FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
197 
Earlier investigators appear not to have separated the young mullets of the Atlantic coast of 
the United States into species, but considered them all identical, calling them Querimanna gyrans. 
Bean (1903, p. 365) stated that Querimanna was nothing but the young of Mugil. He, however, 
placed Querimana gyrans in the synonymy of Mugil trichodon, a southern species, probably 
because the number of scales given by Jordan and Gilbert, who first described Q. gyrans, suited that 
species. Indeed, it is probable that Q. gyrans, the type of which we have not seen, was based 
upon the young of M. trichodon, as the type specimens came from Key West, where that species 
occurs. Querimana gyrans later was recorded from as far north as Cape Cod, where M. trichodon 
does not occur. Bean’s reference led Smith (1907, p. 182) to say: “ The present writer is inclined 
to accept Doctor Bean’s general conclusion in the matter, but regards it as unfortunate that 
Querimana gyrans has not been shown to be the young of the striped mullet or the silverside 
mullet. The chief obstacle to such an identification is the difference in the number of scales in the 
lateral series, and until this is overcome the question must be considered unsettled.” The scales 
in the young are quite easily lost, but in specimens from Chesapeake Bay in which they are present 
the usual number possessed by M. curema and M. cephalus may be counted. 
The food of this mullet apparently is identical with that of M. cephalus, consisting almost 
wholly of minute organisms, which are found mixed with quantities of mud and vegetable debris. 
The spawning habits of this species are as imperfectly known as in M. cephalus. Limited 
evidence has been produced (Jacot, 1920, p. 226) which would suggest that the species spawns in 
the spring of the year, whereas M. cephalus spawns in late autumn. 
The growth of the silver mullet in Chesapeake Bay is difficult to follow with the limited data 
at hand. A single young fish taken in May measured 41 millimeters (1.6 inches), whereas the many 
young taken during June were 25 to 33 millimeters (1 to 1.3 inches) in length. No small fish were 
caught during the summer, and the next sizes at hand are 115 to 136 millimeters (4.5 to 5.3 inches), 
taken in September, and 95 to 148 millimeters (3.8 to 5.8 inches), caught in October. Jacot (1920, 
p. 203) seined young at Beaufort, N. C., 30 to 36 millimeters (1.2 to 1.4 inches) long, in May, took 
these sizes and somewhat larger fish throughout the summer, and young as small as 20 to 28 milli- 
meters (0.8 to 1.1 inches) in September. 
The silver mullet is taken in small quantities in Chesapeake Bay and is found under virtually 
the same conditions as the striped mullet. Much that has been said of the latter, therefore, applies 
also to this species. Neither the fishermen nor the markets distinguish the two kinds of mullets; 
M. curema forms but a very small part of the marketable catch. 
This mullet seldom exceeds a length of 9 inches in the bay. Most of those seen are small 
unmarketable fish, 6 inches or less in length, and are taken incidentally with other species of fish. 
The small catch of silver mullets is included in the statistics given for the striped mullet. In south- 
ern waters the average length is about 10 inches and the maximum about 14 inches. 
Habitat. — On the Atlantic coast, from Cape Cod to Brazil, and on the Pacific coast from the 
Gulf of California to Chile. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: Cape Charles city, Hampton, and “southern 
part of Chesapeake Bay.” ( b ) Specimens in the collection: From Annapolis, Md., lower York 
River, vicinity of Norfolk, and Cape Charles, Va. 
Family XLVII. — SPHYR/ENID7E. The barracudas 
Body very elongate, little compressed; head long, pointed, pikelike; mouth large, nearly 
horizontal; jaws elongate, the lower one strongly projecting; jaws and palatines with large teeth 
of uneven size; opercular bones without spines or serrations; gill membranes separate, free from 
the isthmus; gill rakers very short or obsolete; branchiostegals 7; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; 
pseudobranchiae well developed; air bladder large, bifurcate anteriorly; pyloric caeca numerous; 
scales small, cycloid, present on cheeks and opercles; lateral line well developed; first dorsal with 
five spines, second dorsal remote from the first, similar to anal and at least partly opposite it; 
caudal fin forked; pectoral fins short, placed in or below the axis of the body. 
