322 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
177. Scarus cseruleus (Bloch). Blue parrot fish. 
Corvphxna cxruleus, Bloch, Auslandische Fish., II, 1786, p. 120, pi. 176; Bahamas. 
Scarus cxruleus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1652, PI. CCXLIV, fig. 613; Smith and Kendall, 1898, p. 170 
Head 3.15 to 3.6; depth 2.85 to 3.2; D. IX, 10; A. Ill, 9; scales 24 to 26. Body elongate, mod- 
erately compressed; head not much longer than deep; snout very blunt, with a well-developed fleshy 
pad on its upper surface in adults, its length 2.35 to 2.7 in head; eye 5.15 to 6.4; mouth small, reach- 
ing about halfway to eye; lower jaw included; teeth fully coalesced, forming continuous plates; 
each plate with an evident median suture; no free canines; gill membranes slightly connected; 
scales large, not much reduced on chest, five in advance of ventrals; most of head scaly; two rows of 
six scales each and a third row consisting of two scales on cheek, scales of upper row much larger 
than those of second row; lateral line interrupted under posterior rays of dorsal, beginning again 
lower down on caudal peduncle, the pores more or less branched; dorsal with nine flexible spines, 
each one with a fleshy tip; caudal fin notably concave, with the angles produced in adult fish; 
anal with three flexible spines, the first one very small; ventrals a little shorter than the pectorals; 
pectorals 1.3 to 1.55 in head. 
Color dark green to slightly grayish green above, becoming a lighter shade on sides and under- 
neath; no stripes or bars present on preserved specimens; lips deep blue-green; dorsal and anal 
deep blue-green, almost black, each with a bright green margin; caudal slightly paler than the dorsal 
and anal, the outer rays bright green; ventrals and pectorals mostly greenish; axillary spot absent; 
teeth white. 
This fish was not seen during the present investigation. The record is taken from Jordan and 
Evermann (1896-1900, p. 1652) and Smith and Kendall (1898, p. 170). These records are both 
based on an identification made from the jaws of one specimen taken in 1894 in a pound net set in 
the Potomac River off St. George Island. After the receipt of this jaw, an illustration was sent by 
Smith and Kendall to a J. E. N. Sterling, at Cape Charles city, Va., with an inquiry whether this 
fish had been caught in the vicinity. The reply was that from 6 to 10 fish resembling the figure and 
corresponding to the description that had been supplied were obtained in pound nets between 
Cape Charles and Hunger Creek. 
This fish, being the only one of the family known from Chesapeake Bay, may be recognized 
readily by the coalesced teeth, which have a continuous cutting edge and resemble somewhat the 
beak of a bird. 
Nothing definite is known concerning its food, breeding habits, or rate of growth. It is reported 
to reach a length of 2 to 3 feet. 
Habitat . — Maryland to Panama; apparently rare on the coast of the United States; probably 
most common in the West Indies. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous record: St. George Island, Md. (b) Specimens in col- 
lection: None. 
Body oblong or elongate, compressed or not; scales present or wanting; skin of head continuous 
with the covering of the eyes; premaxillaries protractile; opercle unarmed; preopercle unarmed or 
with a short spine; gill openings largely restricted to the sides, the membranes united to the isthmus; 
gills 4, a slit behind the fourth; no lateral line; teeth various, usually small; dorsal fins separate or 
connected, the spinous dorsal with two to eight flexible spines, rarely wanting; anal usually with a 
single weak spine, similar to soft dorsal; ventral fins close together, separate or united, each composed 
of I, 5 rays (rarely I, 4) ; the ventral fins, when united, forming a sucking disk, a cross fold between 
their bases completing the cup; caudal fin convex or pointed. Most of the members of this family 
are of small size. Some of them live in fresh water, others in salt water, and many of them occupy 
brackish water or live indiscriminately in salt or fresh water. 
Order GOBIOIDEA 
Family LXXX. — G0BIID./E. The gobies 
