ii THIS BOOK IS FROM THE LIBRARY OF Richard Haven Backus ^to as J cr ru m ru i -D g O m 1930 Gift of Richard H. Backus May, 1988 &' BULLETIN 278 Published monthly by the University of the State of New York FEBRUARY 1903 New York State Museum FREDERICK J. H. MERRILL Director Bulletin 60 ZOOLOGY 9 H CATALOGUE OK THE FISHES OF NEW YOR BY TARLETON H. BEAN M.S. M.D. PAGE Preface 3 Introduction 5 Marsipobranchii, lampreys n Hyperoartii, lampreys 1 1 Pisces, the fishes 17 Asterospondyli, typical sharks 17 Cyclospondyli, cyclospondylous sharks 43 Batoidei, rays 46 Selachostomi, paddlefishes 60 Chondrostei, sturgeons 63 Rhomboganoidea, gar pikes 69 Cycloganoidea, bowfins 73 Nematognathi, catfishes 76 Plectospondyli, carplike fishes 97 c B;C LASO: Li fj r% .\ ") ' / I D .''- > ' k ; luusnuu, W. H. 0. !. PAGE Apodes, eels 169 Isospondyli, isospondylous fishes 177 Iniomi, lantern fishes 285 Haplomi, pikelike fishes 287 Synentognathi, synentognathous fishes.. .. 317 Hemibranchii, half-gills 335 Lophobranchii. tuftgills 347 Acanthopteri, spiny-rayed fishes 351 Plectognathi, fishes with ankylosed jaws.. 608 Pediculati, pediculate fishes 733 Recorded distribution of New York fishes 739 Index 747 University of the State of New York New York State Museum FREDERICK J. H. MERRILL Director Bulletin 60 ZOOLOGY 9 CATALOGUE OF THE FISHES OF NEW YORK PREFACE In 1836, under the influence of public interest, Secretary of State John A. Dix presented to the legislature a plan for a natural history survey of the state, which was carried out with success and credit and resulted in the publication of a large number of valuable reports. Not the least important of these were the contributions of James E. De Kay to the zoology of New York, which appeared in 1842 and 1843. Since that time comparatively little official recognition had been given to the progress of biologic study, till in 1897 the writer secured the able services of Mr Gerrit S. Miller jr in preparing a preliminary list of New York mammals. Follow- ing this appeared in October 1900 a key to the land mammals of northeastern North America by the same author, and in April 1900 a check list of the birds of New York by Dr Marcus S. Farr, who is now engaged in the preparation of a detailed catalogue of the birds of New York. A list of reptiles and batrachians by Messrs Eckel and Paulniier has recently appeared; and in the present bulletin Dr Tarleton H. Bean gives to the citizens of the state the benefit of his natural talent and long training as an 4 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM ichthyologist. It is hoped and believed that the results of this work will be of much practical use to the public at large and to the teachers and students in the schools of the state. By special request of the author his synonymies are printed in the form in which they were prepared by him. FREDERICK J. H. MERRILL Albany N. Y. July 1902 INTRODUCTION New York has an extensive water area and a great diversity of surface. Its principal drainage basins are: the Great lakes, the St Lawrence river, including Lake Champlain, the Ohio basin, th<-> Susquehanna, the Delaware, the Hudson and several small streams adjacent to it in the southeastern part of the state. The inland lakes, in the central and western part of the state, almost all communicate w r ith Lake Ontario. Chautauqua lake belongs to the Ohio basin. Lake Otsego and two small lakes east of Keuka lake, empty into the Susquehanna. The Adirondack lakes for the most part belong to the St Lawrence drainage basin, some of them emptying into Lake Champlain, and a few 7 into the upper waters of the Hudson. Long Island has a larger number of species than all the re- mainder of the state. The number of marine species in its waters is 217, and its fresh w r aters contain 27 species, of w r hich 13 have been recently introduced. In the bays of the south side of the island, wherein the water is brackish or nearly fresh, and where there is a luxuriant growth of water plants, young menhaden and alewives are ex- tremely abundant. One of the fresh-water fishes is a hybrid trout, artifically pro- duced; another is the black-nosed dace, which is perhaps doubt- fully recorded from Long Island; and 13 species have been recently introduced, as before remarked. The permanent residents in fresh water are the following: horn pout, chub sucker, roach, brook trout, striped mud minnow, banded pickerel, chain pickerel, fresh-water killy, pirate perch, fresh-water silverside, sunfish, yellow perch, and Johnny darter. Most of these 13 species, or perhaps all of them, could easily have been introduced by man within the last century or tw r o. Mitchill recorded only three fresh-water species from Long Island. These are: yellow perch, brook trout and pickerel. To the pickerel he applied the name Esox lucius, a species 6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM which does not occur on the island. He mentioned also the bony-scaled pike, Esox osseus, concerning which he says: "A few years ago I had a large and complete specimen from Long Island, which agrees in the main with the descriptions- extant." This was doubtless a mistake of locality. The yellow perch was transplanted by Mitchill in 1790 from Ronkonkoina pond to Success pond, in Queens county, a distance of 40 miles. Prior to 1790, he states, there were no yellow perch in Success pond. De Kay also knew only a few species of fresh-water fishes in Long Island waters the yellow perch, roach, banded pickerel, and brook trout. It seems probable that some of the early writers on New York fishes must have had access to collections from Long Island, and yet a number of species might have existed without dis- covery during the time of their observations. The present num- ber of species whose date of introduction is not recorded is very small, and most of the so called native fishes represent species which lend themselves readily to the purpose of artificial intro- duction. It is a matter of record that some species of fresh-water fishes identical with those found in Long Island waters, have been swept out of the Hudson river by spring floods, and several such species have been seen at Gravesend bay, Long Island. It is certain that incursions of fresh-water forms could have taken, place from time to time in the streams of the north side, and also on the south side of Long Island. Once established in that way, their wider dissemination through the agency of man, aquatic birds, and even through their own movements could be very easily accomplished. Of the fresh-water fishes known to Mitchill and De Kay, the brook trout can live in fresh and salt water indifferently; the chain pickerel is frequently found in brackish water; the yellow perch is one of the fish which have been brought down from the Hudson by floods into Gravesend bay; the roach is a common resident of lakes in New York and Brooklyn parks, and its dis- tribution has been greatly extended through the agency of man. FISHES OF NEW YORK < The number of fishes included in this catalogue is 375, of which 371 are named, and the following four, which have only recently been discovered in the state, should be added to the list: no. 70V Imllhead minnow, no. 9H silver-jawed minnow, no. 94-J silver chub, no. 255i northern darter. Of these species 217 are marine, 141 fresh-water, and 17 anadromous. The number of intro- duced species is 15, and the number whose occurrence in New York waters is doubtful is 18. The small number of fresh- water species would be remarkable but for the fact that no extensive investigations have recently been made of the fresh waters of the interior of the state, and the catalogue is in that respect simply incomplete. The anadromous species are the following: no. 1 sea lamprey, no. 35 common sturgeon, no. 37 short-nosed sturgeon, no. 101 eel, no. 112 hickory shad, no. 113 branch herring, no. 114 glut herring, no. 115 shad, no. 130 quinnat salmon, no. 131 Atlantic salmon, no. 134 steelhead, no. 137 rainbow trout, no. 143 smelt, no. 170 10-spined stickleback, no. 171 two-spined stickleback, no. 260 striped bass, no. 261 white perch. Besides these, the following marine species occasionally run up into fresh water for shorter or longer distances: no. 158 silver gar, no. 223 blue- fish, no. 224 crab-eater, no. 321 naked goby, no. 346 toincod, no. 368 hogchoker. The introduced species are: no. 71 tench, no. 74 golden ide, no. 99 goldfish, no. 100 carp, no. 130 quinnat salmon, no. 131 At- lantic salmon, no. 132 landlocked salmon, no. 133 Lake Tahoe trout, no. 134 steelhead, no. 135 brown trout, no. 136 Lochleven trout, no. 137 rainbow trout, no. 138 Swiss lake trout, no. 141 saibliug, no. 142 golden trout. The fishes whose pertinence to the New York fauna is doubt- ful are the following: no. 73 L e u c i s c u s mar gar it a, no. 102 longbeak, no. 208 amberfish, no. 226 small dolphin, no. 262 wreckfish. no. 2G3 spotted grouper, no. 265 coachman, no. 290 Zenopsis. no. :{ill globefish, no. 302 hairy bowfish. no. 303 bur- fish, no. 317 sra poacher, no. 327 shanny, no. 328 blenny, no. 329 snakefish, no. 337 red gurnard, no. 356 cusk, no. 359 rough dab. 8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The fishes represent 99 families. The lampreys include 4 species; the sharks 18 species; the catfishes 14 species, of which 2 are marine; suckers 9 species; minnows or carps 39 species; herrings 10 species; salmon family, which includes the trout and whitefish, 20 species, one half of which number have been introduced; pikes 6 species; killy fishes 5 species; sticklebacks 5 species; silversides 5 species; the mackerel family 10 species; the poinpano family 18 species; sunfishes 13 species; perches, including the darters, 17 species; sea basses 8 species; weakfish family 10 species; sculpins 8 species, equally divided between the fresh and salt waters; sea robins 5 species, one of which, the red gurnard, probably never occurred in our waters, though it has been assigned to New York; codfishes 12 species, one of them a permanent resident in fresh water; flounders 10 species., but one of these is of doubtful occurrence. The species whose existence in New York waters has only recently been reported, and which are not numbered in this catalogue, are the bullhead minnow, Cliola vigilax Baird 6 Girard, the silver- jawed minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope, silver chub, Hy bop sis amblops Rafinesque, and the northern darter, Etheostoma boreale Jordan. The first three of these species have been found in the western part of New York, and the northern darter has been recorded in tlu basin of St Lawrence river, from Montreal to Lake Ontario. The names used in this catalogue are substantially those employed by Jordan and Evermann in bulletin 47, United States National Museum; and I am indebted to these authors for many of the descriptions of the genera. There are some departures,, however, from the names employed in that bulletin, for reasons which appear to me satisfactory; for example, the name Etrumeus sadina is discarded for the round herring, and the specific name t e r e s of De Kay is used in its stead,, because MitchilPs type bore a close resemblance to the shad. It has a spot behind the gill cover, a wide and toothless mouth, a projecting lower jaw, and 15 anal rays. There is no prob- ability that Mitchill had the round herring before him for this description. FISHES OF NEW YORK 9 The glut herring in my list is called Clupea cyanonotou Storer; Mitchill's name, aestivalis, appears to be a synonym ofmediocris and mattowaca of the same author. Its relation to the hickory shad was long since pointed out by Dr Gill. Mitchill stated that the fish has seven or eight dark roundish spots extending in the direction of the lateral line. His figure shows a row of eight dark spots on the side extending to the end of the dorsal fin on the level of the eye. The name Coregonus labradoricus, for the Labra- dor whitefish, is omitted because that species is identical with the common whitefish. The characters by which the Labrador whitefish were supposed to be distinguished are untenable, pre- cisely the same characters being found in the whitefish and there being no other basis of separation. The author has discovered that Kirtlandia laciniata Swain is identical with K. vagrans Goode & Bean. The species Querimana gyrans is believed to be the young of M u g i 1 trichodon Poey; and the genus Queri- mana was found to be the young state of M u g i 1 . The name Neomaenis blackfordi is retained for the red snapper for the reasons clearly given in the 19th Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of New York, 1890. There is absolutely no proof that the name a y a should be applied to this species. The synonymy given for the species is limited usually to authors who wrote specially on the fishes of New York, or ad- jacent regions, and to the well known general catalogues of recent writers on ichthyology. One principal aim has been to give as many references as possible to illustrations of species. The descriptions of the fishes are based chiefly on collections studied by the author, many of which were obtained in his own field work. The results of investigations made by parties for the United States Fish Commission have also been incorporated in the text. Illustrations of the species would have added greatly to the report; but the time was not available for obtaining drawings 10 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM for this purpose. Artificial keys also would have been an addi- tional advantage; but, as references are given in every case to bulletins 16 and 47 of the United States National Museum, which contain complete series of artificial keys, this feature was omitted. The author hopes ere long to prepare a new account of the fishes of New York, containing illustrations of all the species, together with keys for identification, but can not complete such an undertaking till after the inland waters of the state have been more thoroughly and systematically investigated. TARLETON H. BEAN Washington D. C. 1902 FISHES OF NEW YORK 11 Class MARSIPOBRANCHII Order HYPEROARTII Family JPETROMYZONTIIDAE Lampreys Genus PETROMYZON (Artedi) Linnaeus Lampreys with the supraoral lamina armed with two or three separate teeth, pointed, and close together, not forming a cres- cent-shaped plate; anterior lingual tooth with a median depres- sion; buccal disk large, with numerous teeth arranged in con- centric series; dorsal fins separate, the second joined to the caudal. 1 Petromyzon marimis Linnaeus Great Sea Lamprey; Lamprey Eel Petromyzon marimis LINNAEUS, Sy&t. Nat. ed. X, 230, 1758; MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 461, 1815; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 501, 1S70; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 11, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 10, pi. I, fig. 3, 1S96. Petromyzon americamts LE SUEUR, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. Phila. I, 383, 1818; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 379, pi. 66, fig. 216, 1842; STORER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 275, pi. XXXVIII, fig. 4, 1867. Petromyzon appendix DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 381, pi. 64, fig. 211, 1842 (young). Body cylindric, eellike, stout, somewhat compressed behind. The mouth is terminal, subcircular in shape and suctorial. It is strongly armed with large conical teeth or cusps mounted on papillae, those of the inner series being bicuspid. Guarding the throat are crescent-shaped plates, bearing pectinate lingual teeth; a pair of these plates on either side and another pair below them. The mandibulary plate has seven cusps. There are seven branchial apertures on each side of the head, the first not far behind the eye; the distance of the last opening from the tip of the snout is contained about five times in the total length. Eye rather small, covered by membrane. The first dorsal originates in about the middle of the length; it is little developed and well separated from the second dorsal which is confluent with the anal. The anal is very low and 12 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM only about half as long as the second dorsal. The vent is far back, opposite the origin of the second dorsal. The specimen described, number 10654 in the U. S. National Museum collection, is 28 inches long. The sea lamprey or lamprey eel inhabits the north Atlantic,, ascending streams to spawn and sometimes becoming land- locked. In some interior waters of New York the landlocked form has received the name, unicolor, of De Kay. The species ranges southward on our coast to Virginia. In the Dela- ware, Susquehanna and their tributaries this is a common fish. Its larval form, which is blind and toothless, is extremely abundant in muddy sandflats near the mouths, of small streams and is a very important bait for hook and line fishing. The sea lamprey grows to a length of 3 feet. It is dark brown in color, mottled with black and white. In the breeding season in spring the males have a high fleshy ridge in front of the dorsal. The spawning is believed to take place in May or June. The eels cling to the rocks b} 7 means of their suctorial mouths and the eggs are deposited in shallow water on a rough bottom where the current is swift. Some observers state that they make nests by heaping up stones in a circle and deposit the eggs under the stones. The ovaries are large, but the eggs are very small. The food of the lamprey is chiefly animal matter and the fish is somewhat of a parasite, burrowing into the side of shad, sturgeon and some other species. The teeth are adapted for this method of feeding. The tooth-bearing bone of the upper side of the mouth contains two teeth which are placed close together. On the bone corresponding with the lower jaw there are seven or nine stout cusps. There are numerous teeth around the disk, the first row on the side of the mouth con- taining bicuspid teeth; the others are simple. The tooth on the front of the tongue has a deep median groove. The species is adapted for fastening itself to other fishes and extracting from them their blood. FISHES OF NEW YORK 13 The lamprey is considered a good food fish in some localities, but in other places it is rarely eaten. In Connecticut and Massachusetts the species is highly esteemed. It is preserved by salting for s<-v-i-;tl wrecks before using. The fish is sonic- times caught with the hands or by means of a pole armed with a hook in the end. As it is found in shallow water and will not usually relinquish its hold on the bottom, its capture is easily effected. The sea lamprey has been obtained in Gravesend bay in small numbers in March, April and June. It is not adapted to cap- tivity because of the impracticability of furnishing it with proper food. 2 Petromyzon marinus unicolor (DeKay) Lake Lamprey Amonocatex unicolor DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 383, pi. 79, fig. 250, 184'-'. Petromyzon uniriitus subsp. dorsutits WILDER in JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Xat. Mus. 869, 1882. Petromyzon marinus unicolor MEEK, Ann. X. Y. Ac. Sci. 284, 1886; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 10, 1896. I >e Kay described this lamprey under the name A ni in o c o e - tes unicolor in Zoology of New York; or the New York Fauna, pt 4, Fishes, p. 383, pi. 79, fig. 250. His description was made from a specimen 4 inches long and --TO of an inch in depth. The plate represents it as having the dorsal scarcely percept- ible, beginning to rise at about the middle of its length, but at no point exceeding iV of an inch in hight. The anal is sim- ilar to the dorsal and like the latter continuous with the caudal. Dr De Kay received specimens from the Rev. Zadock Thompson, who obtained them from Lake Champlain. This variety is distinguished from the common marine lam- prey only by its size, its uniform dark coloration, more pro- nounced dorsal ridge, and the less degree of separation of the dorsal fins. It inhabits the lakes of northern and central Xew York and is not anadromous. Prof. Seth E. Meek has published in the Annals of the X< ;/ York Acadtnti/ of Sciences 4:290, the following notes on the species. 