WEAKFISHES 
75 
unquestionably were nothus, it may safely be assumed that this single individual 
is a nothus showing a rare individual variation. On the basis of the material 
examined, which was manifestly sufficient for all practical purposes in so far as 
distinguishing species is concerned, it may be stated that on the Atlantic coast 
nothus has 8 to 10 anal rays and regalis 11 to 13. 
Table 1. — Correlation of the number of articulate rays of the dorsal and anal fins of Cynoscion 
arenarius and C. nothus from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico 
[The first short ray of the soft dorsal, which is about one-fourth as long as the anterior fully developed rays and apparently remains 
unjointed even in the largest specimens, has not been included in the count. The second ray, which is about one-half to 
two-thirds as long as the anterior fully developed rays and becomes more or less jointed, has been included. The last two rays 
of both the dorsal and the anal, which apparently are joined at their base, have been counted as one. All specimens having 
10 anal rays have been checked by the vertebral count and found to belong to arenarius. The numbers in the body of the table 
represent frequencies] 
Table 2. — Correlation of the number of dorsal and anal articulate rays of Cynoscion regalis and 
C. nothus from the Atlantic coast. ( All specimens having 10 anal rays belong to nothus, as 
shown by the vertebral count) 
Anal rays 
Dorsal rays 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
Cynoscion nothus: 
8 _ 
1 
3 
19 
1 
16 
44 
3 
9 
34 
2 
1 
9 
1 
5 
1 
3 
10 
1 
21 
62 
1 
C. regalis: 
11 
5 
14 
12 
12 
13 
It is not deemed necessary for the purpose of the present study to expend more 
time in working out in detail other structural marks that differentiate nothus, since 
the three characters outlined above convincingly prove its distinctness and con- 
stitute usable marks for identifying individual fish. Indeed, according to the stand- 
ards that some authors use in creating genera, the single character of the vertebral 
count may be considered to be of generic importance. 
Having thus definitely delimited and separated out the smaller Cynoscion nothus, 
ihere are left the two larger common commercial species — of the Atlantic and Gulf 
coasts, respectively — and the next matter to settle is the relation between the two. 
The common commercial fish of the Gulf coast is not nothus, as has been generally 
supposed ; it is either regalis or something else. In considering the differences between 
the Gulf fish and the regalis of the Atlantic coast it is well to take note of the fact that 
nearly all previous authors have regarded the common sand trout of the Gulf as differ- 
ent from the gray trout of the Atlantic. The fact that it was generally referred to 
nothus is beside the question. The important fact to remember is that the commercial 
Gulf fish is apparently of such a different appearance from the Atlantic fish that it was 
