REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SCIAENIDAE 
83 
DISTRIBUTION OF THE YOUNG 
It has been shown (p. 76) that the young of the star drum in the vicinity of 
Beaufort apparently are hatched and live on the grounds occupied by the adults as a 
permanent residence, that is, the larvae were taken from Beaufort Inlet to Cape 
Lookout, as far as 7 to 12 miles off shore, and only one small lot was caught in the 
inside waters. Furthermore, all the young collected were taken on the bottom, 
showing that the young, like the adults, dwell on the bottoms. The star drum, 
therefore, appears to dwell at or near the bottom throughout life. 
GROWTH 
The number of young taken is insufficient to determine accurately the rate of 
growth even during the first several months of life. During July 122 young of the 
0-class were caught, ranging in length from 2.5 to 69 millimeters, having an average 
length of 21.3 millimeters. Although no young were taken earlier in the season, it 
is believed that the larger specimens, as already explained (p. 76), are more than a 
month old and probably were hatched in May or June. In August 617 young were 
caught, ranging in length from 2.3 to 90 millimeters, with an average length of 49.3 
Figure 26 .—StellifeT lanceolatus. From a specimen 164 millimeters long. Scales not indicated. (After Welsh and Breder.) 
millimeters. Only 11 larvae, all less than 10 millimeters in length, were taken in 
September. During October 62 young, ranging in length from 38 to 112 millimeters, 
averaging 90.4 millimeters, were caught. The smaller young of the season obviously 
are missing in this catch, as the smallest specimen taken next month is 26 millimeters 
long. The largest one in the 0-class caught in November is only 91 millimeters, and 
the average length of 34 specimens taken is only 58 millimeters. It is obvious, 
therefore, that although the smaller ones are present the larger ones of the 0-class are 
missing in the catch for November. The number of specimens taken during the 
other months is too small to be worthy of consideration. From the data presented 
it is evident that some of the young reach a length as great as 100 to 125 millimeters 
(4 to 5 inches) during their first summer. Since the maximum length attained by the 
star drum is only about 6 inches, it seems probable that the fastest growing individ- 
uals reach maturity when about 1 year old. Others may require a year longer to 
reach that stage. 
The foregoing analysis of the rate of growth is in general agreement with the data 
presented by Welsh and Breder (1923, p. 175), who found individuals of the 0-class 
varying from 10 to 40 millimeters in length (the smallest larvae of the season evi- 