14 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The lake lamprey is found in larger numbers than the brook laniprey, and reaches a much larger size. During the spring of 1886 more than a thousand individuals were taken from Cayuga lake inlet, and all of them within 5 miles of Ithaca. They began to ascend the inlet to spawn on May 21, and continued to do so until late in June. Their nests are excavations made in the bed of the stream, in shallow water, usually just above ripples. The eggs are deposited in the fine sand and gravel at the bottom of these nests, and the embryos developed there. The larvae live in the sand along the edge of the stream just below the water line. This species is parasitic on bullheads, suckers, and other large, soft-rayed fishes. Of the whole number captured and brought to the university by fishermen within two weeks, 480 were males and 265 females. The longest male specimen was 17 inches, and the shortest 9 inches. The longest female measured 14 inches, and the short- est 10 inches. A small female 7 inches long, taken later, con- tained eggs which were quite immature. During the spring a crest is developed upon the back of the male between the nape and the dorsal fin. A smaller crest is developed upon the ventral surface of the female, between the vent and the caudal fin. This was at first supposed to be char- acteristic of the males of Cayuga lake, and was made the basis of a new specific name; but it has since been found in specimens from the Atlantic slope, and it is said by Seeley to occur in European specimens during the breeding season. This crest is seasonal and sexual. The sexes, at other seasons, can not be easily distinguished, if at all. More recent accounts of this lamprey are those of Prof. H. A. Surface in the Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission for 1897 and the 4th annual Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries, Game and Forest of the State of New York. Genus ICHTHYOMYZON Girard Differs from Petromyzon in having the anterior lingual tooth divided by a median groove and the dorsal fin notched, but not separated into two portions. Size small. Habitat, fresh waters of eastern United States. 3 Ichthyomyzon concolor (Kirtland) Silver Lamprey Anwnocoetes concolor KIRTLAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. Ill, 473, 1840, with plate (larva). .Pctromyzon concolor JORDAN & FOKDICE, Ann. N. Y. Ac. Sci. 282, 1886. FISHES OF NEW YORK 15 * Iclitliyomyzon argenteus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 10, 1882. I<-litln/oni!/zon concolor JORDAN & EVERMASN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 11, 1896. The silver lamprey belongs to the subgenus I c h t b y o m y - z o n of Girard. The tooth on the front of the tongue is divided in two parts by a median groove and the dorsal fin is continu- ous but deeply notched. The maxillary tooth is bicuspid; the teeth on the disk are in about four series and all small. The tooth-bearing bone of the lower part of the mouth has seven cusps. The head (from tip of disk to first gill opening) is two fifteenths of the total length; with the gill openings its length is contained four and three fourths times in the total. There are 51 muscular impressions from gills to vent. The body is rather stout, compressed posteriorly. The head is broad and the buccal disk large with its edges not conspicuously fringed. Color bluish silverv, sometimes with blackish mott- o *f ' lings. Above each gill opening there is a small bluish blotch. The silver lamprey or mud eel is found in the Great lakes region and the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. It grows to a length of 12 inches and is usually found in deep water, but runs up the small streams to spawn in the spring. It is a trouble- some parasite on the lake sturgeon, the paddlefish, yellow perch and some other species. It becomes fixed to the skin by means of its suctorial disk and the irritation of its teeth some- times causes deep ulcers at the point of attachment. This lamprey has the same peculiarities of development as the sea lamprey and sometimes remains in the larval condition, blind and toothless, till it has reached a length of 8 inches. Genus LAMPETRA Gray Small lampreys inhabiting brooks of Europe and North Amer- ica. The dorsal fin either notched or divided into two parts> the posterior part continuous with the anal around the tail: supraoral lamina broad, crescentic, with a large obtuse cusp at each end and sometimes a minute median cusp; lingual teeth small, with a crescentic toothed edge, the median denticle en- 16 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM i larged; buccal disk small, with few teeth which are never tricuspid. The genus Lamipetra is best distinguished from Pe- t r o m y z o n by the" structure of its so called maxillary tooth, which has the form of a crescent-shaped plate with terminal cusps and, sometimes, an additional median cusp. In P e - tromyzon this bony plate is short and contains two or three teeth which are very closely placed. 4 Lampetra wilder! (Gage) Small Black Lamprey; Pride Lampetra icildcri GAGE, in JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 13, 1896. Petromyzon nigrum RAFINESQTJE, Ich. Ohien. 84, 1820. (Name preoccupied). Ammoccetes niger JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 9, 18S2. Ammococtes brancliialis JORDAN & FORDICE, Ann. N. Y. Ac. Sci. 293, 1886; GAGE, in Wilder Quarter-Century Book, 436, 1893. The high dorsal fin is divided into two parts by a deep notch. Several of the teeth on the side of the buccal disk are bicuspid and the rest simple. The mandibulary plate is nearly straight and has eight or 10 cusps of nearly equal size. The length of the head including the gills is contained four and three fourths times in the total. There are 67 muscular impressions from gills to vent. In the spring a prominent anal papilla is present. The head is larger than the space occupied by the gill openings and is contained eight and one third times in the total; the depth, 14 times. The eyes are large; the mouth moderately small. The lips are conspicuously fringed with papillae. The teeth change considerably with age; young examples have no median cusp on the maxillary plate. This lamprey is bluish black above, the lower parts silvery. The brook or mud lamprey, also known as the small black lamprey, is found in the Great lakes region, the Ohio valley and the upper Mississippi valley. It occurs also in Cayuga lake, New York. According to Jordan it ranges west to Minnesota and south to Kentucky. It grows to a length of 8 inches. Dr Jordan considers it identical with the common brook lamprey of Europe, A. b r a n c h i a 1 i s. FISHES OF NEW YORK 17 This lamprey ascends the small streams in the spring to spawn just as the silver lamprey does. It is parasitic and its spawning habits are similar to those of the sea lamprey. It clings to stones and clods of earth while depositing its eggs and is believed by some persons to die after spawning. The prob- ability is that it goes to deep water where it remains till the spawning season again approaches. May 8, 1886, Prof. Gage and Dr Meek caught five specimens in Caynga lake inlet. More of them were seen but not captured. May 22 they visited the inlet a second time but saw no speci- mens. The five individuals obtained were all males, and all were busily engaged in building nests. They ascend the inlet to spawn about two weeks earlier than the large lake lamprey, and in smaller numbers. The life history of the brook or small black lamprey is well related by Prof. Surface in the articles referred to in the notes on the lake lamprey. Class PISCES Subclass SELACHII SJiarks and Skates Order ASTEROSPONDYLI Typical Sharks Family PSKUDOTRIAKIDAE; Genus PSEUOOTRIAKIS Capello Body elongate; mouth wide, with a very short labial fold around the angle; snout depressed, rounded, moderately long; nostrils inferior, near the mouth, but not confluent with it; eyes oblong, lateral, without nictitating membrane; spiracles well developed behind the eye; gill openings moderate, in advance of the pectoral; jaws armed with numerous rows of small, tricuspid teeth; first dorsal fin, opposite the space between pectorals and ventrals, long and low, gradually increasing in hight posteriorly; second dorsal behind ventrals, opposite and similar to anal; ven- trals and pectorals well developed; no pit at the root of caudal 18 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM fin, the basal lobe of which is very low and long; skin with minute asperities. 5 Pseudotriakis microdon Capello Peixe Garago (Portugal) Pseudotriakis microdon CAPELT.O, Jorn. Sci. Math. Phys. e nat. Lisboa, I, 321, pi. V, 1868; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus., VIII, 395, 1870; BEAN,. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. VI, 147, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 27, pi. IV, fig. 14, 1896. The greatest hight of the body is at the origin of the first dorsal; it is contained eight and three sevenths times in the total length. The hight at the origin of ventrals is contained nine and one half times in total length. The hight of head at the first gill opening is a little greater than that of body at the ven- tral origin, while its hight at the angle of the mouth is a little less than one eleventh of the total length. The least hight of the tail equals the hight of the anal, and is contained 25 time in total length. The head is somewhat depressed in front, with moderately sharp snout, which is nearly twice as long as the distance of its tip from the mouth. The distance from snout to last gill open- ing is contained five times in total length. The distance from, snout to first gill opening, measured horizontally, equals twice the hight of body at origin of second dorsal. The distance between the first and last gill openings equals nearly twice the length of the eye. The hight of the first gill opening is about equal to the distance between the angle of the mouth and the spiracle. The hight of the head at angle of mouth is contained 11 times and at the first gill opening nine times in total length. The length of the snout equals one half the body hight at origin of first dorsal. The distance of mouth from snout, measured on the axis of the fish, equals one third width of mouth. The distance from snout to angle of mouth, obliquely taken, equals one fourth the distance from snout to last gill opening. The distance between eye and spiracle equals that from mouth to nostril. The distance from angle of mouth to spiracle is about equal to hight of first gill opening. The spiracle is moderately PISHES OF NEW YORK 19 largo, the length of its opening being contained twice in the hight of fourth gill opening. The oblong eye is placed near the dorsal profile; the length of the orbit is about one half the greatest hight of second dorsal; the length of the eye equals about one fourth width of mouth. The length of upper jaw is slightly more than that of lower, and nearly equals the distance between the spiracles. The distance from the mouth to the nostril is about one fourth least hight of tail; the distance between nostrils equals four times the distance from eye to spiracle. The interorbital space equals one half the length of second dorsal base. The distance between the spiracles equals four times their greatest length. The first dorsal is very long and low, highest behind its mid- dle, the length of its base equal to seven times its greatest hight; its distance from the snout is a little more than twice the greatest length of pectoral. The second dorsal is distant from the end of the first a length equal to nearly twice its greatest hight; the length of its base is somewhat more than the body hight at origin of first dorsal. The second dorsal begins at a distance from the end of the first, which is equal to the hight of body at ventral origin; the length of its base equals twice the interorbital distance; its hight equals nearly twice the length of the orbit. The anal is entirely under the second dorsal, but its base is a little less than five sevenths as long as that of the latter; the greatest hight of the anal equals the least hight of caudal peduncle. The caudal originates at a distance from the end of the second dorsal about equal to the hight of the anal; it is divided by a notch into a short upper portion, whose length is very little more than the greatest hight of first dorsal, and a very low and long lower portion, the longest margin of which is nearly twice as long as the snout. The distance of the caudal from the end of anal base equals one fourth the length of second dorsal base. The distance of pectoral from snout is contained five times in total length; the length of pectoral equals nearly twice the width of its base, and is a little more than one ninth of total length. 20 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The greatest width of pectoral equals twice the hight of anal, and is contained 12^ times in total length. The origin of the ventral is slightly in advance of the end of first dorsal, and is behind the middle of total length a distance equal to the interorbital space. The length of ventral equals that of lower jaw. The width of ventral base equals that of pectoral base; the greatest width of ventral slightly exceeds its length. Color. When received the margins of the fins were apparently faded ; the original color was proba,bly grayish brown with dark margins on all the fins except the first dorsal. Capello states that his example was chestnut brown. Remarks. The gills and mouth were obstructed by sand. The only parasites discovered on the animal were a couple of isopods, one of which was found in the eye cavity. Hundredths MEASUREMENTS Millimeters of length Total length 2950 100 Body Hight at origin of first dorsal 350 12 Hight at origin of ventral 310 10.5 Hight at origin of second dorsal 210 7 Hight at end of ventral base 210 7 'Least hight of caudal peduncle 118 4 Width at origin of first dorsal 250 8.5 Head Distance from tip of snout to first gill opening Horizontally 425 14.4 Obliquely 450 15.3 Distance from tip of snout to last gill opening. 583 20 Distance from first gill opening to fifth 133 4.5 Distance from first gill opening to fourth 102 Distance from first gill opening to third 62 Distance from first gill opening to second 27 Hight of first gill opening 75 Hight of second gill opening 73 Hight of third gill opening 72 Hight of fourth gill opening 70 Hight of fifth gill opening 68 Hight at angle of mouth 265 9 Hight at first gill opening / , 325 11 Hight at base of pectoral 342 11.6 FISHES OF NEW YORK 21 MEASUREMENTS Distance from tip of snout to eye (horizontally). Distance from tip of snout to mouth (horizon- tally) ..................................... Distance from tip of snout to mouth (obliquely). Distance from tip of snout to angle of mouth (horizontally) ........ '. ..................... Distance from tip of snout to angle of mouth (obliquely) ................................ Distance from tip of snout to spiracle (horizon- tally) ..................................... Greatest length of spiracle ................... Length of opening of spiracle ................ Distance from eye to spiracle ................ Distance from angle of mouth to spiracle ..... "Length of orbit .............................. Length of eye ................................ Width of mouth ............................. Length of upper .law to angle of mouth ....... Length of lower jaw to angle of mouth ....... Distance from mouth to nostril .............. Distance between nostrils ................... Distance between eyes ...................... Distance between eyes on cartilage ........... Distance between spiracles .................. First dorsal Distance from snout ......................... Length of base .............................. Greatest hight .............................. Second dorsal Distance from end of first dorsal .............. Distance from snout ........................ Length of base ................ '. ............. Greatest hight .............................. Length of posterior margin ................. Anal Distance from snout ........................ Length of base .............................. Greatest hight .............................. Length of anterior margin .................... Length of posterior margin ................... Caudal Distance from end of second dorsal ........... Distance of tip from end of second dorsal ..... Greatest width . Hnndredths Millimeters of length 176 6 90 147 280 305 1000 670 95 310 1980 3GS 158 55 2087 250 119 233 47 116 620 232 3 5 9.5 10.3 286 9.7 56 2 35 31 74 80 2.7 68 2.3 270 9 219 7.4 215 7.3 30 125 4.2 182 6.2 142 4.8 226 7.7 34 22.7 10.5 67 12.5 5.4 70.7 8.5 4 21 22 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM MEASUREMENTS Length of upper lobe Greatest width of upper lobe Distance of lower lobe from . fig. 205, 1842. Body stout, its depth one fifth of the length without caudal; head two sevenths of total length to caudal base, snout promi- nent, pointed, broad, thin, and firm, its length from mouth equal to width of mouth; distance between nostrils two thirds length of snout; upper teeth very broad, triangular, erect, ser- rate on both edges, without notch; lower teeth narrower and more finely serrated; gill openings comparatively narrow; first dorsal begins close behind origin of pectoral, its hight somewhat greater than its base and equals one half interspace between dorsals; second dorsal very small, its base one fifth interspace between dorsals; caudal moderate, its length contained two and two thirds times in length of body, its lower lobe less than one half as long as the upper; pectorals rather small, not falcate, the length contained three and one half times in total length without caudal. The young are slate blue on the upper parts, the same color but less pronounced on the sides, and the lower parts whitish; adults are uniform bluish gray above, lighter on the sides of head and body, white beneath, the iris greenish blue. Some examples taken at Woods Hole Mass, in 1873, were said to be of an intense almost indigo blue. The blue shark occurs along our east coast in summer from Cape Cod to Florida. Young examples are not uncommon in the waters of Xew York. An example taken at Brenton's reef, on the coast of Rhode Island, measured 7 feet, 4 inches a.nd weighed 161 pounds. Mitchill states that it is often taken by nets in New York waters, as it commonly bites off the line when hooked. Indi- viduals seen by him were 4 or 5 feet long. De Kay refers to this shark a second time under the name long-tailed porbeagle, of which he saw several young from New York harbor and an adult from Brenton's reef, on the coast of Rhode Island. 28 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM This shark was reported at Woods Hole Mass., in 1871 by Prof.. Baird. Dr Smith records four examples, each about 4 feet long, from a trap near Woods Hole, Aug. 8, 1873, since which time none have been observed. The species feeds chiefly on fish. Genus APRIONODOIV Gill Snout conical, more or less produced; teeth not serrated, nar- row, on a broad base, erect in both jaws or sometimes slightly oblique in the upper; dorsal over the interspace between pec- torals and ventrals. 11 Aprionodon isodon (Val. in Miiller & Henle) Tiburon CarcJi arias isodon VALENCIENNES in MULLER & HENLE, Plagiostomeu, 32, 1841. Carcliarlas (Aprionodon) isodon DTJMERIL, Elasniobranches. 349, 1870. Aprionodon punctatus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 24, 1883. Carcliarlas punctatus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 361, 1870. Aprionodon isodon POEY, Enurn. Pise. Cubens. 