FISHES OF CHESAPEAKE BAY 
339 
Order XEN OPTERY GII 
Family LXXXVI.-GOBIESGCM. The clingfishes 
Body rather elongate, broad, and depressed anteriorly; mouth moderate; upper jaw pro- 
tractile; teeth usually rather strong, the anterior ones conical or incisorlike; no bony stay across 
cheek; opercle reduced to a spinelike projection, concealed in the skin and sometimes obsolete; 
pseudobranchise small or wanting; gills or 3; gill membranes broadly united, free, or united 
with the isthmus; scales entirely wanting; dorsal and anal similar, on posterior part of body and 
nearly or quite opposite each other, consisting of soft rays only; ventral fins far apart, each with 
one concealed spine and four or five soft rays; a large sucking disk present between the 
ventrals, the fins usually forming a part of it. This family is composed of small fishes that live 
chiefly in warm seas, clinging to stones and other objects by means of the sucking disk. 
149. Genus GOBIESOX Lacepede. Clingfishes 
Body anteriorly very broad and depressed, posteriorly slender; head large, rounded; mouth 
terminal; lower jaw with a series of strong incisors in front, their edges rounded or truncate; upper 
jaw with a series of strong teeth, sometimes with smaller teeth behind; no teeth on vomer or pala- 
tines; gills 3; gill membranes broadly united, free from the isthmus; sucking disk large. 
190. Gobiesox strumosus Cope. Clingfish. 
Gobiesox strumosus Cope, Proc., Ac. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1870, p. 121; Hilton Head, S. C. Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. II, p. 84; 
Jordan and Evennann, 1896-1900, p. 2333; Evermann and Hildebrand, 1910, p. 163. 
Gobiesox virgatulus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 2333. 
Head 2.45 to 2.7; depth 4.1 to 5; D. 10 to 12; A. 8 to 10. Body anteriorly broad, depressed; 
posteriorly compressed; caudal peduncle strongly compressed; vertebral 12 to 14; head large, 
depressed, very broad, quite variable in width, its width 2.5 to 3.35 in length of body; snout very 
broad, forming with the rest of the head anteriorly an arc of a circle, its length 2.8 to 3.65 in the 
head; eyes small, partly superior, 3.65 to 4.75; interorbital broad, flat, 3.2 to 3.8; mouth wide, 
inferior, horizontal; maxillary concealed by the preorbital, reaching nearly or quite opposite mid- 
dle of eye, 6 to 7.7 in head; teeth in the jaws with an irregular, enlarged outer series, these teeth 
anteriorly in the lower jaw incisorlike, the cutting edge entire, those of the upper jaw less strongly 
compressed and less incisoriike; both jaws anteriorly with smaller teeth behind the enlarged 
ones; cheeks full, bulging; opercle ending in a sharp spine; gill opening restricted, mostly lateral; 
dorsal fin placed far back, its origin nearer the end of the caudal than tip of snout; caudal fin 
round; anal fin shorter but otherwise similar to the dorsal, its origin a little nearer tip of caudal 
than anterior margin of ventral disk; ventral disk a little shorter than head. 
Color in alcohol grayish to dusky, variable, some specimens much lighter than others; some 
specimens with distinct pale crossbars, others with indefinite blotches, still others without indica- 
tions of pale bars or blotches, but with longitudinally elongate dark markings; the vertical fins 
usually dusky, with pale crossbars or blotches; the ventrals and pectorals pale. 
Numerous specimens of this species, ranging in length from 19 to 60 millimeters to 2% 
inches), were preserved. Much variation among individuals with respect to the width of the head 
and color appears to exist. These differences have been pointed out in the description. This fish 
is readily distinguished from all others of the Chesapeake by the very broad, depressed head and 
the large sucking disk between and behind the widely separated ventral fins. The species of this 
genus are not well defined, making identification difficult. It seems probable that some of the 
nominal species are not actually distinct. The chief diagnostic characters given in current works 
are the number of dorsal and anal rays. In the specimens at hand, which undoubtedly are all of 
one species, the range in the number of fin rays covers the nominal species, O. strumosus and 
G. virgatulus. In a lot of 30 specimens the rays in the dorsal fin varied from 10 to 13; that is, 4 
had 10 rays, 16 had 11 rays, 9 had 12 rays, and 1 had 13 rays. In the same lot the number of anal 
rays varied from 8 to 10, as follows: 12 had 8 rays, 15 had 9 rays, and 3 had 10 rays. 
~Z> 
