282 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Some of the young fish of this species stay in the bay throughout the winter and were not 
infrequently taken in deep water. 
The sand perch is a very abundant fish in Chesapeake Bay, but because of its small size a 
comparatively small part of the catch is marketed, the remainder, in large part, being wasted. 
Thousands of discarded sand perch frequently are seen floating on the surface of the water or strewn 
on the beaches about the fishing camps. It is a food fish of good flavor, and a large percentage of 
the catch could be utilized if a demand for the fish were created. A large part of the commercial 
catch consists of fish 73^ to 83^2 inches in length, weighing about one-fourth pound each. 
The sand perch is caught chiefly with pound nets, haul seines, and hook and line. The season 
extends from April until November, October being the month when the fish are most abundant. 
It is most common in the lower part of the bay, decreasing in abundance northward, and north of 
Baltimore it is rarely taken. 
Various names have been given to this fish in Chesapeake Bay. “Sand perch,” “white sand 
perch,” and “white perch” are the most commonly used. Confusion is caused by calling this 
species “white perch,” as this name is well established for Morone americana. Names less commonly 
used are “Virginia perch,” “yellow-tail,” and “tint.” 
The largest fish observed in Chesapeake Bay was 934 inches in length, which is about the maxi- 
mum size attained by this species, and it weighed 6 ounces. Fish of slightly less than 9 inches are 
common and of sufficient size to be utilized as food. Small quantities are sold in the Norfolk and 
Baltimore markets, and some are peddled inland among the country people. The retail price during 
1922 was 10 to 15 cents per pound. 
Habitat. — New York to Texas. 
Chesapeake localities.— -(a) Previous records: Various sections of Chesapeake Bay, from the 
mouth of the Potomac River southward. (6) Specimens in collection: From many localities, from 
Annapolis, Md., to Cape Charles and Cape Henry, Va. Apparently rare north of Annapolis. 
Comparison of lengths and weights of sand perch 
Number of fish weighed and measured 
Length 
Weight 
Number of fish weighed and measured 
Length 
Weight 
1 
Inches 
3 
Ounces 
0. 3 
Inches 
6M 
6K2 
6 M 
7 
Ounces 
1.6 
3 
3J4 
m 
4 
. 4 
18 
2.2 
4 
. 4 
20 
2.3 
.5 
20 
2.6 
8 
4K 
4V 2 
. 6 
34 
VA 
VA 
VA 
8 
3.0 
11 
29 
3.3 
12 
4 % 
5 
.8 
33 
3.6 
18 
1.0 
1. 1 
37 
4.0 
40 
5 y 4 
514 
bVi 
28 
m 
m 
9 
4.2 
51 
1. 2 
4.5 
IS 
1. 3 
5.0 
15 
6 
1.5 
m 
5.3 
Note. — Most ot these fish were from total catches made with collecting seines and are therefore unselected. The scarcity 
of fish 6 to O' s inches long, already mentioned, is illustrated in a measure by this table. It is probable that most of the fish of less 
than 6 l A inches are immature. 
123. Genus STELLIFER (Cuvier) Oken 
This genus is distinguished from related genera by the very cavernous construction of the bones 
of the skull, the septa being reduced to the thinness of the walls of honeycomb. The skull is rather 
broad, somewhat depressed between the eyes, and more or less spongy to the touch. 
156. Stellifer lanceolatus (Holbrook). 
Homoprion lanceolatus Holbrook, Ichth, South Carolina, ed. I, 1855, p. 168, PI. XXIII; Beaufort, S. C. 
Stellifer lanceolatus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1443. 
Head 3.45; depth 2.75; D. XII-I, 21; A. II, 8; scales 49. Body oblong, compressed; head 
rather low; snout blunt, 3.5 in head; eye 4.05; interorbital broad, 2.4; mouth moderate, oblique; 
lower jaw included; maxillary reaching about opposite posterior margin of pupil, 2.25 in head; 
teeth in the jaws in bands, the one on lower jaw very narrow; preopercular margin with enlarged 
spines; gill rakers slender, 21 on lower limb of first arch; scales firm, ctenoid, extending more or 