200, 1875; JORDAN & EVEK- MANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 42, -1896. Snout short, compressed, and rounded; nostril one third of the distance from tip of snout to angle of mouth, nearly as large as the eye; the distance between the nostrils equals that from tip of snout to mouth; teeth in upper jaw T small, on a broad base, without serrations, those of lower jaw similar but smaller, a small median tooth as usual ; number of teeth f -f ; first dorsal much higher and longer than the second and is separated from the last gill opening by a space equal to two thirds the length of its base; pectorals reach to below end of first dorsal; caudal pit very apparent, specially below; scales rounded posteriorly, with five keels; color above dark gray (greenish brown, Duineril), whitish below. Tho species is recorded from New York, Virginia, and Cuba. The type specimen in the Musee d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, is O. 65m 25f inches long. The following measurements from the type are given by Miiller and Henle. FISIIKS (iF Ni;\V YORK Inches Lines From tip of snout to nostril 10 From nostril to mouth 10 From mouth to anus 10 6 From anus to anal fin 2 6 Base of anal fin 1 Hig-ht of anal fin 1 From anal fin to caudal 1 9 Length of caudal fin 7 Distance from pectoral to ventral 4 6 Base of first dorsal fin 2 3 Might of first dorsal fin 2 5 Base of second dorsal fin 1 Hig-ht of second dorsal fin 7 Length of pectoral fin 4 Width of pectoral fin 2 4 Distance between nostrils 1 6 Width of mouth . Genus SCOLIODON Miiller & Henle Body slender; snout depressed; no spiracles; teeth entire or little serrated, oblique and flat, the points directed sidewise so- that the inner margins are more or less nearly horizontal, the teeth in front more nearly erect; teeth not swollen at the base,, each of them with a deep notch on the outer margin below the sharp point; labial folds conspicuous; first dorsal over the inter- space between pectorals and ventrals; second dorsal very small; ventrals small; size small. 12 Scoliodon terrae novae (Richardson) Sharp-nosed Shark Squalus (Carcliarias) terrae-nome RICHARDSON, Fauna Bor.-Amer. 281), 1836. Carcliarias terrae-novae GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 360. 1S70. CarcJiarias (Scoliodon) terrae-nowe GILL, Cat. Fish. East Coast N. A. 59,. 1861. Squaltts punctatus MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 4S3, 1815. Scoliodon terrae-novae JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 24, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 43, 1896. Snout moderately rounded; mouth U-shaped, with a short labial groove at its angle extending on both jaws; distance from tip of snout to nostril less than distance between nostrils; gill openings narrow; first dorsal moderate, midway between pec- 30 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM torals and yentrals; second dorsal very small, slightly behind, and rather smaller than anal; anal fin much shorter than dis- tance from anal to ventrals; pectorals rather large, reaching about to middle of first dorsal; yentrals small. Color gray; caudal fin with a narrow blackish edge. Cape Cod to Brazil, very common on the southern Atlantic coast. The green-backed shark, Squalus jmnctatus, of Mitchill is said to belong to this species. His example was 31 inches long, but he was incorrectly informed that the shark reaches two or three times that size. Mitchill wrote: " When this shark is in the water his back and sides appear greenish. But soon after his exposure to air, and immediately after his death, the hue becomes a pale ash, leaden, or dove, with but trifling variegations. The parts about the mouth, neck, and belly are of a clear white. The upper side of the pectoral fins resembles the color of the back; the lower partakes of the complexion of the belly. The openings of the excretory ducts on the snout and lips are blackish. " The shark is very common on the coast of our southern states; it reaches the length of 3 feet." Family Ha mm o -h caded >S' /; a 1 7r,s Genus SPHYRNA Rafinesque Head laterally extended, hammer-shaped or kidney-shaped, the eyes on the ends of the " hammer " and the nostrils anterior; mouth inferior, crescentic; teeth in the jaws similar, oblique, notched on the outside near the base; no spiracles; last gill- . opening over the pectoral; first dorsal large, nearer pectorals than ventrals; second dorsal and anal small; pectorals large; a pit at the root of the caudal; caudal fin notched near its tip, its lower lobe developed. 13 Sphyrna tiburo (Linnaeus) Shark; Botiiuilumi>ltotlux littoral!* GILL, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 260, 1864. Odontaspis a uteri fan us GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 392, 1870. Carcliarias inner Iran us JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 27, 1883. Body moderately elongate, its greatest hight contained five to six and one half times in the total length; head moderately FISHES OF NtfW YORK ""> pointed, its length nearly one fourth of the total in half grown individuals; eye small, longer than deep, its length one fifth that of the snout, which is nearly one fourth as long as the head. The spiracle is located behind the eye at a distance equal to three times the diameter of the eye. Two rows of teeth in func- tion in upper jaw and three rows in low T er; longest tooth of the lower- jaw r as long as the eye, slightly longer than the longest tooth of the upper jaw; teeth long, awl-shaped, mostly with one or two small cusps at the base, the first and fourth of upper jaw and the first of lower jaw without cusps. Space occupied by gill openings equals one fourth of the length of the head; the depth of the gill openings equals four times the length of the eye. The distance from the snout to the nostril equals the distance between the nostrils. The width of'the mouth, includ- ing the labial folds, equals two fifths of the length of the head. The first dorsal base is entirely within the first half of the total length; it is about one third as long as the head, and somewhat exceeds the hight of the fin. The pectoral is one half as long as the head and, when extended, does not quite reach the vertical through the dorsal origin. The ventral origin is slightly behind the end of the first dorsal base; the length of the fin is nearly one third of that of the head. The caudal, measured from the. pit at its root, forms two sevenths of the total length. This small but voracious shark is common on our Atlantic coast, specially from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. It preys on the smaller fishes. The last individual observed by me in Great South bay during the summer of 1898 w T as swimming close to the surface near the inlet at Fire Island, September 10. Mitchill described this shark under the name of the ground shark (S q u a 1 u s 1 i t t o r a 1 i s) in the \incnc-nn M Posterior margin of second dorsal ....................... 1% Second dorsal to caudal pit .............................. 3 Caudal from pit ........................................ 12 Lower caudal lobe ...................................... 9% Terminal caudal lobe ................................... 3 Snout to pectoral, obliquely ............................. lO^/a Length of pectoral ..................................... 5 Lower margin of pectoral ............................... 214 Extended pectoral not quite reaching to perpendicular through front of dorsal. Ventral origin slightly behind end of first dorsal base Length of ventral ....................................... Inner margin of ventral ................................. Vent to tip of clasper ................................... iy. 2 End of A-eutral base to origin of anal ..................... 3% Anal base .............................................. 3 Hind margin of anal .................................... 1 Depth of anal .......................................... 2 Anal base to origin of lower caudal lobe ................. Family Mackerel Sharks Genus ISURUS Rafinesque Body fusiform, stout; mouth wide, with long, sharp edged, lanceolate, entire teeth having no basal cusps; spiracles minute or absent; gill openings wide, all in advance of pectorals, lateral, not extending under the throat; first, dorsal largo, not far be- hind origin of pectoral; second dorsal and anal very sniall; peo- 38 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM torals large; ventrals moderate; tail slender; a pit at the root of the caudal; the caudal peduncle strongly keeled on each side; caudal fin lunate, its two lobes nearly equal. Size large. 17 Isurus dekayi (Gill) Mackerel Shark Lamna punctata DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 352, pi. 63, figs. 206, 207, 1842 (not Squalus punctatus MITCHILL); STORER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 249, pi. XXXVII, fig. 1, 1867. (This is probably Lamna cornuMca). Isnropsis deJcayi GILL, Ann. N. Y. Lye. Nat. Hist. 153, 1861. Isnrus dekayi JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 874, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 48, pi. VI, fig. 21, 1896. Body fusiform, cylindric, its greatest depth equaling one fifth of the total length, and slightly exceeding the length of the head. The caudal lobes are nearly equal in length, the upper about equal to depth of body. Gill openings wide, the last over the anterior edge of the pectoral base; middle teeth very long, much longer and narrower than the crowded, triangular lateral teeth; first dorsal inserted behind pectorals at a distance equal to one fourth of length of head; falcate, its base equal to one third of its distance from tip of snout, its hight nearly one eighth of the total length; pectoral falcate, more than one fifth of total length, and longer than upper caudal lobe; anal and second dorsal small; caudal keel nearly one fifth of total length; deep pits at the root of the caudal above and below. Color dark slate, lighter beneath. De Kay was informed that it is of a deep bottle green in life and the tongue is mottled with black. Storer states that all the upper part of the body is greenish, which becomes of a slate color after death; pupils black; iris dusky. The mackerel shark reaches the length of 10 feet. It occurs from Cape Cod to the West Indies; but is rarely captured in most localities. De Kay described a specimen 10 feet 2 inches long, taken in New York harbor, October 1840. A somewhat smaller example was caught near the light-ship off Sandy Hook by Capt. C. H. Barnard 16 years earlier than the date of De Kay's description. Storer refers to it as the most common species of shark found in FISHES OF NEW YORK 39 Massachusetts, which is not the case at present. In 1845 about 150 at least were captured in nets at Monhegan Me. during three weeks of mackerel fishing. The fish was valued for its oil, of which 11^ gallons have been taken from a single liver. This species feeds on many kinds of fish, but persistently fol- lows the mackerel schools, and is generally known as the mackerel shark. At Provincetown it is called the blue shark. g Genus LAMNA Cuvier Body short, stout, the back considerably elevated; snout prominent, pointed; teeth entire, pointed, triangular, with a small basal cusp on each side, one or both cusps sometimes wanting on some teeth in the young; gill openings wide, and all of them in advance of the pectoral fin; first dorsal falcate, in- serted over the axil of the pectoral; second dorsal and anal very small, nearly opposite each other; pectorals falcate; caudal peduncle strongly keeled on each side; deep pits at the root of the caudal above and below; caudal lobes nearly equal in length. Size large. 18 Lamna cornubica (Gmelin) Porbeagle Squalus eornulicus GMELIN, L. Syst. Nat. I, 1497, 1788. Lamna cornubica GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 389, 1870; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 30, 1883; BEAN, Bull. U. S. F. C. IX, 198, pi. LVII, 1891; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 49, pi. VI, fig. 22, 189(5. Body short, stout, fusiform, its greatest depth equaling nearly one fifth of the total length including caudal, and slightly less than the length of the head. The caudal lobes are nearly equal in length, the upper as long as the head and exceeding depth of body; caudal peduncle strongly keeled on each side; deep pits at tho root of the caudal above and below. The snout is conical, pointed, its length somewhat more than the width of the mouth. Teeth entire, triangular, pointed, with a basal cusp on each side, the cusp sometimes wanting in young, -ff- or -H on each side in an individual about 3| feet long, the third tooth of the upper 40 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM jaw on each side small; gill openings wide and all of them in advance of the pectoral base; first dorsal falcate, inserted over the axil of the pectoral; second dorsal and anal very small, nearly opposite each other; pectoral falcate, its length nearly equal to greatest depth of body and equals distance from angle of mouth to last gill opening. Color dark slate, whitish beneath. Found in the Atlantic and Pacific, north to Massachusetts bay and the Gulf of Alaska; called salmon shark at Kadiak. Reaches a length of 10 feet. The porbeagle, salmon shark, or mackerel shark is a very powerful and destructive species, and it has a wide distribution. If the figure of L a m n a punctata Storer be correct, his mackerel shark] must be Lamna cornubica and not Isurus dekayi. The advanced position of the first dorsal seems to indicate this. Genus CARCHARODON Smith Agrees with Isurus and L a in n a except in dentition; teeth large, flat, erect, triangular, serrate; first dorsal moderate, nearly midway between pectorals and ventrals; second dorsal and anal very small; pectorals large; ventrals moderate; caudal peduncle stout; caudal lobes large and strong; deep pits at the base of the caudal fin above and below. 19 Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus) Great White Shark; Man-eater Kqualus carcliarias LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. X, 235, 1758. Carcharias aticoodi STOKER, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. Ill, 72, 1848; Hist. Fish. Mass. 246, pi. XXXVI, fig. 4, 1807. Carcltarudon carcJiarias JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 1C, U. S. Nat. Mus. 875, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 50, 189G. Body stout, its greatest depth contained about five or five and one half times in the total length, and equaling about three fourths of the length of the head; eye perpendicularly oblong, and about one third as long as the snout; caudal lobes large and strong, nearly equal in length, the upper about six sevenths of depth of body; caudal peduncle stout, strongly keeled, its least depth two thirds of snout, deep pits at the base of the caudal FISTTKS OF NKW YORK 41 fiu above and below; the snout obtusely pointed, about one fifth to one sixth of length of head; mouth very large; both jaws with large, triangular, serrated teeth in five rows, those in the lower jaw narrower, about 24 in each row above and 22 below; spiracles minute or wanting; gill openings wide and all in advance of the pectoral fin; first dorsal moderately large, in- serted nearly midway between pectoral and ventral bases; second dorsal and anal very small, subequal, their bases scarcely more than one half as long as the snout; pectoral large, reach- ing to below the end of the dorsal when extended, ventral moderate, its length equal to nearly one fourth of that of the head. Color leaden gray, lower parts white; tips and edges of pectoral black. This shark reaches a length of 30 feet and a weight of nearly 2 tons. It is found in the temperate and tropi- cal parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but is rare in New York waters. The ferocity of the man-eater shark may be inferred from the following account of a specimen 13 feet long taken at Province- town Mass, and brought to Boston for exhibition. My specimen was captured at Provincetown June 16 ... When first seen it was swimming in about 10 feet of water on the Long point side of Provincetowu harbor. A boat's crew having given chase, a harpoon was thrown into it, when it in- stantly turned toward the boat and seized it with great ferocity near the bows, in which act several of its teeth were broken off. It was eventually killed by being frequently lanced. Jordan and Evermann record an individual about 30 feet long, caught near Soquel Cal. which had in its stomach a young sea lion weighing about 100 pounds. Family BasTdng Sharks Genus CETORHINTJS Blainville Bod}" stout, the skin much wrinkled and beset with small spines; snout blunt; head small; mouth moderate, with numer- ous small, conical teeth without cusps or serrations; spiracles minute, above the corners of the mouth; gill openings very wide 42 NKW YORK STATE MUSEUM extending from the back almost around the throat, all of them in advance of the pectorals; first dorsal large, midway between pectorals and ventrals; second dorsal and anal small; caudal fin lunate, the upper lobe considerably the larger; caudal peduncle keeled; pectorals and ventrals large. Brain very small. Size very large. 20 Cetorhinus maximus (Gunner) Basking Shark; Elephant Shark Squalus maximus GUNNER, Trondhj. 'Selsk. Skrift, III, 33, tab. 2; IV, 14, tab. 3, 1765; MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 486, 1815. Selachus maximus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, p. 357, pi. 63, fig. 208 (partly copied from Le Sueur), 1842; STOREK, Hist. Fish. Mass. 253, pi. XXXVII, fig. 3, 1867. CetorJiinus maximus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 31, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 51, pi. VII, fig. 23, 1896. Body very stout, the skin wrinkled, rough, beset with small spines, its greatest depth contained about five times in the total length, and equaling about three fourths of the length of the head; caudal fin lunate, the upper lobe the larger, about equal to the depth of body; caudal peduncle keeled; snout smooth, blunt, nearly half the length of head; mouth moderate; the teeth very small and numerous, conical, without cusps or serratures, each jaw with six or seven rows, about 200 in each row; spiracles minute, above the corners of the mouth; eye very small, with- out nictitating membrane; gill openings very wide, extending from the back almost around the throat, all of them in front of the pectorals; gill-rakers slender, long and close set, resemb- ling whalebone, whence the name, bone shark; first dorsal large, triangular, midway between pectorals and ventrals; second dorsal small, but larger than the anal; pectoral large, reaching a little past the dorsal origin when extended; ventral large, its length nearly one third the length of the head. Color dark slate or leaden above, lighter beneath. The basking shark reaches a length of nearly 40 feet and is the largest of the sharks. It is an inhabitant of Arctic seas, coming southward as far as Portugal, Virginia and California. FISHES OF NEW YORK 43 Mitchill refers to its capture at Provincetown Mass, and to its name of bone shark because of the peculiar structure of its gills. De Kay mentions the specimen which was captured in the lower harbor of New York in 1822, from which he made some alterations in a drawing partly copied from Le Sueur's sketch of the same fish. Storer described an individual measur- ing 33 feet 3 inches. He says it is rarely observed on the coast of Massachusetts. It becomes gregarious only in the breeding season. The oil made from the liver of the basking shark was at one time considered valuable. Order CYGLOSPONDYLI Suborder CYCLOSPONDYLI Family SQUALIDAE Dogfishes Genus SQUALUS (Artedi) Linnaeus Body slender, elongate; mouth slightly arched, with a long, straight, deep, oblique groove on each side, without labial folds; teeth small, simple, equal in both jaws, their points turned aside so that the inner margins form a cutting edge; spiracles well developed, near the eye; gill openings moderate, all in advance of pectorals; first dorsal larger than the second, far in front of the ventrals, which are behind the middle of the body; second dorsal behind ventrals; dorsal spines strong, not grooved; caudal fin with unequal lobes, the upper elongate, broad, sub- truncate at the end, the lower short and rounded; pectorals large and long, placed low down; ventrals midway between end of first and beginning of second dorsal. No anal fin. 21 Squalus acanthias Linnaeus S pined Dogfish Squalus acanthias LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. X, I, 233, 1758; JORDAN & GIL- BERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 16, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 54, 1896. Spinax acanthias DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 359, pi. 64, fig. 210, 1842. Acanthias americanus STORER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 256, pi. XXXVIII, fig. 1, la, 1867. Acanthias vulgaris GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 418, 1870. 