
30. Elops saurus Linnsus. Big-eyed herring; “Ladyfish”; “ Jackmariddle”, Ten-pounder. 
Slops saurus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. XII, 1766, p. 518; Carolina. Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 154, ed. II, p. 131; Bean, 
1891, p. 93; Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 410, PI. LXVII, fig. 178. 
Head 4.15 to 4.35; depth 5.34 to 5.7; D. 22 to 24; A. 15 or 16; scales 114 to 116. Body quite 
elongate, compressed; the back not elevated; head low and long; snout moderate, a little depressed, 
its length 3.75 to 3.95 in head; eye in adult with well developed adipose lid, its diameter 5.2 to 5.75 
in head; interorbital space 5; mouth large; terminal; maxillary reaching far beyond the eye in the 
adult, 1.3 to 1.8 in head; teeth all small, present on jaws, vomer, palatines, and tongue; gill rakers 
slender, 14 on the lower limb of first arch; scales rather small, with membranous borders, wanting 
on head, extending on base of caudal fin, and forming a broad sheath on base of dorsal and anal, 
an excessively large scale in the axils of the pectorals and ventrals; dorsal fin moderately elevated, 
its posterior margin deeply concave, its origin a little nearer base of caudal than tip of snout; 
caudal fin broadly and deeply forked; anal fin somewhat similar to the dorsal, but smaller, situated 
far behind end of dorsal, its origin a little nearer base of caudal than base of ventrals; ventrals 
rather small, inserted under origin of dorsal; pectorals rather small, similar to the ventrals, 1.8 
to 2.2 in head. Color silvery, bluish on back, slightly yellowish below; dorsal and caudal dusky 
and yellowish; ventrals and pectorals yellowish with dusky punctulations. 
