FOURTEEN TELEOSTEAN FISHES AT BEAUFORT, N. C. 
445 
FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS 
The croaker, with its inferior mouth and chin barbels, is at once marked as a 
bottom feeder. The habit of dwelling on the bottom, which no doubt is correlated 
with bottom feeding, appears to apply equally as well to the young (fry) as to the 
adults, as shown by the much more frequent catches made at the bottom than at the 
surface (see p. 441 ), even though the fry do not have an inferior mouth nor barbels. 
Not many stomach examinations were made during the present investigation. 
However, the literature contains rather full accounts of the foods utilized by croakers 
of all sizes, except small ones, less than 17 millimeters in length. Welsh and Breder 
(1923, pp. 183-184) found mollusks, ostracods, copepods, polychsete worms, and 
fish — named in the order of their apparent importance— in the alimentary tract of 45 
specimens, taken in Chesapeake Bay in December, ranging in length from 17 to 42 
millimeters. Examples 42 to 62 millimeters long, collected in Winyah Bay, S. C., 
in July, had utilized a few mollusks and fish and had fed abundantly on polychsete 
worms. In addition they had utilized amphipods, small crabs, a few shrimp, and 
unidentified larval crustaceans. The octracods and copepods, abundantly utilized 
by the smaller fish, were missing in these larger examples. Twenty-four individuals, 
90 to 170 millimeters long, taken in Cape Canaveral Bight, Fla., in December had 
fed on echinoderms, shrimp, and polychsete worms, and 8 examples, 120 to 160 
millimeters long, taken in Cape Lookout Bight in December, had fed on polychsete 
worms and mollusks. 
Hilldebrand and Schroeder (1928, p. 284) report for 392 examples (mostty 
adults), taken in Chesapeake Bay at various times over a period of about two years, 
the following foods named in the order of their apparent importance: Crustaceans, 
annelids, mollusks, ascidians, ophiurians, and fish. The first three foods named 
appeared to be important, whereas the others occurred as mere traces. Only 3 of 
the 392 croakers examined had fed on fish. It is pointed out, furthermore, that the 
croaker utilizes as food principally forms that have no direct commercial value. 
Pearson (1929, p. 203) reports the following: “Of 60 Texas croakers 21 to 35 
centimeters (8.2 to 13.7 inches) long, 55 per cent had eaten shrimp; 13 per cent, 
annelids; 12 per cent, fish; 5 per cent, crabs; 5 per cent, mollusks; and 10 per cent had 
a mixed diet. Of 19 fish 14 to 20 centimeters (5.5 to 7.8 inches) long, 21 per cent 
had eaten shrimp; 63 per cent, annelids; 5 per cent, fish; and 11 per cent had a mixed 
diet. ” 
In addition to the foods reported in the literature cited the croaker during the 
summer not infrequently includes Balanoglossus, a wormlike chordate, strongly 
scented with the odor of iodoform, in its diet. The odor and taste of Balanoglossus 
penetrates the flesh of the fish, making it quite unpalatable. Such fish are described, 
locally as being “ticky.” 
PAREXQCCETUS MESOGASTER (Bloch). Short-winged flyingfish 
This flyingfish is known from all tropical seas. It was first recorded from Beau- 
fort by Radcliffe (1914, p. 414), presumably from specimens taken off Beaufort Inlet 
by the Fish Hawk. In fact, all the many specimens from the vicinity of Beaufort 
at hand were collected by that vessel when operating from the Beaufort stations 
during the summer months from 1913 to 1915, and none have been taken during 
recent collecting expeditions. 
2698—30 5 
