260 
bulletin of the bureau of fisheries 
Comparison of lengths and weights of hogfish caught during October 
Number of fish weighed and measured 
Length 
Weight 
Number of fish weighed and measured 
Length 
Weight 
i 
Inches 
314 
4 14 
434 
5 
5 14 
5'A 
5?4 
6 
Ounces 
0. 4 
.6 
.8 
.9 
1.0 
1.3 
1. 5 
1.7 
1.8 
23 
Inches 
614 
634 
6 H 
7 
8 
814 
10 
iH4 
Ounces 
2.1 
2.3 
2.7 
3.0 
4.9 
5.6 
9.3 
12.0 
2 
15 
7 
13 
5 
10 
9 
2 
14 
1 
23 
2 
7 
1 
13 
111. Genus HA5MULON Cuvier. Grunts 
Body oblong, compressed; back more or less elevated; mouth large, horizontal; maxillary 
long, curved, extending to below eye; teeth in jaws in narrow, villiform bands; preopercle serrate; 
chin with a central groove behind symphysis; scales above lateral line in series, not parallel with 
it; soft parts of vertical fins densely scaled; dorsal fin more or less notched, usually with 12, rarely 
with 11, spines; caudal fin more or less forked; anal fin with three spines, the second enlarged; 
mouth red within. 
142. Haemulon plumieri (Lacepede). Grunt; Black grunt. 
Labrus plumieri Lacepede, Hist. Nat. Poiss., Ill, 1802, p. 480, PI. II, fig. 2; Martinique. 
Hxmulon formosum Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 123; ed. II, p. 105. 
Hxmulon plumieri Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1304, PI. CCV, fig. 532. 
Head 2.7 to 2.8; depth 2.4 to 2.5; D. XII, 15 or 16; A. Ill, 8 or 9; scales 49 to 53. Body elon- 
gate, compressed; back elevated; snout long, pointed, 1.9 to 2.3 in head; eye 3.9 to 5.2; mouth 
large, terminal, horizontal; maxillary reaching about middle of eye, 1.9 to 2.05 in head; gill rakers 
rather short, 14 or 15 on lower limb of first arch; scales of moderate size, those above lateral line 
enlarged, the series very oblique, four rows between origin of dorsal and lateral line; scales extend- 
ing on base of pectoral fins, the soft parts of the other fins densely scaled; dorsal fin long, scarcely 
notched; caudal fin forked, the upper lobe longest; anal fin with three spines, the second one the 
strongest, reaching slightly past the tip of the third when defiexed; pectoral fins moderate, 1.3 to 
1.6 in head. 
Color of preserved specimens grayish brown; scales on sides each with a large silvery area; 
sides of head with about 12 more or less wavy, horizontal, blue stripes, not extending beyond 
head; vertical fins dusky; paired fins mostly pale. The color in life, according to published accounts, 
is bluish gray, the scales with greenish bronze spots forming oblique lines; the horizontal stripes on 
head are bright blue. 
This species was not obtained during the present investigation. It is known from Chesapeake 
Bay only from a record by Uhler and Lugger (1876). From South Carolina southward it is a food 
fish of importance, being especially abundant at Key West, Fla. The maximum recorded weight 
for the species is 3 pounds. 
Habitat. — Virginia to Brazil, occurring only as a straggler north of the coast of South Carolina. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous record; “Also lives in the salt waters not remote from the 
ocean, mouth of the Potomac River, etc.” (Uhler and Lugger, 1876.) (6) Specimens in collection: 
None. 
112. Genus BATHYSTOMA (Scudder) Putnam. Tom tates 
This genus is very close to Hxmulon. Normally, however, it has 13 instead of 12 dorsal spines, 
the body is more elongate, and the back is lower. 
143. Bathystoma rimator (Jordan and Swain). Tom tate; Red-mouthed grunt. 
Hxmulon chrysopteron Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 124; ed. II, p. 105; not of Linnseus. 
Hxmulon rimator Jordan and Swain, Proc., U. S. Nat. Mus., VII, 1884, p. 308; Charleston, Key West, and Pensacola. 
Bathystoma rimator Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1308, PI. CCVI, fig. 534. 
Body 2.8 to 2.9; depth 2.85 to 3.1; D. XIII, 13 to 15; A. Ill, 8 or 9; scales 50 to 59. Body quite 
elongate, compressed; back little elevated; head rather long; snout tapering, 2.3 to 3 in head; eye 
