318 BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF FISHEKIES 
175. Tautoga onitis (Linnaeus). Tautog; Blackfish; Black porgy; Chub; Salt-water chub. 
Labrus onitis Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. X, 1758, p. 286. (No type locality given.) 
Tautoga onitis XJhler and Lugger, 1S76, ed. I, p. 106; ed. II, p. 89; Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1578, PL CCXXXVII, 
fig. 596; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 162; Fowler, 1912, p. 56. 
Hiatula onitis Bean, 1891, p. 86. 
Head 3.25 to 3.56; depth 2.55 to 2.95; D. XVI or XVII, 10; A. Ill, 7 or 8; scales 69 to 73. 
Body rather deep, compressed; the back rather strongly elevated; caudal peduncle short and deep, 
its depth equal to or a little greater than distance from tip of snout to margin of preopercle; head 
rather short; snout blunt, 2.25 to 3.25 in head; eye small, 3.05 to 6; interorbital 3.85 to 5.1; preoper- 
cular margin smooth; mouth moderate, slightly subinferior; lips rather broad and thick; maxillary 
reaching nearly opposite anterior margin of eye in young, not nearly as far back in adult, 3 to 3.55 
in head; teeth in the jaws strong, the anterior ones in young more or less compressed, incisorlike 
becoming more rounded and caninelike in large examples; gill membranes broadly united, free 
from the isthmus; gill rakers short, about nine on lower limb of first arch; lateral line complete and 
continuous; scales rather small, thin, with smooth edges, reduced in size on belly and chest, largely 
absent on cheeks and opercles; dorsal fin continuous, the spines stiff, not quite as high as the soft 
part of fin; caudal fin broadly rounded; anal fin with three rather short strong spines, the soft part 
similar to that of the dorsal; ventral fins moderate, inserted about an eye’s diameter behind base of 
pectorals; pectoral fins broad, their length 1.15 to 1.5 in head. 
Color dull black to greenish black or brownish above, with more or less distinct, irregular, 
blackish bars or blotches; the bars and blotches most distinct in young; fins plain, mostly like the 
ground color of bod 3 L 
In regions off the Atlantic coast where this species is abundant two color patterns are 
recognized, one being plain blackish and the other having irregular blackish or brownish bars on a 
pale ground. Both varieties are found even among the largest fish, but very small fish nearly always 
are marked with blotches and irregular bars. 
Many specimens of this species, ranging in length from 55 to 320 millimeters, were preserved. 
It is most readily recognized by its strongly convex anterior profile; thick lips; large incisorlike teeth, 
and very deep caudal peduncle. 
The food of the tautog is varied, consisting largely of various small mollusks and crustaceans of 
suitable size. It is most numerous among rocks, old wrecks, piling, etc., were it feeds on barnacles, 
crabs, and other animals common in such places. The food of the tautog and the sheepshead are 
practically identical, and they occupy the same feeding grounds within the region where their ranges 
overlap. The tautog takes the hook readily and is of some importance as a “game” fish. Large 
numbers are caught with hook and line by sportsmen as well as commercial fishermen, particularly 
off the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey. 