44 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Body slender, moderately long, its greatest depth about one eighth of the total length, and about three fourths of the length of the head; caudal fin scarcely bent upward, its length nearly one fifth of the total length; snout pointed, its length equaling about one fourth of the length of the head; mouth slightly arched, with a long, straight, deep, oblique groove on each side, without labial folds. Teeth small, equal in both jaws, their points turned aside so that the inner margins form a cutting edge; spiracles well developed, just behind the eye; eye large, oblong, its diameter two thirds of the length of the snout; no nictitating membrane; gill openings narrow slits, in front of the pectorals; first dorsal moderate, larger than the second, far in advance of the postmedian ventrals, which are in front of the small second dorsal; pectoral when extended reaches to below the first dorsal spine, its length contained about seven times in the total, including caudal fin; ventral one fourth as long as the head. Color dark slate or gray on upper parts, whitish below, numer- ous white spots on the back, becoming faint or obsolete with age. The spined dogfish reaches a length of 3^ feet and the weight of 20 pounds. It inhabits both coasts of the Atlantic and is recorded also from Cuba. It is found in Gravesend bay, Long Island, only in October, and young examples have been taken at Southampton in the same month. The species is common in summer and fall on the fishing banks off the New Jersey coast. It is not hardy in captivity. At Woods Hole Mass., according to Dr Smith, it is less abun- dant than formerly, and was comparatively scarce in!897. When the fish fertilizer factory was established at Woods Hole, this was the principal fish utilized in the manufacture of oil and guano; later, the scarcity or irregularity of the supply necessi- tated the use of menhaden. When the horned dogfish first comes, in May, it feeds largely on ctenophores. In Massachusetts bay the species arrives in June and remains only a few days, but returns again in September and stays till FISHES OF NKW YORK 45 the middle of November. These fish are usually caught with the hook and often entangle themselves in nets, to which they do great damage. They feed on mackerel, whiting and other fishes. The oil of the liver is an article of commerce, the flesh is use- ful for fertilizers, and the skin has been used for polishing; on some parts of Cape Cod the fish has been dried for fuel. Mitchill mentions the spined dogfish only in one of his minor papers. I)e Kay recorded it as common on the New York coast. Tie found remains of the soft clam and scales of fishes in its stomach. Suborder TECTOSPONDYLI Family SQUATINIDAE Angel Sharks Genus SQTJATINA Durneril Body flat, depressed as in the rays, the snout obtuse or slightly concave in front; nostrils on the front margin of the snout with skinny flaps; mouth anterior; teeth in many series, conical, pointed, distant; spiracles wide, transverse, behind the eyes; gill openings wide, very near each other, partly inferior and partly hidden by the pectoral fins; two small, subequal dorsal fins on the tail behind the ventrals; no anal fin; caudal small, the low r er lobe longer than the upper; males w r ith small prehensile organs; vertebrae tectospondylous. 22 Squatina squatina (Linnaeus) Angel fish; Monk fish Squalus squatina LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. X, 233, 1758. Sqiiatina dumcrill DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 363, pi. 62, fig. 203, isfj. RMna squatina GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mns. VIII, 430, 1870. tiqnatiiia an yd its JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. ;).", 18,83. Sqit-atitM, squatina JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 58; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 89, 1898. Body raylike in shape, flat, depressed, its greatest depth less than one fourteenth of the total length and about one third of the length of the head; caudal peduncle stout; caudal fin small, its lower lobe the longer; snout short, rounded; nostrils on its front margin, with skinny flaps. Mouth anterior, its width 46 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM about equal to the interorbital width; teeth acute, small, con- ical, distant; spiracles large, crescentic, behind the eyes; eye small, its diameter one fourth of the distance between the eyes; gill openings wide, subinferior, partly covered by the pectoral fin; two small dorsal fins, close together, behind the ventrals; anal fin wanting; pectoral fins very large, widely expanded, deeply notched at the base; ventrals very large, their length greater than that of the head; skin covered with stiff prickles, largest on the median line of the back. Color bluish ashy gray or brown above, sometimes blotched and speckled, pale below. The monkfish reaches a length of 4 feet. It is easily recognized by its peculiar shape. It in- habits the Mediterranean and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States from Cape Cod and San Francisco south- ward. It is not common in New York waters, but it appears occasionally in Gravesend bay in summer and is believed to occur in this state only in bays adjacent to the Atlantic. Mitchill, apparently, was not familiar with the species. De Kay knew the fish only from Le Sueur's descriptions and the writings of other ichthyologists. He gives the common names employed in Europe; monk, monkeyfish, kingston, shark ray, and fiddlefish. A New York fisherman informed De Kay that it was known to him as the little bullhead shark. A specimen weighing 35 or 46 pounds and measuring about 4 feet was taken in a trap at Menemsha bight, Marthas Vine- yard, Sep. 1, 1873. The writer saw one taken at the same place a few years later. Order BATOIDEI Rays Suborder SARCURA Family RAJIDAB Skates Genus RAJA (Artedi) Linnaeus In the rays the disk is broad, rhombic; the pectorals extend to, but not around the snout; the ventrals are large and deeply notched; the tail is usually long, without serrated spine, slender, FISHES OF NEW YORK 47 rounded, or depressed, with caudal fin small or absent, with two small dorsal fins, close together, near its tip. and with a dermal fold on each side. The skin is more or less covered with prickles and spines, males having rows of erectile hooks near the outer angles of the pectorals. No electric organs. Eggs laid in leather}-, four-angled cases, having two long tubular tendrils at each end. Teeth in the middle of the jaws, sharp in males, blunt in females. 23 Raja erinacea Mitchill Common Skate; Prickly Skate; Hedgehog Ray Raja crinarcus MITCHILL, Am. Jour. Sci. Arts, IX, 290, pi. 6 (male), 1825; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 372, pi. 78, fig. 246, 1842. Raja eglaiiteria GT-NTHER, Cat Fish. Brit. Mns. VIII, 462, 1870. Raia erinacea JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 40, 1883. Raja, erinacea JORDAN & EVERMANX, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 68, pi. IX, fig. 29, 1896; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 89, 1898. Disk rhomboid, with the angles rounded; its length nearly equal to its width; spines largest on the anterior extensions of the pectorals, where they are close set, strong, laterally com- pressed and hooked backward; smaller spines scattered over the head, above the spiracles, above and in front of the eyes, on the back, the median line of which is comparatively smooth, without enlarged spines except in the young; a triangular patch of spines on the shoulder girdle; inner posterior angles of the pectorals nearly smooth. Males have two rows of large, erectile hooks, pointing backward, near the . outer angles of the pectorals. Females have groups of small scales on each side of the vent. Tail about as long as the disk; a dermal fold on each side; dorsal fins rough, connected at the base; mouth small; jaws curved, with small teeth in about 50 rows above and 48 below, the mid- dle ones sharp in males, all blunt in females. Color light brown, with small round spots of dark brown. Length 1 to 2 feet. (After Garman) A very common species on our coast, from Maine to Virginia. It is one of the small rays and is not much valued for food. Eggs of this skate have been obtained in Gravesend bay in March. In captivity eggs have been deposited in winter. The 48 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM species will endure captivity during the spring, fall, and part of the winter, but not at all in summer. Mitchill had the ray from Barnegat and from off Sandy Hook. De Kay did not see the fish, but copied the description and figure of Mitchill. Smith refers to it as the " summer skate " or " bon- net skate." It is found at Woods Hole from June to October. The names " hedgehog ray " and " bonnet skate " are given in allusion to its habit of rolling itself up when caught. At South- ampton L. I. this species was taken in small numbers Aug. 3, 1898. 24 Raja ocellata Mitchill Skate; Biy Skate Raja ocellata MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 477, 1815; JORDAN & EVKRMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 68, pi. X, fig. 30, 1896; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 89, 1898. Raid ocellata DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 369, not pi. 60, fig. 212. 1S-12; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 1C, U. S. Nat. Mus. 40, 1883. Similar in shape to R, c r i n a c e a, but larger, with a wider mouth and with many more rows of teeth. The length of the disk slightly exceeds its width. The spines are arranged as in R. e r i n a c e a, but additional rows are present down the back and on the sides of the tail. Tail nearly as long as the disk; caudal fin not separate, with small spines; niouth large; jaws curved; teeth in about 90 rows above and 88 below. Color light brown, with rounded dark spots; a translucent space on each side of the snout; near the posterior angle of the pectoral there is usually (but not always) a large white ocellus, w r ith a dark spot in the center and a darker border; two smaller similar spots often present. (After Garman) The spotted skate reaches a length of nearly 3 feet; its egg cases are more than twice as large as those of R. e r i n a c e a. The species is found from New York to Massachusetts and northward. Dr Mitchill described a specimen which was 30 inches long and 19 inches wide. Dr De Kay calls this species the spotted ray. He found the stomach of one filled with rock crabs, Cancer irroratus. To the fishermen this and allied spe- FISHES OF NEW YORK 40 cies are known as skate. It has no commercial value in Great South bay. In the traps at Islip skates reappear on October first on their fall migration. A female was caught near the inlet at Fire Island, Sep. 20, 1808. The species \v;i,^ more abun- dant later in the fall. A; Woods Hole, according to Dr Smith, this is the big skate or winter skate. It is common from February to June and from October 15 to the end of the trap fishing; it is absent or very rare in summer. 25 Raja eglanteria Bosc Clear-nosed Skate; Brier Ray Raja ci/la-iitci-ia'Bosc in LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss. II, 104, 109, 1SOO; GUN- THER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. Till, 462, 1870; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 71. 1896; SMITH, Bull. IT. S. F. C. XVII, 89, 1898. Raia <'< centrum JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 1G, U. S. Nat. Mus. 67, 1SS3. (From Garnian) Trillion haxtatH. GUXTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII. 476, 1870. Daximtix centrum JORDAN & EVER/MANX. Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 83, 189G; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 90, 1S9S. Disk quadrangular, about one fourth wider than long; ante- rior margins sinuous, concave opposite the eyes, convex toward the slightly protuberant snout and rounded over angles; pos- terior straighter, very little convex; hinder angles blunt; ven- irals truncate, with rounded angles; tail more than twice as long as the body, much compressed, rounded above, with keel or cutaneous expansion below, with one or more strong serrated spines at the termination of the anterior fifth of its length, rough on all sides w r ith spines or tubercles. Till half grown the young are naked; as they approach maturity broad stellate based, conical pointed, irregularly place,! bucklers appear on the middle of the hinder part of the back and on the top and sides 54 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM of the tail. Very large examples have the central part of the back closely mailed with small flattened tubercles. The buck- lers bear more resemblance to those of the R a j a e, radiata and c 1 a v a t a, than to the tubercles of pastinaca, has- t a t a, or tuberculata. Mouth arched forward, with five papillae; teeth in quincunx, blunt, smooth. Color of back and tail olive brown ; light to white below. From pastinaca, which this species resembles in shape, it is distinguished by the tubercles, by the length and compression of the tail, and absence of all trace of keel or expansion on its upper side. A young specimen measures from snout to tail 13.8, in length of tail 30.5, and width of pectorals 17.5 inches. The largest specimen in the collection has a total length of 10 feet 3 inches (Coll. Mus. Conip. Zool. Cambridge Mass.). Common south qf Cape Cod. Occasionally found northward. (After G arm an) Formerly hundreds of individuals were caught annually in Gravesend bay, but now it is seldom seen there. The species will live in captivity several months in the spring and summer. Mitchill records it as occurring on the coast of Long Island. The tail, he states, is 5 feet or more in length. Storer described a specimen 9 feet long. He was informed by Dr Yale that the fish was abundant on the flats in the harbor of Holmes's Hole, Mar- thas Vineyard, in July and August. Near Woods Hole Mass, it is common during summer, appearing early in July. The sting ray is much dreaded by fishermen, who say that wounds- made by its spines are exceedingly painful and danger- ous, the slime secreted by the fish acting as a poison. Subgenus DASYjyns 20 Dasyatis hastata (De Kay) Kit Pastinaca hastate DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 373, pi. 65. fig. 214, 1842. Trygon hastata STORER, Syn. Fish. N. A. 261, 1846. Da-sibatis hastata GARMAN, Bull. 16, U. S. N.at. Mus. 70, 1883. Dasyatis hastata JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 83, 1896. The sting rays of the subgenus Dasyatis differ from tbe type centrura in having a narrow keel or expansion on the tail both above and below. FISHES OF NEW YORK 55 Disk with the shape and proportions of D. centrura; anterior margins nearly straight, meeting in a blunt angle on the end of the snout, curved near the outer angle to meet the slightly convex posterior margins; inner borders convex; outer and hinder angles rounded; ventrals almost entirely covered by the pectorals, their hinder margins convex; tail more than one and one half times as long as the disk, with a low keel on the upper side, a long, broad, membranous expansion below, rough- ened with small asperities, and with one or more serrated spines beginning in the first fourth of its length; body smooth in young, with scattered small asperities in the old; a row of narrow, com- pressed tubercles on the middle of the back and base of tail, their points depressed and directed backward. On each shoulder, parallel with the median row, there is a shorter row varying in length according to age. Mouth with three papillae; jaws more curved than in centrura and less than in s a b i n a. Color bluish or uniform olive brown above, white beneath. West Indies to Brazil, north to Khode Island. De Kay's description of his whip sting ray is based on a female captured in September off the coast of Khode Island by Carson Brevoort of New York. The length of the fish was 8 feet 6 inches and its weight 110 pounds. Mr Brevoort stated that the whip rays appeared to associate together, as he noticed many of similar size and appearance swimming about at the same time. They moved slowly together through the water, along the edges of the rocks, about 3 feet below the surface. When captured, the individual described by Dr De Kay whipped its tail about with great activity in all directions. From this circumstance it derives the name of whip ray. 30 Dasyatis say (Le Sueur) Southern Sting Ray Raja say LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. I, 42, 1817. Myliobatis? say DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 376, 1842. Trygon sayi MULLER & HENLE, Plagiostomen, 166, 1841; DUMERIL, Elas- mobranches, 603, 1870. Dasybatis sayi GARMAN, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 69, 1883. Dasj/atis say JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 86, 1896. 56 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Disk quadrangular, about one sixth wider than long, anterior margins nearly straight, posterior and inner borders convex, outer and posterior angles rounded; snout not protruding be- yond the lines of the margins, ventrals rounded; tail strong, rather more than one and one half times the length of disk, with a strong serrated spine, bearing a short, low cutaneous expansion behind the spine on the upper side, and a longer, little wider one below, ending nearly opposite; upper jaw undulated, lower prominent in the middle; teeth small, smooth in young and females, sharp in adult males; three papillae at the bottom of the mouth, and one at each side; body and tail nake'd. Color olive brown in adult, reddish or yellowish in young; lower sur- face whitish. New York to Florida and Brazil. (After Garman) According to Garman, a young female measured from snout to tail 7.1, length of tail was 11, and width of pectorals 8.2 inches. Le Sueur's type was from the New Jersey coast. Mtiller and Henle mention six specimens in the Museum of Natural History at Paris, which were sent from New York by Milbert. The species has not been reported recently in New York waters. Genus PTEROPL.ATEA Miiller & Henle Disk much broader than long, its anterior margins meeting in a very obtuse angle, its outer angles more or less acute, the form, therefore, transversely rhombic; tail very short and slender, shorter than the disk, without fin, armed with a very small serrated spine or without spine; skin smooth or very nearly so. Size large. 31 Pteroplatea maclura (Le Sueur) Butterfly Ray If a ia mart urn LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. I, 41, 1817. Pastinaca maclura DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 375, pi. 65, fig. 213, 1842. Pteroplatea maclura MULLER & HENLE, Plagiostomen, 169, 1841; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 487, 1870; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 10, U. S. Nat. Mus. 46, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 86, 1S96; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 90, 1S9S. Disk almost twice as broad as long, covered with smooth skin (or with minute granulations according to Le Sueur), the snout FISHES OF NEW YORK 57 very little projecting, so that the anterior margin of each pectoral is slightly concave; tail two fifths to one third the length of disk, with a slight dermal fold above and below, and with one or two spines very near its base or sometimes with- out spines; eyes small and near the snout; spiracles large, near the eyes; nostrils small, near the mouth, not extending to the upper lip; teeth numerous, triangular, acute, each eniarginate at the base behind; ventrals short, broad and rounded, their length less than one fifth of that of disk. Color brownish olive, sometimes bluish, finely marbled with grayish, and finely speckled; anterior edge of disk with blotches of paler; tail with four dark blotches above, forming half rings. Cape Cod to Brazil, common southward. The species is now rarely seen in Gravesend bay. It does not endure captivity. Le Sueur's description was based on a specimen 6 feet 7 inches wide, taken at Newport R. I. He was informed by fisher- men that it reaches the width of 15 fed. De Kay copied Le Sueur's description and figure. Dr Smith says it is rare at Woods Hole, and appears in August and September when present. It has the local name of Angel fish at Woods Hole. Family ; Eagle Rays Genus >IYL,IOHATIS Dunieril Disk broad; pectoral fins ending laterally in an acute angle, not continued forward around the snout, but ceasing on the sides of the head and reappearing in front of the snout as a fleshy protuberance (cephalic fin); tail very long and slender, whiplike, with a small dorsal fin near its root, and one or more serrated spines; teeth hexangular, large, flat, tessellated, the middle ones much broader than long in the adult; several series of narrower teeth on each side of the median series; teeth chang- ing considerably with age; jaws about equal; free edge of the nasal valve not deeply emarginate; skin smooth. 