FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
161 
Color in life of a specimen 153 millimeters (6 inches) in length, brownish above, darkest on 
back; white below; a row of white spots, connected by black lines, situated on lateral line; a 
vertical row of two to four small black spots on head back of eye; two similar spots about an eye’s 
diameter behind the first row; first dorsal dusky, edged with white, with a prominent jet black 
spot; second dorsal and caudal uniformly dark; caudal dusky; anal white or pinkish at base, bluish 
along center, edged with black; ventrals white; pectorals pale dusky edged wdth light yellow. 
After death the body and fins become suddenly pale, the black spot on first dorsal remains, and the 
second dorsal and anal are edged with black; the caudal is dusky only at edges; the black spots 
on head become almost obscure. 
Many specimens of this hake, ranging in length from 50 to 310 millimeters (2 to 12J4 inches), 
were preserved and were before us when the foregoing description was prepared. This hake differs 
from U. chuss chiefly in the low first dorsal fin, which has no produced ray, in the fewer rays in the 
dorsal and anal fins, and in having somewhat larger scales. A good field mark is the color of the 
first dorsal fin, which is distally black and margined with white, whereas in U. chuss this fin is 
uniform dusky. The row of white spots along lateral line in U. regius is absent in U. chuss. 
Dr. Edwin Linton examined for us 141 specimens for food and found over 95 per cent of the 
stomach contents to consist of crustaceans. Nearly 82 per cent consisted of Mysis alone. Shrimp, 
crabs, amphipods, and isopods also were included. Negligible amounts of fish, annelids, leeches, 
sponges, and hydroids also had been eaten. Bigelow and Welsh (1925, p. 455), basing their con- 
Fio. 84. — Vrnphycis regius 
elusions on stomach examinations made at Woods Hole, Mass., by Vinal N. Edwards, state that 
this hake is more of a fish eater than the other hakes. Doctor Linton’s examinations appear to 
show that in Chesapeake Bay, at least, this hake is quite as much of a crustacean eater as the 
other species. 
Comparatively little is known of the spawning habits of this hake. Welsh, working on the 
Albatross, took spawning fish off the Carolinas in December, 1919 (Bigelow and Welsh, 1925, p. 
455), which indicates that the species spawns during the winter. There is no indication that this 
hake spawns in Chesapeake Bay, for not only are adult fish scarce there, but no young are found 
until they have attained a length of about 3 inches and presumably are a year old. It is quite 
likely that this species, like U. chuss, spawns outside the bay, and that, like most of the hakes, 
the larv£B are pelagic for from one to several months. The following table gives the sizes and 
apparent rate of growth of spotted hake taken in Chesapeake Bay. 
Date 
Number 
of fish 
caught 
Range 
in 
length 
Average 
length 
1 
Inches 
3 
Inches 
3 
Mar. 30^31 - - 
2 
2. 7-3. 7 
3.2 
4.5 
4.7 
5.5 
Apr. 10—15 - 
64 
3. 5-5. 5 
170 
3. 3-6. 0 
M*ay 11-20 _ .. - 
28 
3. 7-7. 2 
The total catch (except for January 22, when one large fish 11.4 inches in length was taken) 
is shown for each date given in the foregoing table. Although only three small specimens were 
