296 
BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Family LXX. — QT0L1THID/E. The weakhshes. 
This family, according to Jordan (1923, p. 202), differs from the Sciffinidse principally in the 
different arrangement of the vertebrge, the Scisenidse having typically 10+14 vertebne, whereas the 
present family has 14+10. A single genus of the Chesapeake Bay fauna falls within the scope of 
the Otolithidae. 
128. Genus CYNOSCION Gill. Squeteagues; “Sea trouts” 
Body elongate; head conical; mouth large, oblique; lower jaw protruding; teeth sharp, not 
protruding, two enlarged, recurved teeth at tip of upper jaw; no enlarged teeth on lower jaw; 
preopercle serrate; pseudobranchise present; dorsal spines slender, flexible; second dorsal long and 
low,' more than twice the length of the anal; anal spines 2, very weak. 
KEY TO THE SPECIES 
a. Soft dorsal and anal scaleless; gill rakers comparatively short, eight on lower limb of first arch; 
11 or 12 scales in a series between the origin of the anal and the lateral line; body with round 
black spots nebulosus, p. 296 
aa. Soft dorsal and anal usually closely scaled; body not spotted with round black spots. 
b. Anal fin with nine soft rays; gill rakers few, nine on lower limb of first arch; eight scales in a 
series between origin of anal and lateral line; coloration nearly uniform nothus, p. 299 
bb. Anal fin with 11 or 12 soft rays; gill rakers more numerous, 11 to 13 on lower limb of first 
arch; 10 scales in a series between the origin of the anal and the lateral line; body usually 
with irregular dark blotches, sometimes forming wavy, oblique lines regalis, p. 300 
163. Cynoscion nebulosus (Cuvier and Valenciennes). Spotted weakfish; Spotted squeteague; 
“Salmon trout”; “Simon trout”; “Spotted trout”; “Speckles”; “Speckled trout”. 
Otolithus nebulosus Cuvier and Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., V, 1830, p. 79; locality unknown. 
Cynoscion carolinensis McDonald, 1882, p. 12, fig. 2. 
Cynoscion maculatus Bean, 1891, p. 88; Smith, 1892, p. 72. 
Cynoscion nebulosus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1409, PI. CCXXI, fig. 663; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 162; 
Fowler, 1912, p. 58; and 1918, p. 18; Welsh and Breder, 1923, p. 164. 
Head 2.95 to 3.25; depth 3.4 to 4.35; D. X (rarely XI)-I, 24 to 26; A. II, 10 or 11; scales 90 to 
102. Body elongate, somewhat compressed; back little elevated; head long and low; snout pointed, 
3.75 to 4.2 in head; eye 4.45 to 5.35; interorbital 4.5 to 5.9; mouth large, oblique; lower jaw projecting; 
maxillary reaching nearly or quite opposite posterior margin of eye, 2.2 to 2.3 in head; teeth as in C. 
regalis; gill rakers rather short, 8 on lower limb of first arch; scales small, thin, ctenoid, extending 
forward on head, cheeks, and opercles, not present on fins, 11 or 12 between origin of anal and 
lateral line; dorsal fins contiguous or separate, spines of the first weak, flexible, the longest spines 
scarcely longer than the longest soft rays; caudal fin pointed in very young, becoming straight to 
somewhat emarginate in adults; anal fin small, the spines very weak, base of fin ending about an eye’s 
diameter in advance of end of base of dorsal; ventral fins rather small, inserted a little behind base of 
pectorals, 1.85 to 2.25 in head. 
Color dark gray above, with sky-blue reflections; pale, silvery below; upper part of sides 
marked with numerous round, black spots, the spots extending on dorsal and caudal fins. Very 
young with a broad, dark, lateral band; blotches of the same color on the back; base of caudal 
black. Fins pale to yellowish green; the dorsal and caudal spotted with black in the adult. 
Many specimens of this common species, ranging in length from 25 to 245 millimeters, were 
preserved. The very young of this squeteague differ very markedly from the adult in color, as 
shown in the description, also in the more or less sharply pointed tail and other less striking 
characters. Individuals 5 inches and upward in length are readily distinguished from related 
species by the round, black spots situated on the upper parts of the body and on the dorsal and 
caudal fins. The scales, also, are smaller and are wanting on all the fins. 
The food of the spotted squeteague appears to be identical with that of the gray squeteague. 
The contents of 20 stomachs consisted of fish and crustaceans, the large individuals having fed 
mainly on fish and the small ones on crustaceans. 