58 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 32 Myliobatis freminvillei (Le Sueur) Eagle Ray Myliobatis freminvillei LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. IV, 111, 1824; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 376, 1842. Myliobatis acuta STOKER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 269, pi. XXXIX, fig. 4, 1867. MylirAialls fremuivillei JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 51, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 89, 1896; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 90, 1898. Disk broader than long, width to length bearing the ratio of 5 to 3; width of disk equal to length of tail. Diameter of eye equals about one fourth of the interorbital distance; spiracles behind the eyes and one and one half times as long. Width of mouth one half its distance from tip of snout. Free edge of the nasal valve not deeply notched. Beaches a length of 4 feet. Body and head above, reddish brown; tail lighter at the base, but nearly black toward the tip; lower parts whitish. The species is not uncommon, from Cape Cod to Brazil. It probably feeds on mollusks. It was reported to me by men of the menhaden steamer Annie Morris that about Aug. 20, 1887, off Hereford inlet, they saw schools of sting rays at the surface " flopping along like geese." The schools were large enough to have filled a menhaden seine. The rays were said to have two spines on the tail. Le Sueur's description was based on a Rhode Island specimen. De Kay copied briefly from Le Sueur, and placed the fish among the extra-limital species. William O. Ayres found an individual at Brook Haven L. I., which he described in the Boston Journal of Natural History, 4:290, pi. 13. Dr Storer received portions of a specimen from Holmes' Hole Mass. Dr Smith records it as not very common at Woods Hole Mass., but taken in small num- bers every year in traps. Genus RHINOPTERA Kuhl Disk broader than long, its anterior angles more or less acute; snout more or less emarginate on the median line; cephalic fin einarginate and placed on a plane below the level of the pector- als, the snout thus appearing four-lobed; free border of the nasal valve not emarginate; teeth in 5 to 20 rows, the median PISHES OF NEW YORK 59 teeth sometimes much enlarged, sometimes not much larger than the outer teeth; tail long, whiplike, with a small dorsal spine behind the dorsal fin which is at the base of the tail; ventral fins oblong, truncated behind. .'!.'{ Rhinoptera bonasus (Mite-hill) Cow-nosed Rtilriloba DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes. 375, pi. 66, fig. 217, 1842; GUXTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII. 494, 1870; JORDAN ,V GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 51. IS*',. If hinopt ri-u bfiiHiNitti JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 90, 1890; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 90, 1898. The length of disk equals two thirds of its width; its anterior borders almost straight, posterior undulated; pectorals acutely produced; muzzle deeply emarginate; mouth wide; nostrils mid- way between mouth and tip of snout; spiracles large, longer than eye; teeth in seven rows in each jaw, the median teeth more than four times as broad as long, the others gradually diminishing in size outward; tail very slender, as long as the body; a small dorsal fin at base of tail and a slender, serrate spine behind it; skin smooth except a few protuberances on the top of the head. Color olive brown above; beneath white. Cape Cod to Forida; not rare. This species is now rarely seen in Gravesend bay, where it was at one time very common in the autumn. When Mitchill wrote of the fishes of New York (1815) he stated that the cow- nosed ray visits the coast, usually about September, in numer- ous shoals, entering the bay and ranging very extensively over the flats where the soft clam lives. These shellfish he is supposed to devour; for a shoal of cow- noses roots up the salt water flats as completely as a drove of hogs would do. I have seen the water in violent agitation when these fishes were at work in the bottom. They render it so muddy that they are concealed from sight. Frequently, how- ever, they rise to the top and may be distinctly observed. I have seen them swim, near the surface in clear water. They then support and propel themselves in their element by their large flaps as a crow or other bird, with slowly moving wdngs, passes through the air. They may be said to fly rather than to swim. A full grown individual w r eighs about 100 pounds. NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Mitchill also states that the fishermen usually allow these rays to decay on the shores, but sometimes take out their livers for conversion into oil. According to l)r Smith, the cow-nosed ray is common at Woods Hole Mass. Subclass TELEOSTOMI True Fishes Series GANOIDEI Ganoid Fishes Order SELACHOSTOMI Paddlcfishes Family POLYODONTID^E Paddlcfishes Genus POL.YODOX Lacepede Body fusiform, elongate, somewhat compressed; skin smooth or with minute ossifications; snout produced into a very long spatulate process, the inner part composed of the produced nasal bones, the sides flexible and supported by a bony network; mouth wide, terminal, but overhung by the snout, without inax- illaries, but with toothed premaxillaries; numerous fine, decidu- ous teeth in the jaws and on palatines; no tongue; nostrils double, immediately in front of the eye; spiracles present; oper- culum rudimentary, its skin produced behind into a long acute flap; no pseudobranchiae; no barbels; no opercular gill; gills four and one half; gill rakers numerous, very long and slender, in a double series on each arch, the two series divided by a broad membrane; gill membranes connected but free from isth- mus; one broad branchiostegal; lateral line continuous, its lower margin with short branches; air bladder cellular, entire, com- municating with the dorsal wall of the esophagus; pyloric caeca in the form of a short, broad, leaflike organ, with four or five larger divisions, each being subdivided; rectum with a fully developed spiral valve; dorsal fin posterior, without spines; anal similar, and more posterior; tail heterocercal, with well devel- PISHES OF NEW YORK 61 oped lower caudal lobe so that the fin is nearly equally forked; sides of the bent portion of the tail armed with small rhombic plates; upper caudal fulcrums narrow, numerous; pectorals mod- erate, placed low; ventrals abdominal, many-rayed. Rivers of the middle United States. 34 Polyodon spathula (Walbaum) Paddlefish; Spoonbill Cat Squalns spatJntla WALBAUM, Artedi, Gen. Pise. 522, 1792. Polyodon fenille LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss. I, 403, 1800. Polyodoit folium BLOCH & SCHNEIDER, Syst. Ichtli. -157, 1801 (after Lac6- pede); MITCIIILL, Am. Jour. Sci. Arts, XII, 201. 1827; KIRTLAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. IV, 21, pi. 2, fig. 1, 1844; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 34G, 1870. Polyodon spathtda JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 1C, U. S. Nat. Mus. S3, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 101, 1896. The body of the paddlefish is fusiform with the snout much produced, spatulalike. Body scaleless, covered with smooth skin; mouth broad, terminal, somewhat resembling that of the shark; teeth in jaws very numerous and fine, deciduous; spiracles with a minute barbel. The operculum is rudimentary, its flap of skin long, reaching almost or quite to the ventral fins; pseu- dobranchiae absent; gill arches five, the last rudimentary; gill rakers long and in a double series on each arch; gill membranes connected, free from the isthmus; nostrils double, situated at base of blade; a continuous lateral line from upper part of head along dorsal outline to tail; eye small, directed downward and to the side; dorsal and anal fins far back, composed of soft rays, nearly opposite; tail heterocercal, well forked; sides of the bent portion of the tail armed with rhombic plates. The pectoral fins are of moderate size and placed low; ventrals many-rayed, abdominal. The distance from eye to end of snout is about one third of the total length, including caudal. The depth of the body is contained four and one half times in the distance from eye to base of caudal. The hight of the dorsal fin about equals the depth of the body. This is known as the paddlefish, spoonbill or spoon-billed sturgeon, shovel fish, billfish, and duck-billed cat. Called " sal- 62 NEiW YORK KTATK MUSEUM mon " in western hotels. The names are derived from the re- markable snout, which is produced into a long spatula-shaped process, covered above and below with an intricate network and with very thin flexible edges. The head and snout form nearly half of the entire length of the fish. The fish can not be con- founded with anything else in the waters of the United States. There is in China a similar fish, which, however, belongs to a different genus. Distribution. The single species of American paddlefish is confined to the Mississippi valley. It inhabits only the larger streams in Pennsylvania. It is common in the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers. Size. The paddlefish grows to a length of 6 feet, and a weight of 30 pounds or more. Habits. The species frequents muddy bottoms, but does not feed on the mud and slime, as many persons have supposed. The long snout is useful in procuring its food, which consists chiefly of entomostracans, water worms, aquatic plants, leeches, beetles and insect larvae. Prof. S. A. Forbes, director of the Illinois Laboratory of Natural History, has published the first and most satisfactory account of the feeding habits of this sharklike fish. He found very little mud mixed with the food. Prof. Forbes was informed by the fishermen that the paddlefish plows up the mud in feed- ing with its spatulalike snout and then swims islowly backward through the water. " The remarkably developed gill rakers of this species are very numerous and fine, in a double row on each gill arch, and they are twice as long as the filaments of the gill. By their interlacing they form a strainer scarcely less effective than the fringes of the baleen plates of the whale, and probably allow the passage of the fine silt of the river bed when this is thrown into the water by the shovel of the fish but arrests everything as large as the cyclops. I have not found anything recorded as to the spawning habits of the paddlefish. The young have , the jaws and palate filled with minute teeth, which disappear with age." FISHK'S OF .\K\V VullK. ("' Mode of capture. The lish arc generally caught by seining. Edible qualities. The flesh of the paddlefish is frequently con sidered tough and sharklike, but individuals of 8 or 10 pounds are skinned, and sold in some of the western markets freely, and are thought by some persons to be fairly good for the table. Order CHON i m< >STEI Sturgeons Family ^XCIF-ENSERIDAE Sturgeons Genus ACIPEXSER Linnaens Body elongate, snbcylindric, armed with five rows of bony bucklers, each with a median keel terminating in a spine w r hich becomes obsolete with age; a median dorsal series of bucklers, and a lateral and abdominal series on each side, the abdominal series sometimes deciduous; between these the skin is rough with small, irregular plates. Head covered with bony plates joined by sutures; snout produced, subconic; spiracles present; mouth small, inferior, protractile, with thickened lips; no teeth; gill rakers lanceolate; four barbels in a transverse series on the lower side of the snout in front of the mouth; eyes small; nos- trils large, double, in front of eye ; gills four ; an accessory oper- cular gill; gill membranes united to isthmus; pseudobranchiae small or obsolete; no branchiostegals; maxillary distinct from the premaxillary; fin rays slender, all articulated; vertical fins with fulcrum s; pectorals placed lo\v; A'enirals many-rayed, be- hind middle of body; dorsal placed posteriorly; anal somewhat behind dorsal, similar; tail heterocercal,the lower caudal lobe de- veloped; the tail not depressed or mailed; air bladder large, sim- ple, connected with the esophagus; stomach without blind sac; rectum with a spiral valve; pancreas divided into pyloric ap- pendages. (After Jordan and Evermann) i 35 Acipenser sturio Linnaeus Common Sturgeon r sliirio LINNAEUS, Syst. Nut. ed. X, 237, 1758; ({UNTHER, Cat. Fisb. Brit. Mns. VIII, :U2, 1870; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47. U. S. Nat. Miis. 105, 1896; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVI, 90, 1898. 64 NEW VOKK STATE MUSEUM Acipenscr oj-yrincJnis MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 162, 1815. Acipenser oxyrlrincns DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 34G, pi. 58, fig. 189 (young), 1842. Acipenser stiirio var. o.ryn-hyncJrus JORDAN & GILBERT. Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 86, 1883. The common or sharp-nosed sturgeon has a stout, roundish and elongate body, its bight equaling one half the length of the head and one sixth of the total without the caudal. The least depth of the tail equals one third of the greatest body depth. The head is long, one third of total without the caudal, and the snout is as long as the rest of the head in the young. The eye is one sixth as long as the snout. T\yo pairs of short, slender barbels midway between the mouth and tip of snout. The front of the mouth is nearly under the posterior edge of the pupil. The nostrils are double, the posterior pair more than twice as large as the anterior. The dorsal and anal fins are placed far back and opposite to each other. The distance of the ventral origin from the end of the lower caudal lobe equals the length of the head. The upper caudal lobe is nearly twice as long as the lower. D. 38 to 40; A. 23 to 26; V. 24. Lateral plates 27 to 29; dorsal shields 10 to 14; ventral shields 11 or 12. The color of the upper parts is dark olive gray, sometimes brownish; the lower parts are light gray or whitish. The pupils are black; the iris golden. The range of the common sturgeon includes the Atlantic ocean southward to Africa and the West Indies. The northern limit on our east coast appears to be Cape Cod. In the Dela- ware river the fish has rarely ascended as far as Port Jervis. Dr Mitchill was the first to call attention to the similarity between the American sharp-nosed sturgeon and the s t u r i o of Europe. The fish attains a length of 12 feet in America, and it is stated that European examples measuring 18 feet have been taken. The sturgeon ascends the large rivers from the sea in spring and early summer. It is very common in the lower part of the Delaware river, where it forms the object of an important fish- ery. This is the species concerning which so many stories have FISH MS UK NKW YOKK 65 been related as to leaping into boats and injuring the occu- pants. The mouth of the sturgeon is furnished with a very protrac- tile roundish tube having powerful muscles and intended for withdrawing from the mud the various small shellfish and crus- taceans on which the animal subsists. The mouth is surrounded also with numerous tentacles, with tactile properties, which are utilized in procuring food. The reproductive habits of the sturgeon and the embryology of the species have been made the subject of an exhaustive study by Prof. John A. Ryder, of the University of Pennsylva- nia, whose monograph forms a part of the Bulletin of the F. S. Fish Commission for 1SSS. The eggs have been fertilized and developed artificially by Seth Green and others many years ago, and in some parts of Europe the hatching of the species has been carried on successfully. The I". S. Fish Commission has also recently taken up the culture both of the marine and the lake sturgeon, and these valuable fish may soon be reared on an extensive scale. The utilization of the flesh, the skin and air bladder and the eggs of the sturgeon is so well known as to require little more than passing mention in this place. The smoking of the flesh and the manufacture of caviar from the eggs are very import- ant industries along our eastern coast. The sturgeons are easily taken in gill nets and pounds, but the great strength of the fish frequently entails considerable loss of apparatus. The common sturgeon appears every spring in Gravesend bay, and sometimes in the fall. It is hardy in captivity. A female 8 feet long was brought from the mouth of the Delaware river May 20, 1807, to the New York aquarium. It seemed to take no food till December 1, when it began to feed lively on opened hard clams. Early in November 1898, the fish was still alive and healthy. ( '<5 NEW 1'OKK STATE MUSEUM 36 Acipenser rubicundus Le Sueur Lake Sturgeon .\<-i [tenser rubicundus LE SUEUR, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. I, 388, 1818; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 344, pi. 58, fig. 191, 1842; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 338, 1870; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 87, 1883; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 106, 1896. Acipenser maculosus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 339, 1S70. The body of the lake sturgeon is rather more slender than that of the common sturgeon. The snout is rather blunt; in the young long and slender. The shields of the body are large, about 14 on the back, 30 or more on the side, and eight or nine along the abdomen, between pectoral and ventral fins. Each shield is surmounted by a strong hooked spine. The head is con- tained three and one third times in the length without tail. Barbels four, rather long; eye small; dorsal and anal fins small, placed far back as in the pike. D. 35; A. 26. This is known as the lake sturgeon, Ohio river sturgeon, rock sturgeon, bony sturgeon, red sturgeon and ruddy sturgeon. It inhabits the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and the Great lakes, and is abundant in the Allegheny. From the lakes it ascends the streams in spring for the purpose of spawning. Dr Kichard- son states the northern limit of the sturgeon in North America to be about the 55th parallel of latitude. Size. The lake sturgeon is smaller than the common. marine sturgeon, the average adult being less than 5 feet in length. The average weight of 14,000 mature sturgeon taken at San- dusky O. was about 50 pounds. It frequently reaches a length of 6 feet. Habits. In the lakes the species, according to observations of James W. Milner, inhabits comparatively shoal waters. The food of this sturgeon is made up chiefly of shellfish, including the genera L i m n a e a, M e 1 a n t h o, P h y s a, Planorbis, and V a 1 v a t a. Eggs of fishes are also to be found in its stomach. In Lake Erie the species spawns in June, for which purpose it ascends the rivers in large schools till stopped by obstructions FISHES OF NEW YORK 67 or insufficient depth of water. The breaching of the sturgeon is a well known habit. Instances are recorded of serious injury to persons by sturgeons throwing themselves into boats. The sturgeon will occasionally take a baited hook, but its great strength and unwieldiness make it an undesirable fish for the angler. Large numbers of sturgeon have been destroyed by fishermen during the whitefish season simply on account of the annoyance caused by their presence in the nets. Now that the flesh is coming to be esteemed for smoking, and the demand for caviar made from their eggs has largely increased, the wanton waste of this fish has been checked. A troublesome parasite of the sturgeon is the lamprey eel (Petromyzon concolor Kirt.) which attaches itself to the skin presumably for the pur- pose of feeding on the mucus, which is exuded from the pores in great abundance, and remains fixed in one position so long as to penetrate to the flesh and produce a deep ulcerous sore. The lake sturgeon was formerly not very much prized, but is rapidly growing in favor. The flesh is eaten in the fresh con- dition or after boiling in vinegar or curing by smoking. Smoked sturgeon is now considered almost if not quite equal to smoked halibut, and the demand for it is increasing. From the eggs of the sturgeon a good grade of caviar is produced. " The caviar is made by pressing the ova through seives, leaving the mem- branes of the ovaries remaining in the sieve, and the eggs fall through into a tub. This is continued until the eggs are entirely free from particles of membrane, when they are put into salt pickle and allowed to remain for some time." A large specimen now in the museum of Cornell University is reported as being from Cayuga lake. Seth Green informed Dr Meek that sturgeons had occasionally been taken in that lake; but, so far as he knew, they had never been found in any other of the small lakes of central New York. H. .V. Kipp of Montezuma N. Y. wrote Dr Meek as follows: There have not been any sturgeons taken from Cayuga lake since 1880, but quite a number before that date, and the largest known weighed 35 pounds. 