REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SCIAENIDAE 
89 
the latter about opposite it. The caudal fin is long and pointed (not round as shown 
by Welsh and Breder, 1923, p. 171, fig. 22), being longer than the head. The ventral 
fins, which have a strong spine, reach to or a little beyond the vent, and the pectorals 
reach opposite the anal base. Black pigment spots have increased in number as 
shown in figure 32. A concentration of spots, suggesting a broad black band, has 
taken place on the side below the base of the spinous dorsal. The black spots extend 
on the spinous dorsal, and the ventrals and pectorals are mostly black. A black spot 
at the end of the anal base, which serves as a recognition mark in the younger stages, 
is not evident in some specimens, though it persists in others (fig. 32). 
Specimens 20 to 25 millimeters long . — The body is slightly more elongate than in 
the smaller fish described in the foregoing section, and has acquired proportions near 
those prevailing among adult fish, the depth being contained in the standard length 
2.5 times. The head remains rather longer than in adults and is contained 2.7 times 
in the length. The eye is small, lateral, near the dorsal profile, and is a little longer 
than the very short snout, being contained in the head 3.2 to 3.6 times. The mouth 
virtually has the position it occupies in the adult; the gape anteriorly is a little above 
the level of the lower margin of the eye ; and the maxillary reaches nearly to a vertical 
from the posterior margin of the eye, its length being contained 2.0 to 2.2 times in 
the head. The margin of the preopercle remains strongly serrate, but the long spines 
at the angle, present in somewhat smaller fish, have disappeared. The body is now 
fully covered with large scales. The fins remain about as in the smaller fish described 
in the preceding section. The caudal fin is notably longer than the head, and remains 
strongly pointed. The ventral and pectoral fins are long, the former reach a little 
beyond the vent and the latter opposite the anterior part of the anal base. Pigmenta- 
tion has increased greatly, as shown in figure 33, although it is not yet general and 
complete. Indications of three dark crossbars are present. The anterior one, situated 
under the spinous dorsal, is broad and moderately distinct. The second one is 
situated under about the end of the anterior third of the soft dorsal, and the third 
one is under the posterior third of that fin. The posterior bars are narrower and 
much less distinct than the anterior one. A concentration of dark chromatophores 
occurs near the base of the caudal, forming a dark blotch. The ventral fins are almost 
wholly black, and the inner surface of the basal two-thirds of the pectorals also 
is black (fig. 33). 
Fish about 20 to 25 millimeters long resemble the adults sufficiently to make 
identification comparatively easy. The chief diagnostic characters are the rather 
