A note upon the black grouper (<I>Epinephelus nigritus</I>) (Holbrook, Gill) of the southern coast

182 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

favorabletimewould

make

an

immense

schoolor schools,ifconsolidated.

The

fishermen report

them

in small bunches outside

and

offshore. I

havenever seen oneⁱⁿ the springwhich would measureover six inches, and thegreater

number

measureless than that; allthe fishermencon- firm this.

They

seem tostayin brackish water until they get accustomedtothe change, and lose their parasite,*

and

then go directly into the fresh water.

About May

27, 1hauled aseineina fresh-waterstream near the head of the bay, and caught nearly a barrel of Brevoortia patromis.

Theircolor

was

darker,

and

I didnot findanyparasitesintheir mouths.

Theirstomachs were full offood, butIcould findno traces of

spawn

or milt. Ido not

know

exactly

when

they return from fresh water, but lastOctober Major Staples and I caught about

two

dozen ina gill-net with a meshof3|inches. I

remember

that theywere gilled very hard, and therefore judge thatthey

must

have beenquite large. I

am

quite positive that they belonged to the

same

species.

Pensacola,Fla.,June6,1878.

A NOTE UPON THE BEACK OROEPER (EPINEPHEEES NIGRITES

(HOE-

BROOK)

eiEE)

OF THE SOETHERN

COAST.

By

G.

BRO^VIV OOODE and TARLETO^ H. BEAX.

Among

the specimens from Pensacola sent

by

Mr. Stearns, thereis the^'*Jew-fish^"of

West

Florida, said to attaintheweightofthreeor four hundredpounds.

The

specimen (No. 21,329) measures in length 29 inches, and weighs 16 pounds. It

was

described whilein a fresh condition.

SYNONYMY.

Serranua-nigritus, Holbrook,Ichthyology of South Carolina,p.173,pi.xxv,fig. 2.

—

GuNTHER, Catalogue of the Acauthopterygian Fishes in the Collection oftheBritishMuseum, I,1859,p.134.

Epinephelusntgritus,Gill, Proceedings of theAcademy ofNatural Sciences ofPhila- delphia, 18G5, p. 105; Report of the U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries for 1871-72, 1873,p. 806; Catalogue of the Fishes of the East CoastofNorthAmerica,1873, p. 28.

DESCRIPTION.

Diagnosis.

— Body oblong, thick, tapering very gradually from the insertion of the dorsal and the end of the ventral, itsgreatestheight (behind ventrals) iscontained three and one-sixth times in totallength (caudal included) and about equal to length of head. The height of body at ventralsisslightlygreater than one-thirdof total length with-

*Thi8speciesisinfested bythesameparasitewhich^issocommoninthemouthsof thecommonMenhadeninSouthern waters, theCymothoaprcegustaior(Latrobe) Say.

PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

J

83

outcaudal, double thegreatestwidth of the body,

and

three times the least height oftail.

Head

a trifle longerthau greatest height of body and slightly less than twice the length of the pectoral.

The

width of the iuterorbital areaishalfthat of the head,

and

nearly double the diameter oftheeye.

The

length of the snoutis aboutequal to that of theoperculum.

The

preoperculum isfinely serrated on its posterior limb, slightly produced at the angle, the edge of which is obtusely rounded, and

armed

with stronger denticulations.

Upon

the inferior limb in front of the angle

is onestout spine. Lips scaleless. Maxillary with a few minute scales arranged in a narrow band. Length of the upper

jaw

nearly half the length ofhead and quite half the greatest heightof thebody. Length of mandible about double that of the operculum. Length of mandible slightly more than that of pectoral.

Eye

circular, its diameter nearly nine times in length of head and nearly twice in width of iuterorbital space. Itsanteriormarginis mid-

way

between the tip ofthe snout

and

the i)osterior edge of the pre- operculum.

Dorsal as farfrom the snout as ventral, its length of base three- fourths that of the head.

The

lengthofthe firstspineslightly exceeds thediameter of theeye, thesecond spine is as long as the base of the anal fin and about equal to the longest anal ray.

The

length of the lastspine istwice that of the first.

The

length of baseof softdorsalis four-fifths that ofthe spinousdorsal,which is exactly double the length of the longest dorsal ray.

The

last ray is halfas long asthe firstray of the anal.

The

distance of the anal from the snoutis three-fourthsofthe length ofthebodywithout caudal. Itslengthofbaseisequal tothe lengthof theseconddorsal spine.

The

relations of the length of the spines

and

raysoftheanalfin areexhibited in thetableof measurements.

Caudal fin rounded,its middle rays half as long as the head, the exterior raysslightly shorter.

The

pectoralis very broad

and

rounded, its insertion considerably in advance of theend of the opercular flap. Its length slightly exceeds thatof themiddle caudalrays.

Ventrals broad, distantfrom snoutthree-eighths of the length of the body and as long as thepectoral.

The

ventral spine isas long as the lastdorsal spine.

Scales of moderate size, with minute pectinations, truncate at the attached end.

When

detached,their shapeis nearly oblong.

Color, dusky

brown

above, lighter below; fins darker; no traces of markings

upon

body orfins.

184 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM,

Tableof Measurements.

Currentnumberofspecimen.

Locality

Extremelength

Lengthtoendofmiddle caudal rays Body:

Greatestheight Greatest width Heightatventrals Leastheight oftail Head:

Greatest length Greatest width

Widthof interorbital area Lengthofsnout Lengthofoperculum Lengthofmaxillary Lengthofmandible Distance from snouttoorbit Diameterof orbit Dorsal(spinous)

:

Distiincefrom snout Lengthofbase Greatestheight Lengthofhrst spine Lengthofsecondspine Lengthoflastspine Dorsal(soft)

:

Lengthofbase Lengthoffirstray

Lengthoflongestray(seventh) Lengthoflastray

Anal

:

Distancefrom snout Lengthofbase Lengthoffirstspine Lengthofsecondspine Lengthof thirdspine Lengthoffirstray

Lengthoflongestray(second) Lengthoflastray

Caudal

:

Lengthofmiddle rays Lengthofexternal rays Pectoral

:

Distancefrom snout Length

Ventral

:

Distancefrom snout Length

Branchiostegals Dorsal Anal Caudal Pectoral Ventral

Numberof scalesin lateral line

Numberof transverserows abovelateralline.

Numberoftransverserows belowlateral line.

.(29inches)

.

21,329.

Pensacola, Fla.

MiUim. lOOths.

610 735

7 X,15 111,9

+

¹⁷+

2,16

L5

115 24 52

39 17 35 12 40

10 11 10*

22|

13*

4J 37J 31 16^

5 10

24*

14"

15.i 7

76 164

2*

c|

14i 16"

9

20*

m

35 21 i 37i

2U

Washington,June1,1676.