68 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 37 Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur Short-nosed Sturgeon Acipenser brew rostrum. LE SUEUR, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. I, 390, 1818; RYDER. Bull. U. S. F. C. VIII, 237, 1890; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 106, 1S9G. Acipenser Ircrirofttria GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII. 341, 1870; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 87, 1883; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 90, 1898. In the short-nosed sturgeon the snout is very blunt and only about one fourth to one third as long as the head. The four short barbels are a little nearer to the end of the snout than to the mouth, and do not reach to the mouth. The head is one fifth to two ninths as long as the total to the fork of the tail; the distance between the eyes slightly greater than length of snout and somewhat more than one third of length of head. The average number of bucklers in the dorsal series is 10 to 11; in the lateral series, 25; in the ventral row, seven to eight. No preanal scutes. The unarmored part of the skin, according to recent observations of Prof. John A. Ryder, is almost free from prickles and ossifications. D. 33; A. 19 to 22; V. 17 to 21; P. 30 to 31; C. 60, its lower lobe two fifths as long as the upper, measuring from the fork. The color of the skin of the upper parts is reddish brown; lower parts nearly white; peritoneum dark brown; viscera almost black. This little-known sturgeon has not been generally recognized anywhere except in the Delaware and in Gravesend bay; only a few specimens have been obtained in the river, and it is rare in Gravesend ba t y. Prof. Ryder collected five examples at Delaware City in the spring of 1888 and has published a description of the species in the Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Com- mission for that year. Size. The largest specimen known was 33 inches long; indi- viduals 20 inches long are capable of reproducing the species. Uses. At the present time the short-nosed sturgeon prob- ably never comes into the markets, on account of its small size, which prevents its capture in the nets used for taking the common sturgeon. About 1817, however, it was brought in the shad season to Philadelphia and sold for 25c to 75c each. FISHES OF NEW YORK 69 Reproduction. Spawning takes place in the Delaware during May. The eggs are deposited in depths of 1 to 5 fathoms on hard bottom in brackish or nearly fresh water. Prof. Ryder . * states that the eggs are extruded by rubbing the belly either against hard places on the riyer bed or against the rough bodies of the males, two or more of which accompany each female. The grayid roe fish are larger than the males. Prof. Ryder found the ova more or less adhesive immediately after their removal from the abdomen, but the sticky mucous cover- ing is soluble in water. The period of hatching varies from four to six days. tf Food. Up to the third month of its life the young sturgeon has minute conical teeth in its jaws, and at this age it is be- lieved to subsist on " fhizopods, unicellular algae, infusoria, minute larvae of insects and worms, crustaceans, etc." Still following the observations of Prof. Ryder, we learn that the sturgeon, when it has reached a length of 1 inch to 1^ inches, has minute teeth on the floor of the pharynx and feeds on small water fleas,' and probably algae, worms, embryo fishes, insects and fresh-water copepods. Later in life the fish seeks larger crustaceans, and the adults occasionally contain frag- ments of mussel shells. The young fish have been caught under the ice in midwinter and are known to pass most of the year in fresh water. A single small example of this sturgeon was brought to the New York aquarium from Gravesend bay May 13, 1896, and was alive and in good condition in November 1898. Dr Smith records the occurrence of the species along with the common sturgeon at Woods Hole Mass., but says it is less numerous. It is captured in the traps. Order RHOMBOGANOIDEA Gar Pikes Family LEPISOSTEIDAE Gar Pikes Genus LEPISOSTEUS Lace'pede Body elongate, subcylindric, covered with hard, rhombic ganoid scales or plates which are imbricated in oblique series running downward and backward; both jaws more or less elon- 70 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM gate, spatulate or beaklike, the upper jaw projecting beyond the lower; premaxillary forming most of the margin of the upper jaw; maxillary transversely divided into several pieces; upper jaw with an outer series of small, sharp, even teeth, then a series of large teeth, some of the anterior teeth being usually movable; next a series of fine teeth, in one row in front, becoming a band behind. In some species the inner row of these teeth contains larger ones; next the yomerine teeth, also in a long band, and posteriorly a palatine band. These bands on the roof of the mouth are frequently somewhat confluent or irregular. In young specimens some of the palatine teeth are often enlarged, these sometimes forming regular series. Lower jaw with an outer series of small teeth, next a series of large teeth, next again a broad band of fine teeth on each side. Each of the large teeth fits into a depression in the opposite jaw. Pharyngeals with rasplike teeth; tongue tooth- less, short, broad, emarginate, free at tip; external bones of skull very hard and rugose; eyes small; nostrils near the end of the upper jaw; an accessory gill on the inner side of the opercle; pseudobranchiae present; no spiracles; gills four, a slit behind the fourth; branchiostegals three; gill membranes somewhat connected, free from the isthmus; gill rakers very short; air bladder cellular, lunglike, somewhat functional; fins with fulcrums; dorsal fin short, rather high, posterior, nearly op- posite the anal, which is similar in form; tail heterocercal, in the young produced as a filament beyond the caudal fin; caudal convex; ventrals nearly midway between pectorals and anal; pectorals and ventrals moderate, few-raj T ed; stomach not caecal; pyloric appendages numerous; spiral valve of intestines rudi- mentary. Fishes of the fresh waters of North America and China. (After Jordan and Evermann) 38 Lepisosteus osseus Linnaeus Gar Pike; Billfish Esox osseus LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. X, 313, 1758; MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 444, 1815; Am. Month. Mag. II, 321, ISIS. Lepisosteus Uson DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 271, pi. 43, fig. 139, 1842. FISHES OF NEW YORK 71 Lepidsosteus osseus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 1870; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 91, 1883. Lrpisosteus osseus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 109, 18%. The garpike has an elongate, subcylindric body. Its depth is contained about 12 times in the length without the caudal. The jaws are greatly produced, the upper being the longer. The length of the head is one third of the total without caudal. Teeth in the jaws rather fine, sharp and stiff; a single inner row of large teeth, and .an outer row of small teeth on each side. The snout is more than twice as long as the rest of the head, its least width being from one fifteenth to one twentieth of its length. D. 7 to 8; A. 9; V. 6; P. 10. Scales 62 to 65. Color greenish; the sides silvery and the belly whitish; nu- merous round, dark spots on the sides, most distinct posteriorly and most conspicuous in the young, becoming obscure with age. Very young individuals have a blackish lateral band. The fins are generally plain, but the vertical fins have numerous round dark spots. The specimen described is no. 36098, U. S. National Museum. Its length is 24 inches. This is the common long-nosed gar pike of the Great lakes, the Mississippi valley and the eastern states from Pennsylvania to South Carolina. It ranges south to Mexico and west to the plains. Additional names for the species are: billfish, sword- fish, bony gar, bony pike, alligator, alligator gar, and buf- falo fish. Prof. Cope recognizes two varieties of this gar in Pennsylvania. One of these abounds in the Susquehanna and the lower Delaware. He distinguishes it by its ro- bust form, short face and gill covers and the roughened scales of the front part of the body. The other variety occurs in lakes and in the Allegheny river and is to be known by its slenderer face and gill covers, its smaller size, generally smooth scales and the absence of dark spots on the body and fins. It should be remembered, however, that the species is extremely variable in these particulars, and all of the names based on such characters have been generally discarded. 72 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The garpike attains to a length of 5 to 6 feet, of which the head and snout usually form about one third. The body is comparatively slender, equaling about one twelfth of the entire length. This species is more abundant in the Great lakes and large streams than in the small rivers. It is emphatically a fish of prey and extremely tenacious of life. It spawns in shoal water, or in the streams, in the late spring and early summer months. Occasionally taken from the northern end of Cayuga lake, but not so numerous as formerly. The garpike is said to be nowhere used for food, because its flesh is tough and is believed to be unwholesome. I have seen it, however, with the bill cut off and the skin removed, offered for sale in the market at Washington D. C. 39 Lepisosteus platostomus Rafinesque Short-nosed Gar Lepisofttcns platostomus RAFINESQUE, Ichth. Ohien. 72, 1S20; KIRTLAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. IV, 20, 1844; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 110, pi. XXII, fig. 49, 1896. Lepidostcus platystomus GUNTHER, Cat. P'ish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 329, 1870; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 91, 1883. Lepisosteus platyrhincus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 273, pi. 43, fig. 137, 1842. The short-nosed garpike has an elongated body, its depth beingcontained seven and one half times in the length; the length of the head is less than one third of the length of body to base of tail ; distance from eye to tip of snout greater than from eye to posterior edge of opercle; upper jaw slightly longer than the lower; both jaws with many long, sharp teeth. Dorsal and anal fins placed far back, near the tail; ventrals in middle of length. D. 8; A. 9. About 55 rows of scales between head and caudal. Fins all more or less black spotted. The specimen described, no. 3241, U. S. National Museum, from Cleveland O., is 12 inches long. The short-nosed gar, because of its shorter snout, which even in young specimens does not much exceed the rest of the head in length, has been considered as representing a separate sub- genus, C y 1 i n d r o s t e u s of Rafinesque. PISHES OF NEW YORK 73 This fish seldom exceeds 3 feet in length. Its habits are pre- sumably the same as those of the long-nosed gar, and it is equally worthless for food. It may be readily distinguished from the long-nosed species by the shape of its snout and by its more robust form. The short-nosed gar inhabits the Great lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. It is more abundant in the southern part of its habitat. It was not recorded from waters of New York by either Mitchill or De Kay. Order CYCLOGANOIDBA Bow fins Family AMIIDA^ Bow fins Genus AMIA Linnaeus Body oblong, compressed behind, terete anteriorly; head sub- conical, anteriorly bluntish, slightly depressed, its superficial bones corrugated and very hard, scarcely covered by skin; snout short, rounded; lateral margins of upper jaw formed by the niaxillaries, which are divided by a longitudinal suture; jaws nearly even in front; cleft of the mouth nearly horizontal, extending beyond the small eye; lower jaw broad, U-shaped, the rami well separated; between them a broad bony plate, with radiating striae, its posterior edge free; jaws each with an outer series of conical teeth, behind which in the lower is a band of rasplike teeth; bands of small teeth on the vonier and ptery- goids; palatines with a series of larger, pointed teeth; premaxil- laries not protractile; tongue thick, scarcely free at tip; nostrils well separated, the anterior with a short barbel; suborbital very narrow; a bony plate covering the cheek, similar to the plates on the top of the head; operculum with a broad dermal border; branchiostegals 10 to 12; no pseudobranchiae or opercular gill; no spiracle; gills four, a slit behind the fourth; gill membranes not connected, free from the isthmus; two peculiar, long, lanceo- late, obliquely striate appendages on each side of the isthmus, projecting backward and covered by the brauchiostegal rays, 74 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM the anterior wholly adnate to the isthmus, the posterior free behind; isthmus scaleless; gill rakers stoutish, very short; scales of moderate size, rather firm, cycloid, with a membranous border; lateral line present; dorsal fin long and low, nearly uniform; the posterior rays not much higher than the others; tail somewhat heterocercal (more so in the young), convex behind; no fulcrums; anal fin short and low; pectoral and ventral fins short and rounded, the ventrals nearer anal than pectorals; vertebrae amphicoelian or double concave, as usual among fishes, none of them specially modified; abdominal and caudal parts of the vertebral column subequal; air bladder cellular, bifid in front, lunglike, connected by a glottis with the pharynx, and capable of assisting in respiration; stomach with a blind sac; no pyloric caeca; no closed oviduct; intestine with a rudi- mentary spiral valve. Fresh waters of the United States. (After Jordan and Evermann) 40 Amia calva Linnaeus Bow fin; Mudfish Amia calva LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. XII, 500, 1766; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 325, 1870; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 270, 1842; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 94, 1883; JORDAN FISHES OK NEW YORK The habiis of this fisli arc presumably about ilie same as those of oilier species of the family. On account of I he great si/.c of (he fish it naturally prefers lakes and large rivers. It is a bottom feeder and will take almost any kind of bait. This species is wonderfully tenacious of life. It spawns in the spring' and protects its young, which follow the parent fish in great schools. Dr Theodore Gill has reviewed in Forest and Stream the subject of the cat fishes' care of their young. This is a valued food species, though not a choice fish. In Lake Erie, according to the /.'rnnr of the Fisheries of I In (ircat t.t'kcs recently published by (he I". S. Fish Commission, (he cat- fish rank next to whitefish in number of pounds taken. In Lake Erie catfish are taken chiefly by means of set lines, and the fishing is best during the months of June, July and August. The method of fishing is thus described in the review just referred to. " The apparatus consists of from 200 to 400 hooks attached by short lines to a main line, which is from 5 to 27 fathoms long, according to the place in which set, and is held in place by poles or stakes pushed into the mud. The lines are usually set in the lake, but occasionally short ones are fished in the bayous and marshes. Catfish are taken with a bait of herring. Core g on us artedi, or grasshoppers, and are mostly used in the families of the fishermen and their neighbors or sold to peddlers. . . The size of the catfish ranges from 5 to 25 pounds, averaging 8 or 10 pounds.'' In some parts of Lake Erie the set line fishery for catfish begins ^ o April 15. Some of these lines have as many as 2000 hooks. In Toledo these fish bring 4ic a pound. The pound nets also take a good many catfish in the spring and fall. Erie receives its supply of catfish from fishermen who operate in the lake from Erie to p]lk Creek with set lines during the summer months. De Kay had the species from Buffalo, where he saw specimens weighing from 25 to 30 pounds, and heard of individuals weigh- ing 80 pounds. He states that it is usually captured by the spear. 84 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 45 Ameiurus natalis (Le Sueur) Yellow Cat Pimelodus natalis LE SVETJR, Mem. Mus. d'Hist. Nat. Y, 154, 1819. Pimelodus cupreus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna. Fishes, 187, 1842. (name only) Amiurus natalis Gi'NTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. V, 101, 1864; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 105, 1883. Ameiurus natalis JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 139, 1S96. The yellow catfish is robust, and has a rather broad head. The month is wide, with the upper jaw usually longer than the lower, sometimes equal. The dorsal profile gradually ascends from the snout to the dorsal spine. The depth of the body at dorsal spine is contained four and two third times in the total length to base of tail. The length of the head is contained three and two third times in the body length, and equals length of anal base. Eye moderate; maxillary barbel reaching end of head; humeral shield little developed; dorsal and pectoral spines strong, shorter than soft rays; hight of dorsal equal to twice the length of its base; adipose fin long asinNoturus, oppo- site to and longer than anal; caudal rounded. D. I, 6; A. 24; V. I., 8. The yellow cat, or chubby cat, is found from the Great lakes to Virginia and Texas. It has many varieties; three of which are mentioned by Prof. Cope as occurring in Pennsylvania, two of them in the Ohio river and its tributaries and the third in Lake Erie. The species is ,not credited to the region east of the Alleghanies. Dr Meek saw only a single specimen from Cayuga lake. The length of the yellow cat sometimes reaches 2 feet but averages much less. Nothing special is recorded about the habits of this species. It is most abundant in sluggish streams. 