518 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
The Spanish mackerel, S. maculatus, and the spotted cero, S. regalis, are closely- 
related, apparently distinguishable by the presence of scales on the pectoral fins, and 
by the presence of one or two longitudinal black streaks along the side of the latter. 
It is not known at what size these distinguishing characters develop. It can only 
be stated now that no scales are present on the pectoral fins in any of the young at 
hand. Neither are dark stripes present. In two adult S. regalis examined the 
anterior part of the spinous dorsal is not wholly black, the lower third or so being 
white. This is shown also in an often reproduced drawing. Adult Spanish mackerel, 
S. maculatus, examined have the anterior part of the fin, involving from three to five 
spines, wholly black. This is true of young Scomberomorus of about 60 mm and 
upward in length that are at hand. The indications, therefore, are that at least the 
larger young studied and described are Spanish mackerel. 
Because of the scarcity or absence of ceros and kingfish during the probable 
spawning season (spring and summer), there is reasonable doubt that these fishes 
spawn on the coast of North Carolina. Therefore, the young Scomberomorus taken 
there very probably are all Spanish mackerel, even though their identity cannot be 
established positively by taxonomic characters. 
LAGODON RHOMBOIDES (LINNAEUS). PINFISH 
The name pinfish is most generally used for this species, though at Wilmington, 
N. C., it is sometimes called sand perch, and southward the name “sailor’s choice’’ is 
heard. The name pinfish suits the species well because of its extremely sharp spines. 
The pinfish is known from Cape Cod, Mass., to Texas, and is also reported from 
Bermuda and Cuba. On our coast it is common from Virginia southward. Its com- 
mercial value is not great, however, because of the small size attained. The maximum 
length reported is 13 inches, but the average length probably does not exceed 6 inches. 
In the statistical report of the Bureau of Fisheries for 1935, for example, it is listed 
only from North Carolina (180,000 pounds) and Florida (31,000 pounds). It is 
marketed in limited quantities in other States, mostly with other species as “mixed 
fish.” Therefore, the exact amount marketed is not obtainable. 
The pinfish is of good flavor, and no doubt the demand would be greater if the 
fish attained a larger size. Occasionally when large catches, running small in size, 
are made at Beaufort they are taken to the menhaden reduction plants and made 
into fish meal or fish scrap and oil. The pinfish is said to yield a very high grade of 
oil. 
The pinfish is one of the comparatively few species that is a year-round resident 
in the shallow water of the estuaries, bays, and sounds at Beaufort. It seems to 
withstand cold rather better than most of the other species that winter locally. For 
example, on January 7, 1926, and again January 4, 1928, during rather continued 
abnormally cold weather many individuals of such species as the speckled trout 
( Cynoscion nebulosus ), the spot ( Leiostomus xanthurus ), and the croaker ( Micropogon 
undulatus), became numb and floated at the surface. No pinfish were seen among 
them. However, on December 28, 1925, a large number of this species (5 gallons), 
mostly rather large ones, were frozen to death in a “fish pool” from which they could 
not escape and which contained only about a foot of water at low tide. The tem- 
perature of the water at the time the fish perished is not known, but the air tem- 
perature dropped to 12° F., which is unusually low for Beaufort. It is of interest that 
some small mullets ( Mugil cephalus ) about 6 inches in length, that had been confined 
in the pool with the pinfish survived, indicating that this mullet can stand even more 
cold than the pinfish. 
