Autopsies of two striped bass,Roccus saxatilis, found dead in two widely separated New Jersey estuaries, revealed a striped cusk-eel,Rissola marginata, in the body cavity of each of them. The body cavity was full of blood. It was tentatively concluded that the coelom was entered through the wall of the alimentary canal, possibly through the bile ducts and liver. Literature is cited which indicates that the cusk eel’s tail is an efficient burrowing organ.