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- As an expression of parental pride in their daughter, Taylor Spencer ‘83 and Martha Spencer recently established an undergraduate field research endowment at the Batten School & VIMS.
  
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Striped searobin

Prionotus evolans

Information and species illustrations courtesy of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Species Information
Size Maximum size to 45 cm with all tackle record weight of 1.55 kg.
Diagnostic characters Mouth subterminal, lower jaw not extending beyond upper jaw and without small ventral knob; pectoral fins moderate to long (equal to or greater than head length and extending to or beyond origin of anal fin), coloration variable, body coloration not silvery; preopercular spine not short, reaching past operculum; body cavity ends at anal-fin origin. Nasal and supraocualr cirri absent Spinous dorsal fin without black spot surrounded by hyaline area extending anteriorly. Pectoral fins elongated or round, not emarginate. Pectoral fins rounded, lower joined rays not longer than upper joined rays. Dark bands or lines extending entirely across pectoral fin, 2 lateral stripes or spots (may be partial) from head to caudal fin. Total gill rakers on first gill arch usually 17 to 24; dark narrow wavy vertical lines, placed close together on pectoral fin.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries Depth range 9 to 146 m, usually 18 to 64 m. Commercial bycatch and considered a gamefish and fished recreationally.
Distribution From Nova Scotia south to northern Florida, rare north of Cape Cod. Possibly Little Bahama Bank.
Citations Carpenter, K.E. (ed) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 1: Introduction, molluscs, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome, FAO. 2002. pp. 1-600. Carpenter, K.E. (ed) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae to Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome, FAO. 2002. pp. 601-1374. Carpenter, K.E. (ed) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5. Rome, FAO. 2002. pp. 1375-2127.