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BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF FISHERIES 
(1912, p. 54) purchased one in the Baltimore fish market, “said to have been taken in Chesapeake 
Bay.” It is probable that this fish occasionally enters Chesapeake Bay in some numbers, but 
it quite certainly is not a regular resident there, or it would have been secured during the extensive 
collecting done in connection with the present investigation. The foregoing description was 
compiled from published accounts. 
Virtually nothing seems to be known of its life history and habits. The greatest length 
attained is about 15 inches. 
Habitat. — Chesapeake Bay to Bahia, Brazil; also recorded from Angola, West Africa. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: “Chesapeake Bay,” Hungers Wharf, Va., 
and Cape Charles city, Va. (6) Specimens in collection: None. 
Family XXXVI. — EXQCCETIMi. The flying Ashes 
Body elongate; head with more or less vertical sides; mouth terminal, or the lower jaw pro- 
jecting, the latter not produced in the adult; premaxillaries not protractile; maxillary short, slipping 
under preorbital; nostrils double, near the eye; teeth various, small or weak; lateral line running 
low, along edge of belly; scales cycloid, more or less deciduous, extending forward on head; dorsal 
fin without spines, placed on posterior part of body; caudal fin forked, the lower lobe the longer; 
anal fin opposite the dorsal and more or less similar to it; ventral fins abdominal, sometimes more 
or less enlarged; pectoral fins inserted high, usually greatly enlarged, serving as organs of flight, 
53. Genus EXOCCETUS Linnaeus. Flying fishes 
Body elongate; sides flattened; head rather short; snout blunt; eyes large; mouth small; jaws 
very short, about equal; scales large, deciduous; caudal fin broadly forked, the lower lobe the 
longer; pectoral fins very long and large, reaching nearly or sometimes quite to the base of the 
caudal. The species of this genus are inhabitants of the warm seas, many of them being largely 
cosmopolitan in their distribution, and they may at times work their way into Chesapeake Bay. 
A single species of flying fish, however, so far has been recorded from this body of water. 
71. Exoccetus heterurus Rafinesque. Flying fish. 
Exoccetus heterurus Rafinesquo, Caratteri di Alauni Nouvi Generi, etc., 1810, p. 58; Palermo. Jordan and Evermann, 1896- 
1900, p. 735. 
7 Exoccetus mesogaster Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 143; ed. II, p. 122. 
Head 4.66; depth 5.33; D. 14; A. 9; scales 58. Body moderately robust; snout 3.75; eye 3.2; 
scales moderate, 33 before dorsal, 26 before ventrals, 7 rows between dorsal and lateral line; anal 
fin short, its origin behind that of the dorsal, base of anal 1.66 in base of dorsal; ventral fins inserted 
about equidistant from pupil and base of caudal, their length about 2.75 in body; pectorals about 
1.45 in body, reaching last ray of dorsal. Dorsal and anal plain; ventrals white, their axils scarcely 
dusky; pectorals with an oblique white band across lower half of fin. 
This species does not occur in the present collection and it is not certain that it definitely 
belongs to the Chesapeake Bay fauna. Uhler and Lugger (1876), however, record a species of 
flying fish under the name Exoccetus mesogaster, which may have been Parexocoetus mesogaster. 
The description is very inadequate, but it seems to suit E. heterurus rather better than P. mesogaster. 
The species is said to reach a length of about 15 inches. 
Habitat. — Atlantic Ocean, common southward on both the European and American coasts, 
straying northward to Newfoundland and England. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: Mouth of Potomac River and southern part of 
Chesapeake Bay (Uhler and Lugger, 1876). (5) Specimens in collection: None. 
