154 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
In the specimen 12.5 mm. long (fig. 12) the fins are fully differentiated and 
the larval fin fold has completely disappeared. The snout has become somewhat 
pointed and the mouth more oblique. The maxillary and premaxillary have grown 
broader, and the teeth of the lower jaw are large, strong, and incurved, particularly 
along the sides. In this stage chromatophores are present in greater numbers on 
every part of the fish. Those on the lateral line have increased in number, extend- 
ing along nearly its whole length, and two new groups have been added, one just 
under the spinous dorsal, the other in front of the base of the caudal fin. To the 
naked eye the fish looks darker than in the preceding stage, and the dusky bands 
on the sides have increased to four. A row of branched, anastomosing chromato- 
phores runs vertically along the base of the caudal fin rays, and a similar row lies 
all along the base of the anal fin. Two or three rows of compact chromatophores 
run along the back parallel to the dorsal fin, and three or four short rows run longi- 
tudinally on the top of the head. Two or three branched, somewhat tenuous 
pigment cells lie in the fin membrane of the spinous dorsal, and scattered chroma- 
tophores occur along the gill covers, on the upper and lower jaws, and on various 
other parts of the body. 
The later post-larval stages of Cynoscion regalis (fig. 13) differ greatly from the 
adult (fig. 14) both in form and color pattern, the back being crossed by dark- 
colored saddles that extend down on the sides to slightly below the lateral line. 
Eigenmann (1901, p. 48) has illustrated the color markings of the young. In a 
specimen 32 mm. long he shows four distinct saddles on body, the first under the 
spinous dorsal, the second and third under the second dorsal, and the fourth on 
the caudal peduncle. Of later changes (p. 51) he says: 
With an increase of a few millimeters in length additional bands are interpolated between those 
mentioned, first one between the two under the soft dorsal, then one below the end of the soft dorsal, 
and lastly one between the two dorsals. All of these are formed by the time the fish has reached a 
length of 44 mm. to the base of the caudal. * * * In specimens 75 mm. long to the base of caudal 
the bars are still faintly visible, but the whole fish has taken on a dusky color on the sides, back, and 
fins, with a distinct black border to the dorsal and caudal. 
In a specimen 110 mm. long * * * the bars of the young stage are entirely obliterated and 
the superficial pigment shows the characteristic oblique streaking of the adult, but much less con- 
spicuously than in the adult. 
In specimens 4.7, 5.1, and 6.3 cm. long from Beaufort, N. C., taken in July, 
the two smaller examples have the additional bars interpolated between those 
that first appear; in the largest they are less distinct, merging into the ground 
color below the lateral line. In specimens 10 to 14 cm. in length from Beaufort 
and Chesapeake Bay the characteristic oblique markings of older fish are apparent 
along the rows of scales, and the bars of the young stage show faintly or not at all, 
varying with individuals. In specimens 18 cm. long the oblique markings following 
the rows of scales are very distinct. In older fish these are broken and less uniform, 
giving a more blotched appearance. 
The form of the young squeteague also differs from that of the adult. The 
body is more compressed and less cylindrical, with a higher dorsal arch ; the greatest 
depth is about 3 in standard length (about 4 in the adult); the head is propor- 
tionately longer, about 2.75 in standard length (3 in the adult) ; the eye is larger, 