46 Ameiurus vulgaris (Thompson) Long-jawed Catfish Pimelodus vulgaris THOMPSON, Hist. Vermont, 138, 1842. Amiurus vulgaris NELSON, Bull. Ills. Mus. Nat. Hist. 50, 1876; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 105, 1883. Amiurus dekayi JORDAN, Man. Vert. 302, 1876; GOODE, Fish. & Fish. InJ. U. S. I, pi. 234, 1884; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 15, pi. 18, fig. 24. FISIIF.S <)K NEW YORK ~> Anifinnis vulyaris JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47. U. S. Nat. Mus. 140, 1S9G. This catfish has a stout body; its depth is one fourth of the total length without caudal. The head is contained about three and three fourth times in this length. Eye very small; mouth large; jaws equal or sometimes lower jaw projecting; barbels long; maxillary barbel as long as head. The length of the dorsal base is less than one half that of the anal, while its higlit is five sixths of the same length; adipose fin well developed. The pectoral spine is stout and about two thirds as long as the fin. Caudal square; anal rounded; least depth of caudal contained two and one third times in greatest depth of body. D. I, G; A. 18 (20); V. I, 8. The long-jawed catfish is found in the Great lakes region and westward to Manitoba. It is believed to be very nearly related to the common catfish, A. nebulosus, but its projecting lower jaw will serve to distinguish it. This character, however, we know by experience is not so satisfactory as it might be. The species reaches the length of 18 inches and the weight of 4 pounds. It is occasionally taken in the Ohio river, but is more abundant in Lake Erie. Jordan and Evermann state its range to be from Vermont to Minnesota and Illinois, chiefly north- ward. The U. S. National Museum has it from Manitoba. Dr Meek found a single specimen which was caught near Ithaca among more than 100 of the common bullheads. It seems to be rare in that basin. Thompson, who described the fish, had speci- mens from Lake Champlain. The long-jawed catfish is similar in ;ill respects except its projecting lower jaw to tin- common catfish, A. nebulosus, and may be found identical with it. 47 Ameiurus catus (Linnaeus) White Cat; Channel Cat Silurus catus LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. X, 303, 1758. Pimclndtis atniriiis DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes. 183, pi. 36. fii;. 116, 1842. Ictalurus albidus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 107, 1883. Inpliius JORDAN & GILBERT, 1. c, 107. 1883. 86 NEW YORK STATIC MUSEUM Ami tints albidus JORDAN, Bull. 10, U. S. Nat. Mus. 84, 1877, figs. 15 & 1(5, 1877; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 14, pi. 18, fig-. 2:5, 1893. Anu'iunis catus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 138, is;it;. Tlie body is stout, its depth equal U> k'ligih of head, and con- tained four times in the total length 1o base of caudal fin. The maxillary barbels reach posterior end of head; mandibulary barbels shorter; humeral process, above pectoral, half length of pectoral spine, very rough; dorsal fin short, inserted nearly midway between tip of snout and adipose dorsal; adipose fin well developed; caudal fin slightly forked, the upper lobe longer; anal fin long, one fifth to one fourth of total length to base of caudal. D. I, 6; A. 19 to 22. Pale olive bluish, silvery below without dark spots, but sometimes with mottlings or blotches. New York to Texas, in coastwise streams and swamps. Intro- duced into California and now abundant there. This is the white cat. or channel cat, in Philadelphia distin- guished as the Schuylkill cat. The channel cat is one of the most abundant of its family in the Potomac river. It is abundant in the Susquehanna and common in the Schuylkill. This species reaches a length of 2 feet and a weight of 5 pounds. It is extremely variable with age. Old examples have the mouth so much wider than it is in the young that they have been described as a distinct species. The big-mouthed cat of Cope is now considered to be the old form of the white cat. The habits of this species agree with those of other species already mentioned. The name channel cat suggests a favorite haunt of the fish. As a food fish it is highly prized. Eugene Smith 1 says this catfish occurs in all the larger streams subject to the tide in the vicinity of New York city. The caudal is furcate. The anal has 20 or more rays. It is frequently caught on set lines with liver or killy bait and bites best at night. The flesh is much better flavored than that of A. nebulosus. 'Linn. Soc. N. Y. Proc. 1887. no. 9, p.. 11, FISHES OF NEW YORK 8T 48 Ameiurus nebulosus (Le Sueur) Horned Pout; Bullhead Plmclodus nebulosus LE SUEUR, Mem. Mus. d'Hist. Xat. V, 149, 1819. Pimelodits catus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 182, pi. 37, fig. 119, 1842. Amiurus catus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 104. 1883. Silurus catus MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 433, 1815. (not Hihtrus catus Linnaeus) Amiurus nebulosus BEAN, Fishes Penna. 16, pi. 19, fig. 25, 1893. Ameiurus nebulosus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 140, 1896. The common catfish has a very stout body, broad head and a short stout caudal peduncle. The depth of body about equals length of head, and is contained from three and one half to four and one half times in the length. Barbels eight; maxil- lary barbels as long as head; dorsal profile from tip of snout to dorsal fin straight and rather steep; mouth wide and terminal; teeth awl-shaped, in broad bands on the intermaxillaries and dentaries; dorsal situated in front of middle of body; short and high; adipose fin stout; anal large, its base equaling length of head; caudal square or slightly emarginate. D. I, 6; A. 20-22; P. I, 6. This is known as the common catfish, bullhead, hornpout, bullpout, and minister. This species has a wider distribution than the white cat, its range including New England and extending southward to South Carolina, west to Wisconsin and southwest to Texas. It has also been transferred from the Schuylkill to the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, Cal. where it has multiplied so rapidly that it is now one of the most common fishes of those streams. This is the most abundant catfish in Lake Erie and its tribu- taries. The species reaches a maximum length of 18 inches and a weight of 4 pounds, but the average size of market specimens is much smaller. In the lower waters of the Susquehanna color varieties of this species are not uncommon. One of them appears to be the same as the Amiurus marmoratus of Holbrook; this supposed color variety is found also from Illinois to Florida. The lower Susquehanna has furnished also some singularly colored examples of this fish, distinguished by 88 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM large areas of jet black combined with lemon and white. These freaks are among the most interesting and beautiful observed in this family of fishes. From Jordan's Manual of tlie Vertebrates I quote Thoreau's ac- count of the habits of this species: The horned pout are " dull and blundering fellows," fond of the mud, and growing best in weedy ponds and rivers without current. They stay near the bottom, moving slowly about with their barbels widely spread, watching for anything eatable. They will take any kind of bait, from an angleworm to a piece of a tin tomato can, without coquetry, and they seldom fail to swallow the hook. They are very tenacious of life, "opening and shutting their mouths for half an hour after their heads have been cut off." They spawn in spring, and the old fishes lead the young in great schools near the shore, seemingly car- ing for them as the hen for her chickens. The species was obtained in Swan river at Patchogue N. Y. Aug. 12, 1898. Young were seined in Bronx river in August. Larger individuals were sent from Canandaigua lake and Sara- nac lake in November. Several albinos were obtained from the Hackensack meadows, N. J., in August 1897. In three months they grew from 3 inches to 6 inches in length. In captivity the fish feed freely on chopped hard clams and earthworms and, occasionally, liver. The following notes are from Eugene Smith, in Proc. Linn. Soc. N. Y. 1897, p. 11-12. Very variable in color, from dark blackish and olive to brown and yellowish above, becoming lighter below, and often clouded on the sides. Those from tidal or running water are lighter colored than those from stagnant places or ponds. The largest specimen found by me in the near vicinity of New York measured 13^ inches in length and weighed 1 pound 2 ounces. At the end of the third year this fish is perhaps fully matured. The ripe eggs are of the size of large pin heads and are of an orange color; the very young fishes look like little black toad tadpoles. The spines are strongly developed at an early age. The old fish accompanies the brood for a certain time, always swimming around the swarm of young in order to keep them together. When alarmed the parent dashes off, followed by the whole swarm. FISHES OF NEW YORK 89 l)r Meek found the species very abundant throughout the entire Cayuga lake basin. Dr Everniann and Barton A. Bean obtained the following specimens in the St Lawrence river basin in 1894. 1, St Lawrence river, Cape Vincent N. Y. June 21. :;, Racket river, Norfolk N. Y. July 18. Dr Evermann also collected specimens at the following localities of the Lake Ontario region in 1894. Stony creek, Henderson Harbor, July 3, 4 Black river, Huntingtonville, July 5 Mud creek, Cape Vincent, June 25 Mouth Salmon river, July 25 Chaumont river, July 10 Creek, Pultneyville, Aug. 7 Mouth Little Salmon creek, July 25 Sandy creek, North Hamlin, Aug. 20 Long pond, near Charlotte, Aug. 17 Stony Island, July 2, 3 Lakeview hotel, 7 in. n. e. of Oswego, July 17 Marsh creek, Pointbreeze, Aug. 21 49 Ameiurus nebulosus marmoratus (Holbrook) Marbled Cat Pimelodus marmoratus HOLBROOK, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 54, 1855. Amiurus marmoratus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 104, 18S3. Ameiurus nebulosus marmoratiis JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 141, 1896. Body moderately elongate, its depth about one fourth total length to caudal base; slope of profile very steep; jaws equal or subequal; dorsal fin high, its spine more than one half as long as head, and nearer to adipose fin than to tip of snout; head long, three and one fourth times in total length to caudal base; barbels long; anal rays 21; body much mottled with brown, greenish and whitish. Lowland streams and swamps from New York to southern Indiana and Florida. The type of the mar- moratus of Holbrook was from South Carolina. 90 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 50 Ameiurus melas (Rafinesque) Black Bullhead; Braicn Catfish Silurus melas RAFINESQUE, Quart. Jour. Sci. Ldt. Arts. Lond. 51, 1820. Pimelodus pullus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 184, pi. XXXVII, fig. 117, 1842. Amiurus pullus GILL, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 44, 1862; JORDAN, Bull. 10, U. S. Nat. Mus. 93, figs. 46, 47, 1877; GOODE, Fish. & Fish. Ind. TJ. S. I, pi. 233, fig. 1, 1884; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 16, 1893. Ameiurus melas JOEDAN & EVEBMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 141, 1896. The body of the black bullhead is stout, short and deep. Its depth is contained about three and one half times in its length to tail; in very deep examples but three and one fifth times. The length of the head is contained three and one half times in this length. The head is broad, the dorsal profile straight and rather steep from tip of snout to dorsal fin; eye rather small; barbels long; caudal peduncle stout. Dorsal I, 6; the spine strong and sharply pointed. The hight of the dorsal fin equals one half the length of head. The anal has 18 rays; its base is two and one half times as long as dorsal base. The pectoral fin has one sharp spine and seven rays. Tail truncate; adipose fin well developed; teeth very fine, awl-shaped and in broad bands. Its color is usually blackish or dusky brown, approaching to black, while the lower parts are bluish white. The fins are black, tinged with red, and the barbels are black. The color is subject to considerable variation. The black bullhead reaches the length of 1 foot. It is found in the Great lakes region and in the Mississippi valley, westward to Kansas and southward to Texas. This species was known to De Kay as the brown catfish. His specimens were from Lake Pleasant and Lake Janet, N. Y.; and he states that it is also very common in many other lakes of northern New York, where its principal use is to serve as bait for the lake trout. Dr Jordan had it from the Genesee river. Dr Evermann obtained a specimen in Mill creek at Sacketts Harbor N. Y. July 2, 1894, and doubtfully referred to this species a young individual collected in Sandy creek, at North Harnlin N. Y. Aug. 20, 1894. FISHES OF NEW YORK 01 Genus NOTURUS Rafinesque Body moderately elongate, robust except in caudal part, which is much compressed; head flat and broad; mouth terminal, broad; teeth in broad villiform bands on preniaxillaries and dentarics; teeth of upper jaw prolonged backward into an elon- gate, triangular extension; adipose fin adnate to the back; a poison gland at the base of the pectoral spine. Represented by a single species inhabiting rivers and channels. 51 Noturus flavus Rafinesque Stone Cat .\t unts flams RAFINESQUE. Ichth. Ohien. GS, 1820; STOKER, Syn. Fish. N. A. 154, 1846; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 100, 18S3; iGuNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. V, 104, 1864; BEAX, Fishes Penna. IS, 1898; JORDAN & EVERHANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 144, 189G, pi. XXVII, fig. 63, 1900. I'imdodus flavus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 187, 1842 (after Kirtland). The stonecat has a moderately elongate body, whose great- est depth and width are nearly equal; the tail is much com- pressed, and the head flat and broad. The greatest depth of the body is nearly one fifth of the total length without the caudal; the least depth of the caudal peduncle equals nearly one half the length of head. The mouth is terminal, horizontal, its width equal to postorbital part of head and to length of maxillary barbel; longer barbel on chin not quite one half as long as the head. Nasal barbel when laid back reaches end of eye. The width of the band of teeth in the upper jaw equals one third th* length of head; the backward prolongation is little longer than the eye. The distance between the eyes equals length of snout and eye. The snout is one half as long as the postorbital part of the head. The dorsal origin is at a distance from tip of snout nearly equal to one third of the total length without cau- dal. The dorsal base is one half as long as the head. The spine is very sharp and as long as the snout. The longest ray is nearly one half as long as the head. The ventral origin is not far behind the end of the dorsal base; the fin reaches a little beyond the vent, but not to the anal origin. The pectoral reaches to below the third dorsal ray, its spine about two fifths as long 92 XE'\V YORK STATE MUSEUM as the head. The anal origin is a little nearer to base of caudal than to origin of pectoral; the base is as long as the head without the snout, one fifth of total to base of caudal, and the longest ray equals one half the length of head. The very low adipose dorsal begins over the anal origin and continues into the caudal; in older specimens it is deeply notched. The caudal is rounded. D. I, 6; A. 16; V. 9; P. I, 9. Length of the speci- men described (no. 35877, U. S. national museum), 6] inches. In spirits the upper parts are grayish brown, and the lower surface of head and body pale. In life the fish is nearly uni- form yellowish brown. The stonecat is found from Ontario, throughout the Great lakes region, south to Virginia and Texas, west to Montana and Wyoming. It inhabits the larger streams. Dr Evermann ob- tained two specimens at Nine Mile point, in the Lake Ontario region, June 11, 1893. The species has very little value as food on account of its small size. It seldom exceeds 12 inches in length, but it is a very good bait for black bass. The stonecats are much dreaded by fishermen because of the painful wounds sometimes pro- duced by their pectoral spines. There is a minute pore in the axil of the pectoral, which is the outlet of a noxious liquid secreted by a poison gland. When this poison is discharged into a wound, it causes an extremely painful sore. Genus SCHILBEODES Bleeker Body moderately elongate, rounded anteriorly, compressed posteriorly; head flat; skin very thick, concealing bones of head; superoccipital not joined to the head of the second interspinal; mouth large, anterior, the upper jaw somewhat the longer; awl- shaped teeth in broad bands in the jaws, the band in the upper jaw abruptly truncate at each end and not prolonged into a backward extension as in Leptops and Noturus; branchiostegals nine; dorsal fin nearer to ventrals than to pec- torals, with a short spine and seven rays; adipose fin long and low, adnate to the body and continuous with the caudal fin, the adipose membrane sometimes high and continuous, sometimes FISHES OF NEW YORK 93 emarginate; caudal fin very obliquely truncated or rounded, its base also obliquely rounded; many rudimentary rays both above and below the caudal peduncle; anal fin short with 12 to 23 rays; ventrals rounded; pectoral fins with a sharp spine of vary- ing form; vent well in front of anal fin; lateral line complete. A poison gland opening by an orifice in the axil of the pectoral, so that wounds made by the pectoral spines are very painful. Size small. Fresh waters of the eastern United States among rocks and weeds, specially in small brooks. (After Jordan and Evermann; 52 Schilbeodes gyrinus (Mitchill) Stone Cat Silitnis yyr lints MITCHILL, Amer. Month. Mag-. II, 322, March, 1818 (Wallkill River, N. Y.); DE KAY. X. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 186, 1842 (generic distinc- tion recognized). Notunis gyrinus RAEINESQTJE, Journ. de Physique, 421, 1819; Ichth. Ohien. 68, 1S20; JORDAN, Man. Vert. 303, 1876, Bull. 10, U. S. Nat. Mus. 102, figs. 66, 67, 1877; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 98, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 20, 1893. Schilbeodes (jijrlnns BLEEKER, Act. Soc. Sc. Indo-Nederl, IV, 258, 1858, fide GTTNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. V, 104, 1864; JORDAN & EVERMAXX, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 146, 1896. The tadpole stonecat has a short and stout body, sloping rapidly downward from the dorsal origin to the tip of the snout; its greatest depth contained four and one third times in total length without caudal; its width contained four and one half times. The head is short, broad and depressed, its width nearly equal to its length, which is one fourth of the total with- out caudal. The width of the mouth equals two thirds the length of the head; the jaws nearly equal. The width of the maxillary band of teeth equals one third of length of head; there are no lateral backward extensions. The snout is short, two sevenths as long as the head. The eye is small, one seventh as long as the head. The maxillary barbel reaches to the base of the pectoral; the outer mandibularv barbel is slightlv longer. cj / ^y The nasal barbel is one half as long as the head. The distance of the dorsal from the tip of snout equals that from origin of ventral to end of anal. The base is as long as the snout and eye combined; the spine is one third as long as the head, and the 94 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM longest ray equals length of postorbital part of head. The low adipose fin begins over the anal origin and is continuous with the caudal. The ventral origin is under the end of the dorsal 'base, the fin does not reach to anal origin. The pectoral reaches to below the middle of the dorsal. The anal base is one fifth of total length without caudal; the longest ray equals postorbital part of head. The caudal is rounded. The pectoral spine is one half as long as the head. The humeral process is one third as long as the head. D. I, 6; A. 13-15; P. I, 8. Color in spirits dark brown; the belly and under surface of head paler. The .specimens described (no. 1508, U. S. National Museum) are from 3| to 4 inches long. The general color is brownish, without blotches. Jordan in the Manual says that it has a black lateral streak, sometimes with two other streaks above this. I have found none with this feature; it is the lateral line itself which looks darker in color. The eyes are small, beadlike and at night glisten like adamant, indicating a more nocturnal habit. These fishes are called stone- catfishes, but they prefer still, muddy water. In the aquarium it is even more hardy than the common catfish and often lies on its side for hours as if dead, or remains suspended in the water in various odd positions. (After Eugene Smith) 1 Dr Meek had no knowledge of the occurrence of this species near Ithaca. The museum of Cornell University has a few specimens from the lake, but without definite locality. Dr Meek and Mr Harris took several examples from a small stream near Montezuma. Dr Evermann secured a specimen in Mill creek, at Sacketts Harbor N. Y. July 2, 1841; one in Long pond, at Char lotte N. Y. Aug. 17; and one in Guff on creek, at Chauniont N. Y. July 7 of the same year. In general it ranges in the Great lakes region, through the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, and in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Its length does not exceed 5 inches. The species is too small to be of any value except for bait, and on account of its tenacity of life it is greatly in demand for hook and line fishing, specially in the capture of the black bass, for which it is one of the best baits known. 