New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-10-30
4 FAyORITE RESORT OF FISH.
UNUSUAL. SPECIES FOUND AT WooD"
HOLE.
,...,.>owv VARIETIES AND sTRAGGIERs FH"M


Hugh N. Smith, Of the United states Fish Oo'n-
mission in Science.
During the last four years rather I'm
number of fishes, chiefly sub-tropical nav -
noII.cted Inv the United States Fish Commission
~ Woods Hole; some OF these were NOT pr.
viously known on the Middle Atlantic anu Az. u
England coasts some had not peiolu Dr.. 20 now To
tected in United States waters, one was he" ~,
the Western Atlantic and two were u'
scrbed. Notwithstanding the continuous -,
tematic collecting which has been cai,iS n
at this place for more than a quarter VI Cor
tury nearly every season yields uhlookeu,o'
additions the present year being no 1;t S,;
There are now known from the ihliiieu,aec -
cnity of Woods Hole -. species VI ,,rh larger
and fresh water fishes; this Is Il NUN 10 -
number than has been reported from any ~. -,
single locality in the United states eAooP. -,
West or i'm fact, from any state no. " 1ont
Elorida Going back only to the fall OF 1871
the record of additions to the locaI Isii i""'
comprises twelve species belonging " te" ost
ostcan families most Of these are 50 .n. n,, %
ing that they will be separately reierreu W.
five being new to United States waters.
The mackerel family (Scombrd%); whG en- mrs
already very generously represented AT no
Hole by ten species added aiio'noi i,0 'to,orn
1895. when specimen OF long -fhned alpaco a
(Germo alallnga). three feet in length' WAS
taken in the harbor This peiagc isn IS hn' w..
from the Pacific. the eastern Atlantic anu 'ia
Mediterranean, but has apparently hot p
met with elsewhere in the Western Atlatiuc'
Three species Of butterfly fishes 'tn9,o
dontidr) q brilliantly cOored FANNY Oh t'o
troplcal seas have been taken at Woods Hoe'
one of these the "parche" (Chetodon CECILIA
tus) Is not rare, being observed here nearly
every year and also occurring In New-Jersey
and Rhode Island waters. me ,l,ut v'it,,
butterfly" &C.. striatus) is stragGer met WIN
in 1894 one specimen being taken III OctoDer,
il Is not known elsewhere outside the west
Indies In 1891, in August and Octooet' SIX
examples of a strkngy beautiful ne" cht''-
don't &C.. brceD were obtained.
Five species of the typical sub tropical ram
ily of snappers UutianidRD are now known
from Woods Hole as stragglers, two being no.
ticed for The first time in 1891. BESIDES tn" red
snapper (Neomenis aya) the schOomaSter 'N'
apodus) and the muttonfish o. analls'' thrre
were taken last year in september EounB sp az
mems of the gray or mangrov" snapper ~
griseus) and the dog snapper ~. JOcu Inc
first of these has been recorded from New-Jer.
sey. but is not found in any abundance north OF
Florida: the second has not been previously re-
ported north Of the Florida Heys
one Of the most noteworthy captures was 4
small trigger-i fish OF the genus Canthiderinis.
! taken i'm 1897: this is refcrable 10 Copes ia
list.s asprrrimus from the Isthmus Of Panama,
the type of which in the Philadelphia Academy
Of Natural Sciences has been compared with
/ the Woods Hole specimen. No other examples
are known unless these prove to De the young
of Balistes sobacO of Pocy, from the West IN
dies
/ In 1885 a porcupine fish Diodon hystrix) was
taken i'm BuZzards Bay. near the station. The
only other specimens known to have been found
north of Florida were taken on the shores or
! Maryland many years ago.
The family OF marine CARS iESOcid9) has
/ three members on the New England coast. ono
/ of which (Athennes hians) is represented by A
large specimen taken at Woods Hole in lS9o.
! This species normally ranges from the West
| Indies to Brazil. and is not elsewhere recorded
north of Florida
The permit" or black-finned pompano
! (Trachnotus gOode), described in 1896 from
! the West Indies and southern Florida was first
! taken at Woods Hole in 1894, and has since
! been found several occasions. The species
! attlins weight of over twenty-five pounds.
but only small specimens Ghree Inches or eSS)
! have up to this time been obtained here
! one species OF haf-beak (HypOrhamphus
! roberto is common at Woods Hole, and in the
! current year another specias (Hemirhamphus
| brasensis) was found for the first time. The
| latter Is reported from Chesapeake Bay. but
| from no other localities north OF Florida.
! In August, 1898 there was taken a small file
| fish OF the genus Alutera, which resembles q
! fish known from Asatic waters since prc-Lin-
mean times, and described by Osbeck in 1871
/ as BaliStes monocerOs. 1t also has some points
Of similarity to the Cuban fish described and
I figured by PARA in 1877 under the vulgar name
! of lila barbuda," which was subsequently iden-
| tilted by POey and called by him Alutera gum
/ thcriana; the latter is regarded by some recent
! authorities Identical with A. monOccros. but
| the lack of specimens has prevented q settle
I ment of the question The Woods Hole fish
! differs in number of important features from
! the foregoing. and apparently represents un-
! described species.
NOTIONS ~ SHlTiNG