An unusually large pugheaded striped bass,Roccus saxatilis, from Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

A deformed striped bass with typical pugheaded features, weighing 51/4 pounds and measuring 19.3 inches fork length, is described and compared with a normal specimen. A six-year-old male, it apparently exceeds all previous size records for pugheaded striped bass. The specimen possesses an acutely steep forehead and pushed-in snout, exophthalmic eyes, enlarged and broadened mandible, and incomplete closure of jaws. It was in good condition, although size attained at each age was less than that for normal striped bass at the same age. The literature is reviewed in some detail and factors that induce pugheadedness, believed and factors that induce pugheadedness, believed due to environment and heredity, and not mechanical injury, are discussed briefly.