FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
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Color of fresh specimens pale gray and somewhat iridescent; the scales on back with dusky 
punctulations; sides with a broad, bright silvery band, a little narrower than eye; upper surface 
of head green and yellow; cheeks and opercles iridescent, silvery; fins mostly plain, the dorsal 
and caudal with more or less dusky. 
Many specimens ranging in length from 46 to 150 millimeters were preserved and have been 
made use of in writing the foregoing description. The marks of distinction between this anchovy 
and A. mitchilli, the only other anchovy known from Chesapeake Bay, are indicated in the discussion 
following the description of the last-mentioned species. 
The very young of this species, as in A. mitchilli, are much more slender than the adults. The 
great variation in the depth of the body among adults, noticed in A. mitchilli, however, is not 
apparent in the present species. The larvae of both species are much alike, but those of A. brownii 
have the vent located correspondingly farther posteriorly, and as soon as the dorsal and anal fins 
have become differentiated the young of the present species may be recognized by the more pos- 
terior origin of the anal fin, which is under the base of the last rays of the dorsal, whereas in A. 
mitchilli it is under the middle of the dorsal base. 
Nothing distinctive concerning the food of this anchovy can be said, as the examination of 16 
stomachs shows that it is identical with that of A. mitchilli, consisting almost wholly of small 
crustaceans. 
The spawning season of the present species appears to be identical with that of A. mitchilli. 
The eggs and embryology for A. brownii have not been described, and therefore such differences 
as may exist between the two species can not be given. The statements concerning the rate of 
growth of the young fish, given in the discussion of A. mitchilli, appear to apply equally as well 
to A. brownii. 
The maximum size attained by this anchovy, as shown by measurements made of Chesapeake 
collections, is 6 inches (weight, 1 ounce), and the average length is about 4 inches (weight, one- 
half ounce). This anchovy, like A. mitchilli, occurs in schools. However, it is much less abun- 
dant in the bay as a whole than is A . mitchilli. A. brownii is common and at times very abundant in 
the southern parts of the bay. North of the mouth of the Rappahannock River it is comparatively 
rare. No specimens were taken during winter months, indicating that the species withdraws from 
the bay during cold weather. 
The species has no direct commercial value in the region of the Chesapeake, but indirectly it 
must be of considerable importance because of the large numbers of these fish that are found in the 
food of the larger predaceous fishes. 
Habitat. — Massachusetts to Uruguay. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous record: Cape Charles, Va. (6) Specimens seen or taken 
during the present investigation: Annapolis, August 17, 1921, and Crisfield, Md., September 14, 
1921; Lewisetta, August 4-8, 1921; lower Rappahannock River, July 25, 1921; Cape Charles, 
September 20-22, 1921; Buckroe Beach, October 5-10, 1921; Lynnhaven Roads, July 16, 1916, 
and September 27-30, 1921, and Ocean View, Va., September and October, 1922. All caught 
with collecting seines. 
Order APODES. The eels 
Family XXIII. — ANGUILLID/E. The common eels 
Body very elongate, compressed posteriorly; head conical; opercles and branchial apparatus 
well developed; tongue distinct; teeth small, in cardiform bands on jaws and vomer; gill openings 
vertical; lateral line present; scales rudimentary, imbedded and placed at right angles to each other; 
dorsal and anal fins confluent around the tail; pectoral fins well developed. 
