310 BULLETIN OF THE BUKEAU OF FISHEBIES 
169. Hemitripterus americanus (Gmelin). Sea raven; Red sculpin. 
Scorpsena americana Gmelin, Syst. Nat., 1788, p. 1220; no definite type locality given. 
Hemitripterus acadianus Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 105; ed. II, p. 88. 
Hemitripterus americanus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 2023; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 163. 
Head 2.65; depth 3.75; D. XVI-I, 12; A. 13; scales 40. Body rather stout; head very large 
and bony; mouth large; maxillary reaching beyond posterior margin of eye, about 2 in head; 
both jaws with several rows of sharply pointed teeth; body largely covered with prickles, these 
enlarged along the back and lateral line; nasal spines strong; supraocular ridge much elevated, 
with dermal flaps and two blunt spines; three pairs of fleshy flaps on nasal bones and two on 
supraocular ridges; smaller jurri on maxillary, on preorbital, and several on lower jaw; interorbital 
space deeply concave; two blunt, occipital spines on each side, and two or three others on the out- 
side of these; opercle small, with"{a bony ridge; preopercle with two blunt spines and one or two 
more below these; the first two or three dorsal spines longest, the fourth and fifth spines shorter 
than those farther back; caudal fin rounded; anal fin somewhat similar to the second dorsal and 
about opposite it; ventral fins fleshy, with three rays; pectorals broad, nearly reaching origin 
of anal. 
Color variable, reddish, reddish-purple, or yellowish-brown; always paler below; belly usually 
yellow; some individuals are variously marbled, others are of uniform coloration; fins variously 
barred with light and dark; anal and pectorals often with yellow rays. 
This species was not taken during the present investigation. It is included here because of 
published records of its occurrence in Chesapeake Bay. The sea raven is the only sculpin known 
from Chesapeake Bay, and it is readily recognized by its rough, prickly skin and its bony head, 
with high ridges, numerous spines, and fleshy flaps. 
The food of the sea raven is reported (Bigelow and Welsh, 1925, p. 332) to consist of inverte- 
brates living on the bottom, such as mollusks, various crustaceans, sea urchins, and worms. It is 
said also to feed on fish. Bean (1903, p. 647) reports as follows relative to the eggs and spawning: 
“ The sea raven spawns in November. Eggs observed on November 29, 1897, were in masses 
adhering tightly together. The egg at that date was five thirty-seconds of an inch (approximately 
4 millimeters) in diameter and showed the form of the fish distinctly. Its color, when first deposited, 
is yellow, but soon changes to salmon and then to amber before hatching.” 
Maximum length, 25 inches; a fish 22)4 inches long weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces. Fish 18 to 
20 inches long and weighing 2 or 3 pounds are reported to be not uncommon in the Gulf of Maine. 
The species is nowhere of much commercial value, and of none whatsoever in the Chesapeake. 
Habitat .— Labrador and Newfoundland, south to Chesapeake Bay; not abundant south of New 
Jersey. 
