FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
321 
A single small specimen of this species, 60 millimeters in length, was obtained. This dinner 
is most readily distinguished from its nearest relative, the tautog, by the scaly gill covers, the 
pointed snout, and the gently convex profile. 
The cunner is reported to be virtually omnivorous in its feeding habits, feeding on almost 
all animals of suitable size that occur in the waters that it inhabits; often eel grass also is found 
in the stomach. Furthermore, it is reported to be a scavenger. 
Spawning takes place in June, July, and August. The eggs are buoyant, transparent, and 
only 0.75 to 0.85 millimeter in diameter and without an oil globule. In temperatures of 70° to 
72° they hatch in about 40 hours. At hatching the larvae are about 2 to 2.22 millimeters in length.*® 
According to Bigelow and Welsh (1925, p. 285), the young in the Gulf of Maine may reach a length 
of 23 ^ to 3)^2 inches by the autumn of the season during which they were hatched. 
The cunner is found in abundance from New Jersey to Maine. Along the New England coast it 
lives chiefly close to shore, particularly in bays and sounds, and is one of the chief fish caught 
by youthful anglers. It prefers rocky bottom covered with marine growths. Along the northern 
New Jersey coast the cunner is present in large numbers throughout the year. In this region it is 
found chiefly offshore, on the rocky ledges frequented by tautog, sea bass, and other species. 
The usual size of New Jersey fish taken within several miles of shore is 5 to 8 inches, but about 
8 miles offshore, on the 17-fathom bank, large cunners, 10 to 12 inches or more in length, are 
commonly taken. The cunner’s habit of stealing bait from the hooks of fishermen is well known, 
and New York bank fishermen know that more bait is required to feed the cunner (or bergall, as it 
is called there) than all other species for which he may be fishing combined. 
The cunner reaches a maximum length of about 15 inches. It is a food fish of good flavor and 
of some commercial importance. 
Habitat . — Labrador to Virginia. Rare south of New Jersey. This fish was recorded from the 
Atlantic coast of Worcester and adjoining counties, Maryland, by Lugger (1877, p. 71). This record 
appears to have been overlooked, as the southernmost range given by recent authors is New Jersey. 
The capture of the small specimen in hand extends the known range to the mouth of Chesapeake 
Bay. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: None. (6) Specimen in collection: Sixty milli- 
meters long, taken by seining, Cape Charles, Va., September 20, 1921. 
Family LXXIX. — SCARIMi. The parrot fishes 
Body oblong, moderately compressed; mouth moderate, terminal; teeth in the jaws coalesced, 
at least at base, often forming continuous plates; frequently with one or more canines above the 
cutting edge; no teeth on vomer or palatines; scales large, cycloid, 23 to 26 in a lateral series; dorsal 
fin continuous, its rays constantly IX, 10, the spines weak and flexible or stiff and pungent; anal 
constantly III, 9. A single genus and species of this family of tropical fishes comes within the 
scope of the present work. 
138. Genus SCARIJS Forskal. Parrot fishes 
Body rather robust, compressed; head moderately short and deep; snout blunt; upper lip later- 
ally double, the inner fold becoming very narrow or disappearing anteriorly; teeth in the jaws 
fully coalesced, forming continuous plates, with a single median suture; gill membranes scarcely 
united to the isthmus; scales large, 22 to 26 in a lateral series; dorsal fin constantly with 9 flexible 
spines and 10 soft rays; anal fin with three flexible spines (the first one very small and often hidden 
in the skin) and 9 soft rays. This is a rather large genus, the members being of the warm and 
tropical seas. 
Jt For details concerning the embryology and the larval development of the cunner, see Agassiz (1882, p. 290, Pis. XIII to 
XV); Agassiz and Whitman (1885, p. 18, Pis. VII to XIX); and Kuntz and Radeliffe (1918, p. 99, figs. 18 to 29). 
