FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
183 
The food, according to the contents of 18 stomachs that were examined, consists largely of 
small crustaceans, including principally copepods and amphipods. One individual had fed on 
fish fry only, another had fed on an insect, and a few stomachs contained strands of alga in addi- 
tion to small crustaceans. It seems probable that the plants were taken by accident when the 
animals in the food were captured. 
The sexes, among adults, may be distinguished by the presence in the male of a membranous 
pouch — a marsupium — on the ventral surface of the tail just posterior to the vent. The eggs are 
deposited by the female in this pouch and are retained there until they are hatched. The young 
are carried for some time after hatching. One preserved specimen, for example, contained young 
7 millimeters (about one-third inch) in length in the pouch. Young of this length still contained 
a yolk sac. Another specimen had young 10 millimeters (about three-eighths inch) in length 
within the pouch. In larvae of this length the yolk sac was almost completely dissolved, and it is 
probable that at about this size an independent existence is begun. 
Spawing takes place from April to October. The height of the spawning season, judging from 
the number of males having pouches filled with eggs, extends from April through July. Eggs in 
several stages of development may be present in the marsupium at one time, although occasionally 
they are all of uniform development. The largest number of eggs found in the pouch of a single 
specimen was 570. The fish carrying these eggs was 190 millimeters (about 7J^ inches) in length. 
The smallest number of eggs found in a pouch was 104, carried by a specimen 120 millimeters (4% 
inches) in length. The largest number of ova of uniform size and apparently nearly ripe was 860, 
which were removed from the ovary of a specimen 190 millimeters (about 7 inches) in length. 
This fish is common in all sections of the bay from Baltimore southward, wherever vegetation 
occurs; it also ascends streams to fresh water. As many as 305 were taken in eight hauls of a 
30-foot seine in the lower York River. It was seined in comparatively large numbers from the time 
collecting began in April until October. Even as late as November 23 we found it plentiful along- 
shore in a few feet of water at Cape Charles. None were trawled in deep water during the summer, 
but as early as October 22 several were taken in 24 feet, and on the 23rd one was taken in 54 feet 
of water, indicating that a migration from the shore already had begun. The next trawling record 
occurs on November 22, when one was taken at a depth of 30 feet and two at 125 feet. On a cruise 
in December a number were taken from the 6th to the 10th at depths of 84 to 126 feet; from January 
17 to 21 at depths of 114 to 120 feet; from February 14 to 19, 23 specimens in 11 localities at depths 
of 48 to 162 feet, and on March 6 seven were trawled at 66 feet. These winter catches were made 
in localities ranging from Baltimore to Cape Charles and Old Point. The latest spring catch made 
with the trawl was April 29. It is apparent from these records that the pipefish spends the winter 
in the deep waters of the bay and the remaining time along the immediate shores, most of the inshore 
migration occurring late in March and early in April and the offshore migration in November. 
This fish and the common four-spined stickleback, Apeltes quadracus, are common associates. This 
species is also common northward, where it is the only species of pipefish. 
Habitat . — Nova Scotia to North Carolina. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: St. Marys River and Riverside, Md.; Gunston, 
Hampton Creek, and Cape Charles city, Va. ( b ) Specimens in collection: From 96 localities lying 
between Baltimore, Md., and Cape Charles and Norfolk, Va. 
89. Syngnathus floridae (Jordan and Gilbert). Pipefish. 
Siphostoma floridse Jordan and Gilbert, Proe., U. S. Nat. Mus., 1884, p. 239; Key West, Fla.; Jordan and Evermann, 1896- 
1900, p. 766; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 160. 
Head 4.75 to 6.2; D. 28 to 30; body rings 16 to 18; caudal rings 32 or 33. Body slender, much 
more so in the young than in the adult; caudal portion quadrangular, usually somewhat longer than 
the rest of body, proportionately longer in males than in females, 1.7 to 1.95 in length; abdomen 
more or less convex; snout long, 1.65 to 1.85 in head; eye 6 to 11; egg pouch on 18 to 20 rings; dorsal 
fin rather short, the end of its base notably nearer the base of caudal than tip of snout, occupying 
1 to 1.5 dorsal rings and 5.5 to 6 caudal rings; caudal fin moderate, rounded; pectoral fins short and 
broad, 8 to 10.2 in head. 
Color in spirits dark brown above, lighter underneath; sides with gray specks; dorsal and 
pectorals plain translucent, the former sometimes with dark spots on the base; caudal fin usually 
