196 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
The entire catch of mullets is consumed locally, as it is an esteemed food fish, and if a surplus 
exists it is salted for future use. In the fall and winter the Baltimore and Norfolk markets receive 
mullets from North Carolina and Florida. During 1921 and 1922 the fishermen received from 8 
to 15 cents per pound and the retail price varied from 15 to 25 cents a pound. 
“Mullet,” “jumping mullet,” and “jumper” are the names commonly used in the bay. 
“Fatback” is a term apparently applied only at Cape Charles. The last-mentioned name prob- 
ably alludes to the rather broad back and the layer of fat present there in the fish. Jumping mullet 
and jumper, of course, refer to the characteristic jumping habit of this species, to which reference 
already has been made. 
In North Carolina the mullet is one of the principal species taken, and in Florida it is the most 
valuable of the many species of fish taken within the waters of that State, the catch in 1918 amount- 
ing to 35,527,840 pounds, with a value of $1,565,843. 
The size of the Chesapeake mullet averages from 8 to 12 inches in length, and the maximum is 
about 15 inches. These sizes are considerably smaller than those attained farther south, where 
20-inch fish are common and 30 inches is the maximum. Following are weights of Chesapeake 
Bay striped mullets: Seven and one-half inches, 2.5 ounces; 8}4 inches, 4.6 ounces; 9 inches, 5 
ounces; 9J^ inches, 5.6 ounces; 10 inches, 6.7 ounces 10J^ inches, 7.5 ounces; 12 inches, 10 ounces. 
Habitat. — Warm waters of both hemispheres; on the Atlantic coast of America from Cape 
Cod to Brazil. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: “Salt water of Chesapeake Bay,” Hampton 
and Cape Charles city, Va. ( b ) Specimens in collection: From many localities from Love Point, 
Md., southward to Cape Charles and Norfolk, Va. 
97. Mugil curema Cuvier and Valenciennes. Silver mullet; White mullet; Mullet. 
Mugil curema Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., XI, 1836, p. 87; Brazil, Martinique, Cuba. Bean, 1891, p. 92; 
Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 813, PI. CXXVI, fig. 344. 
Mugil albula Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 140; ed. II, p. 119. 
(?) Querimana gyrans Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 160. 
Head 3.6 to 4.1; depth 3.1 to 4.75; D. IV— I, 8; A. Ill, 9 (young of about 50 millimeters and 
less in length with II, 10 rays); scales 35 to 41. Body moderately compressed; caudal peduncle 
rather strongly compressed, its depth 2.1 to 2.35 in head; head at eyes scarcely deeper than broad; 
snout rather short, its length 4.35 to 6 in head; eye 3.15 to 4.35; interorbital 2.4 to 2.9; mouth 
moderate, oblique, the lower jaw included, the gape somewhat broader than deep; adipose eye- 
lid well developed in adult, undeveloped in young; gill rakers numerous, slender, close set; scales 
moderate, with crenate membranous edges, extending on the base of caudal and covering almost 
entirely the second dorsal and anal fins; origin of spinous dorsal about equidistant from tip of 
snout and base of caudal; origin of second dorsal a little posterior to origin of anal; caudal fin 
moderately forked; anal fin similar to but longer than second dorsal; ventral fins inserted about 
equidistant from tip of snout and middle of anal base; pectoral fins not quite reaching opposite 
origin of first dorsal, 1.25 to 1.6 in head. 
Color in life dark greenish on back; silver}- on sides; abdomen pale; opercle yellowish; 
dorsals, caudal, and pectorals more or less yellowish, sometimes with dusky tips; other fins plain; 
axil of pectoral bluish black. 
Many small specimens, ranging in length from 30 to 150 millimeters (1^ to 6 inches), are 
at hand. This species differs from M. cephalus in its plain coloration, having no evident dark 
stripes along the rows of scales; by the densely scaled, soft dorsal and anal fins; and by having 
one more ray in the anal fin. The differences between the young and the adults of this species 
appear to be similar to those described for M. cephalus. No doubt remains relative to the identity 
of the young mullets formerly recognized under the generic name “Querimana.” The young of 
this species and M. cephalus can be separated nearly as readily as the adults. The number of 
spines and rays in the anal fins of these two mullets is quite constant but can not be relied upon 
wholly as a means of identification. The young of this species usually has II, 10 rays and ordi- 
narily is readily separable from the young of M. cephalus , which usually has II, 9 rays in the anal 
fin. However, Jacot (1920, p. 200) points out that specimens of M. curema sometimes have 11 or 
13 anal fin supports (rays or spines) and that M. cephalus occasionally has 10 (rarely 12) anal 
fin supports. 
