108 
BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF FISHEBIES 
The maximum length attained by the gizzard shad is given as 15 inches by Jordan and Ever- 
mann (1896-1900, p. 416), and the average weight is given as 1J^ to 2 pounds by Smith and Bean 
(1899, p. 183) and others. This weight is quite certainly the maximum instead of the average 
weight. The average length of the adult of Chesapeake Bay, at least, appears to be between 11 
and 12 inches, and fish of this length, as shown by the accompanying table, weigh less than 1 pound. 
The gizzard shad, as already indicated, appears to be common in Chesapeake Bay only during 
the fall months, when it is taken principally in brackish water near the mouths of fresh-water 
streams. In the rivers of the Chesapeake region it is common or even abundant throughout the 
year. 
Habitat . — Fresh and brackish waters of the Atlantic coast, from Massachusetts to Mexico, 
and the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes. Also landlocked in many ponds and lakes. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: Chesapeake Bay (Le Sueur, 1817); Baltimore 
docks, Potomac, Patapsco, and other rivers (Uhler and Lugger, 1876); head of Chesapeake Bay 
(Bean, 1883); Potomac River (Smith and Bean, 1899). ( b ) Specimens seen or taken in brackish 
or salt water during the present investigation: Hawkins Point, Baltimore; mouth of Severn River; 
Chesapeake Beach; Blackistone Island, Md.; Lewisetta; Ocean View and Lynnhaven Roads, Va. 
Greatest salinity, 22.63 per mille. 
The fish upon which the following weights are based with few exceptions were caught off 
Ocean View, Va., from September 25 to October 25, 1922. 
Number of Qsh weighed 
Length 
Weight 
Number of fish weighed 
Length 
Weight 
Inches 
Ounces 
Inches 
Ounces 
4.00 
0. 36 
i ... . . .. . 
6. 00 
1.18 
4.12 
.40 
1 
6.25 
1. 42 
4.25 
.38 
1 
7.00 
2.00 
4.37 
.43 
1 
2 8.00 
4.50 
4. 50 
.46 
1 .. 
9. 33 
5.60 
4. 62 
.54 
1 
2 9. 63 
4. 57 
4. 75 
.56 
1 
10.00 
7. 68 
5.00 
.59 
1 
2 11.75 
7.42 
5. 25 
.78 
2 
> 12. 75 
15. 00 
5. 37 
.82 
1 
2 13. 00 
12.00 
6. 75 
.96 
2 ... 
1 ... 
7— 
1 „ 
3„ 
1 ... 
4__ 
3._ 
1 — 
1 „ 
1 _- 
1 Caught off Chesapeake Beach, Md., in October, 1921. 
2 Caught October, 1921, on Blackistone Island, Potomac River, in a pond nearly landlocked. Note that the three fish from 
this locality are all below normal weight, due, perhaps, to the fact that they lived in a pond where the food supply was not abundant. 
All the remaining fish were taken in the open bay. 
Family XXII.— ENGRAULID/E. The anchovies 
Body elongate, more or less compressed; abdomen frequently compressed, forming a slight 
keel; snout pointed, usually projecting far beyond mandible; mouth large; maxillary usually reach- 
ing far past eye; premaxillaries not protractile; teeth usually small but sometimes uneven and 
caninelike; gill membranes separate or joined, free from the isthmus; gill rakers long and slender; 
pseudobranchiae present; lateral line wanting; scales thin and cycloid, usually deciduous; dorsal 
usually about median in position; no adipose fin; caudal fin forked. A single genus of the family 
occurs in Chesapeake Bay. 
30. Genus ANCHOVIELLA Fowler. Anchovies 
Body elongate, compressed; abdomen usually compressed; snout conical, projecting promi- 
nently beyond the mandible; mouth large; the maxillary usually reaching far beyond eye; teeth 
very small, pointed; gill membranes separate and free from the narrow isthmus; gill rakers long and 
slender; scales rather large, thin, and usually deciduous. 
