240 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Habitat . — Great Lakes, southward to Alabama and Texas and westward to Kansas and 
Nebraska. Through canals and through the efforts of fish culturists, the species has become estab- 
lished in various places on the Atlantic slope, from New York to Georgia. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records : None known to be brackish-water. ( b ) Specimen 
in collection: Near the mouth of the Susquehanna River, Havre de Grace, Md., November 9, 1921, 
salinity, 1.53 per mille. 
99. Genus ENNEACANTHUS Gill. Little sunfishes 
Body short, deep; mouth small; teeth present on jaws, vomer, and palatines; maxillary with 
a well developed supplemental bone; margin of opercle entire; opercle ending in two flat points; 
scales large; lateral line usually complete; gill rakers short and rather few; dorsal with about nine 
spines; anal with three spines; caudal fin with round margin. One species was taken in brackish 
water in the northern sections of Chesapeake Bay. 
129. Enneacanthus gloriosus (Holbrook). Speckled perch; Blue-spotted sunfish; Little sunfish. 
Bryttus gloriosus Holbrook, Journ., Ac. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1855, p. 51; Cooper River, S. C. 
Enneacanthus gloriostis UWer and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 131; ed. II, p. 112; Jordan and Evermann, 1890-1900, p.993, PI. CLVIII, 
fig. 422; Smith and Bean, 1899, p. 185; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 161; Fowler, 1912, p. 55. 
Head 2.75 to 3.05; depth 2 to 2.65; D. IX, 10 or 11; A. Ill, 9 to 11; scales 30 to 32. Body 
moderately deep, compressed; head rather short; snout blunt, 4 to 5.3 in head; eye 2.85 to 3.75; 
interorbital 3.4 to 4.6; mouth small, oblique, terminal or slightly superior; maxillary reaching 
opposite anterior margin of pupil, 2.8 to 3.1 in head; gill rakers short, 9 or 10 on lower limb of first 
arch; scales large, firm, ctenoid; lateral line usually wanting on several scales posteriorly; dorsal 
fin long, its origin over base of pectorals; caudal fin round; anal fin short, with three short, stout 
spines; ventral fins reaching somewhat beyond origin of anal, inserted a little behind base of pectorals; 
pectoral fins rather long, 1.25 to 1.55 in head. 
Color of male dark green above, abdomen golden; sides with sky-blue spots, about half as large 
as scales, extending on dorsal, caudal, and anal; opercle with jet-black spots; ground color of dorsal 
greenish (dusky in spirits) ; caudal and anal reddish; ventrals plain, with red on longest ray; pectorals 
s ightly greenish. Females olive green with purplish luster; bluish spots wanting. Some preserved 
specimens have indications of dusky crossbars on sides and pale lines along the rows of scales. 
Numerous specimens of this little fish, ranging from 20 to 85 millimeters to 3% inches) in 
length, were preserved. This species is separated from other sunfishes by the small mouth and 
round tail. It inhabits sluggish water, especially frequenting places with aquatic growths of vege- 
tation. It is not uncommon in the brackish waters near mouths of streams in the northern sections 
of Chesapeake Bay, frequenting water with a specific gravity as great as 1.0095. It was particularly 
abundant in a brackish pond near Annapolis, where more than 1,000 were caught in 20 hauls of a 
30-foot collecting seine. 
The food of this fish, according to the contents of 13 stomachs examined, consists mainly of 
small crustaceans — that is, copepods, amphipods, and isopods. Insects and worms, too, were 
present in a few stomachs; also fragments of plants. Spawning apparently takes place in May and 
June, as specimens taken at about this time contained well-developed roe. 
The blue-spotted sunfish is one of the most beautiful of our local fishes. It is hardy and an 
attractive aquarium fish. It is of no commercial importance because of the small size attained. 
The largest specimen at hand, having a length of 3% inches, represents the maximum size for the 
species. 
Habitat . — New York to Georgia. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: None known to be from brackish water, (b) 
Specimens in collection: Havre de Grace, Baltimore, Annapolis, Love Point, and Oxford, Md., 
and Lewisetta, Va. Highest salinity, entrance to Lake Ogleton, Annapolis, Md., November 3, 
1921, 12.88 per mille. 