'Linn. Soc. N. Y. Proc. 1897. no. 9, p. 12-13. FISHES OF NEW YORK 53 Schilbeodes insignis (Richardson) tfto-nc Cat I'intclodus iiiftiync KTCIIAKIISOX. Fauna Bor.-Amer. Ill, 132. 1S:'.G (iiniuc only, based upon the I'innhxlc lirn'c LE SUEUR, Mem. Mus. d'Hist. Nat. V. 155), 1819. .\ntiini8 lan-iiiscatiis GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. Y, 104, 1864; JORDAN, Man. Vert. 303, 1876. Xottinis insiynis JORDAN & GILBERT. Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 100. 1883; BEAN, Fishes, Penna. 19, pi. 19, fig. 26, 1893. Ki-Mlbcodes insiynis JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 147, 1896, pi. XXVIII,. fig. GO, 1900. The margined stone cat lias a moderately elongate and low body, its width greater than its depth, and the least depth of the caudal peduncle about three fourths the greatest depth of body. The head is rather long and depressed, one fourth of total without caudal, the snout short and rounded. The eye is small, its length one half the width of interorbital space and little more than one half the length of snout. The lower jaw is slightly shorter than the upper; the width of the mouth equals postorbital part of head. The width of the maxillary band of teeth equals one third the length of head; there is no extension backward. The maxillary barbel reaches nearly to the end of the head. Six short gill rakers below the angle of the first gill arch. The dorsal origin is about over the middle of the space between the pectoral and ventral origins; the length of the dorsal base equals the distance between the eyes, and also the length of its spine. The longest ray is half as long as the head. The ventral reaches beyond the vent and almost to the anal origin, its length half the head. The pectoral does not reach to the ventral origin, its spine half as long as the head, rough along its front edge and coarsely serrate behind. The adipose fin is little developed; it begins over the anal origin and is continuous with the caudal. The anal origin is nearly midway between the pectoral origin and the base of the caudal ; the base is scarcely two ninths of total length without caudal; the posterior and longest rays are scarcely one half as long as the head. The caudal is rounded. D. I, 7; A. IT; V. 10; P. I. 9. In spirits the upper parts are dark brown, the belly and under 96 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM surface of Lead pale. The fins all have a narrow dark margin. The specimen described (no. 18015 1 T . S. National Museum) is 4^ inches long. This species, like the others of its genus, is called stone c;it, and it is very common in the Susquehanna, where it is highly prized as a live bait for black bass fishing. The species occurs also in the Delaware, but for some reason or other is not so attractive to the black bass as the Susquehanna river race. It grows to the length of 10 inches. The species ranges from New York to South Carolina, east of the Alleghenies. The dorsal and caudal fins sometimes have a well defined black margin, from which originated the later name, N o t u r u s marginatus. This is the Pimelodus livree of Cuvier and Valenciennes and the P. lemniscatusofLe Sueur. Cuvier and Valenciennes make the following conclud- ing remarks about the species: "The species is probably vivi- parous, for the eggs are very large, and contain a well developed embryo. The ovary contains many eggs of which the diameter exceeds 2 lines, and moreover they are taken from a small animal, for our example is 3 inches long." 54 Schilbeodes miurus (Jordan) Variegated Stone Cat Notitnis miurus JORDAN, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y. 371, 1877, Bull. 10, U. S. Nat. Mus. 100, figs. 60, 61, 1877; JORDAN & GILBEKT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 99, 1883. SehiWcodcs miurus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 148, 1896, pi. XXIX, fig. 68, 1900. Body rather stout, subterete, its greatest depth contained from four and one half to five and one half times in total length without caudal; least depth of caudal peduncle three fifths of greatest depth of body. Head one fourth of total length with- out caudal; eye one fifth the length of head, snout about two sevenths; maxillary barbels reach beyond end of head; man- dibulary barbel three fifths as long as the head; lower jaw included. Dorsal origin over middle of pectoral, slightly nearer to anal than to tip of snout, the dorsal base one half as long as FISHES OF NEW YORK 07 (lie head: adipose fin with- a deep notch but connected with the caudal, its length about equal to head; caudal rounded, its middle rays four fifths as long as the head; anal base as long as the head without the snout; highest ray of dorsal equal to dorsal spine, three fifths as-long as head; longest anal ray one half as long as the head, extending to middle of ventral base; ventral fin one half as long as the head; humeral process short. Body much mottled with black and gray and with four broad dark bands or cross blotches; top of head, tip of dorsal, middle of adipose fin, and edge of caudal blackish; occiput dark. I). T, 6; A. 13 to 15; V. I, 8; P. I, 8. The variegated stone cat has been assigned to the Mississippi valley, south to Louisiana, to tributaries of Lake Michigan, and to the Ohio valley, where it is common. It appears to have been entirely overlooked by ichthyologists till 1876. Dr Ever- maiin collected five specimens of this fish in Sandy creek at North Hamlin N. Y. Aug. 20, 1894. The probability is that it will be found in other waters of the Great lakes region. The individuals used for illustration are from 3 inches to 4J inches long. Order PLECTOSPONDYLI Carplike Fishes Suborder EVENTOGNATHI Carps Family CATOSTOMIDAE Slickers Genus CARPIODKS Rafinesque T.ody oblong; the dorsal outline more or less arched; the ventral outline nearly straight; depth from one half to one third of length; sides compressed, the back sharp edged; caudal peduncle short and deep; head short and deep; its upper surface rounded; eye moderate, median or anterior; suborbital bones well developed; fontanel present; mouth small, horizontal and inferior; mandible short; lips thin, the upper protractile, nar- row, the lower narrow; lifts feebly plicate or nearly smooth; OS NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM jaws without cartilaginous sheath; jnuciferous system moder- aicly developed; opercular apparatus well developed, the sub- opercle broad; isthmus moderate; pharyngeal bones remarkably thin, laterally compressed, with a shallow furrow along the an- terior margin on the inside, and another more central on the outline of the enlarged surfaces; teeth very small, compressed, nearly equally thin along the whole inner edge of the bone, form- ing a fine, comblike crest of minute serratures, their cutting- edge rising above the inner margin into a prominent point; gill rakers slender and stiff above, becoming reduced downward; scales large, about equal over the body; lateral line well de- veloped, nearly straight; dorsal fin long, nearly median, some- what in advance of ventrals, falcate, its anterior rays elevated, often filamentous; caudal fin well forked, the lobes equal; anal fin comparatively long and low, few-rayed; ventrals rather short, usually with 10 rays; pectorals short, placed low; air bladder with two chambers. Size medium or rather large. (After Jordan and Evermann) 55 Carpiodes thompsoni Agassiz Lake Carp- Drum Catostomus cyprinus THOMPSON, Hist. Vermont, 133, 1842. Carpiodes tlioni'psoni AGASSIZ, Am. Jour. Sci. Arts, 191, 1855; COPE, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Tbila. 285, 1864; JORDAN, Man. Vert. 297, 1876; JORDAN. Bull. 12, U. S. Nat. Mus. 198, 1878; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 119, 1883. Body short and stout, the back strongly arched, the greatest depth two fifths of the length to base of caudal fin; head short, about one fourth of length, the snout acutely pointed; lips thin, white, meeting at a wide angie; tip of lower jaw much in ad- vance of nostrils; maxillary reaching to below- front of orbit; eye small, about one fifth length of head; dorsal about median, its rays considerably produced, the longest two thirds as long as base of fin; scales rather closely imbricated, 8-39 to 41-6. D. 27; A. 7; V. 10. Abundant in the Great lakes region. Found in Lake Cham- plajn. FISHES OF NEW YORK 90 Genus CATOSTOMUS Le Sueur Body elongate, fusiform, rounded, tapering anteriorly and posteriorly; head long, with pointed snout; eye small, placed high; suborbital bones narrow; foutanel present, large; mouth rather large, inferior, upper lip thick, protractile, papillose, lower lip greatly developed, with a broad free margin, usually deeply incised behind, so that it forms two lobes which are often more or less separated; mandible horizontal, short; opercles moderate; pharyngeal bones moderate, their teeth shortish, vertically compressed, rapidly diminishing in size upward; scales comparatively small; typically much smaller and crowded anteriorly; lateral line well developed, straightish; dorsal nearly median, with from 9 to 14 rays; anal fin short and high, with seven developed rays; ventrals inserted under the middle or posterior part of dorsal, with 9 to 10 rays; caudal fin forked, the lobes nearly equal. In males the fins are higher, and the anal is swollen and tuberculate in the spring. Air bladder with two chambers, the posterior large. Vertebrae 45 to 47. (After Jordan and Evermann) 56 Catostomus catostomus (Forster) Long-nosed Sucker Cypritnis catostomus FORSTER, Phil. Trans. LXIII, 155, tab. 6, 1773. Catostomus Jiwlsonins LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pbila. I, 107, 1817; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 13, 1868. Catostomus loiigirostris JORDAN, Bull. 12, U. S. Nat. Mus. 175, 1878; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 126, 1SS3. Catostomus nanomyzon MATHER, App. 12th Rep't Adirondack Surv. N. Y. 36, plate, fig. 1, 1886. Catostomus catostomus JORDAN, Oat. Fish. N. A. 17, 1885; BEAN, Fishes Penua. 25, pi. 20, fig. 30, 189S; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 176, 1S9, pi. XXXII, fig, 77, 1900. The northern sucker has an elongate body, round and taper- ing, with a long and rather slender head. The depth of the body is contained about four and one half times in the length and equals length of head. The snout is much longer than in C. t e r e s , considerably overhanging the mouth, which is large, with thick coarsely tuberculated lips. Eye small, two fifths as long as the snout and one sixth as long as head; its position 100 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM in the head is exactly median. Dorsal origin equidistant from tip of snout and base of caudal; dorsal base as long as head without snout; longest ray one sixth of total length without caudal, twice as long as the last ray. Distance from ventral origin to anal origin equals length of head. Anal base one half as long as dorsal base; longest anal ray equal to longest of dorsal and twice as long as last ray. Ventral origin is under middle of dorsal; the fin equal to head without snout. Pec- toral nearly one fifth of total length without caudal. D. 10 to 11; A. 7 to 8; V. 10. Scales usually about 100 in lateral line and in 28 rows from dorsal origin to ventral origin. The northern sucker, long-nosed sucker, or red-sided sucker, as the above species is styled, occurs in the Great lakes and northwest to Alaska in clear, cold waters. It is very common in Lake Erie. It grows to a length of 2 feet and is largest and most abundant northward, in Alaska reaching a weight of 5 pounds. As a food fish the long-nosed sucker is little esteemed; but in cold countries the head and roe are used in making a palatable soup. The males in the breeding season, in spring, are profusely covered with tubercles on the head and fins and have a broad rosy band along the middle of the body. In the Yukon, river, Alaska, Dr Dall found the fish filled with spawn in April. The eggs are of moderate size and yellow in color. Nelson has seen this species seined by Eskimo in brackish estuaries of streams flowing into Kotzebue sound. W. J. Fisher has col- lected specimens on the peninsula of Alaska. This was not found in Cayuga lake basin by Dr Meek, but it occurs in the Adirondack region, and Dr Meek believes it is a member of the Cayuga lake fauna. Dr Evermann obtained five specimens at Grenadier island, N. Y. June 28, 1894. The small race found by Fred Mather in the Adirondacks is the ordinary dwarf form characteristic of mountain regions. He discovered four individuals, only 4| inches long, but mature and breeding " in a little mountain brook emptying into Big Moose nearly north of the Big Moose club house, by a bark FISHES OF NEW YORK 101 shanty known as ' Pancake Hall '." The fish were spawning, and he discovered many eggs under the stones. The females were brown with white on belly, the male w r ith red stripe on the side. 57 Catostomus commersonii (Lacepede) Common Sucker Cypriinis commersonnii LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss. V, 503, 610. 1803. Cyprinus ieres MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 458, 1815. Catostomus teres GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 15, 1868; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 25, 1893. Catostomus communis DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 196, pi. 33, fig. 106, 1842. Catostomus pallidus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 200, pi. 33, fig. 104, 1842. Catostomus commcrsoni JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 1883. Catostomus com-nirrxonii JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 178, 1896, pi. XXXIV, fig. 83, 1900. The common sucker has a moderately stout body, heavy at the shoulders and tapering to the tail. Its greatest depth is contained four and one half times in its length to tail, slightly more than length of head. Head conical, flattened on top; mouth rather large and the lips strongly papillose; dorsal fin situated in middle of length; ventral opposite dorsal; anal far back; second and third branched rays of dorsal highest, two thirds the length of head; third and fourth rays of anal longest, almost equal to length of head. D. 12; A. 7; V. 9. Scales 64; from dorsal to lateral line 9, and from lateral line to ventral, 9 or 10. The common sucker is also known as the pale sucker, white sucker, gray sucker, brook sucker, and, among the Canadian French, as the carpe Uanclie. It is the commonest member of its genus in waters east of the Rocky mountains. It is found from Canada to Florida and westward to Montana. Covering such a wide range of territory, the species is naturally variable, and has been described over and over again by many authorities under a great variety of names. The male of this sucker in spring has a faint rosy stripe along the middle of the side. The young are brownish in color and somewhat mottled and have a dark median band or a series of large blotches. The 102 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM adults are light olive varying to paler and sometimes darker; sides silver}". The species reaches a length of 22 inches, and a weight of 5 pounds. It is a very common inhabitant of ponds and streams of the lowlands, and a small race occurs in certain cold mountain streams of the Adirondack region, where it is dwarfed in size and changed in color but does not differ in essential characters. Dr Eothrock also obtained a mountain race of this sucker in Twin lakes, Col., at an elevation of 9500 feet above the sea level. The common sucker is a very indifferent food fish in the esti- mation of most people, but, when taken from cold waters and in its best condition, its flesh is very palatable. It takes the hook readily when baited with common earthworms. Dr Kichardson says: It is a common fish in all parts of the fur countries, abound- ing in the rivers and even in landlocked marshes and ponds, but preferring shallow grassy lakes with mud bottoms. In the beginning of summer it may be seen in numbers forcing its way up rocky streams, and even breasting strong rapids, to arrive at its proper spawning places in stony rivulets; soon after- wards it returns to the lakes. Its food, judging from the con- tents of the stomachs of those which I opened, is chiefly soft insects; but in one I found the fragments of a fresh-water shell. In the winter and autumn it is common in nets, and in the spawning season (June) may be readily speared, or even taken by the hand in shallow streams. It is a very soft, watery fish, but devoid of any unpleasant flavor, and is considered to be one of the best in the country for making soup. Like its congeners, it is singularly tenacious of life, and may be frozen and thawed again without being killed. Dr Meek found this species abundant throughout the entire Cayuga lake basin, where it is known as the common white sucker. Dr Evermann, in his manuscripts on the fishes of Lake Ontario, taken in 1894, mentions this sucker from the following localities: Stony creek, Black river, Mud creek, Cape Vincent, mouth Sal- mon river, Chaumont river, creek at Pultneyville, mouth Little Salmon creek, Sandy creek, Long pond, Stony Island, Lakeview FISHES OF NEW YORK 103 hotel, 7 miles northeast of Oswego, and Marsh creek. In the St Lawrence river basin he and Barton A. Bean obtained the young in Racket river, Norfolk N. Y., July 18 and in the St Lawrence river, 3 miles below Ogdensburg, July 17. In the Lake Champlain basin these two collectors secured young and half grown specimens in the Saranac river, at Plattsburg July 28, 1894. The writer received specimens from Canandaigua lake in November of 1896 and 1897, and seined the young in Bronx river in August 1897. The small mountain form was secured from Saranac lake in November 1897. It is conspicuous for its small size and its red color. The Canandaigua lake suckers, received in November 1896, throve in captivity till July 1897, w r hen the warm water killed them. Color brownish, olivaceous above, silvery below; the young are much blotched and marked on sides and back. It is occas- ionally caught on the hook. Young ones, in captivity, though they always grub about, and though they take food offered them, do not thrive and gradually starve. They remain wild and take alarm easily and often leap out of their tank. This species enters slightly brackish water. Eugene Smith 1 58 Catostomus nigricans Le Sueur Hog Sucker; Stone Roller Catostomns mgricans LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Philia. I, 102, ISiT; GUNTIIER, Cat. Fish. Brit Mus. VII, 17, 1868; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 130, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 26, pi. 21, fig. 31, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat Mus. 181, 1890; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 202, 1842. E.ro(j1oHnum (Hypentclium) macropkrum RAFINESQUE, Jour. Ae. Na/t. Sol. Phila. I, 420, pi. 17, fig. 3, 1817. The stone roller has a peculiar physiognomy. The head is flattened on top, the interorbital space is concave and the fron- tal bone short, broad and thick/ The body is subterete, its depth being contained four and one third times in the length without caudal or equal to length of head. The eye is rather small, being contained three times in length of snout; mouth large, lips well developed and strongly papillose; fins all large; 'Linn. Soc. N. Y. Proc. 1S97. no. 9, p. 13-14. 104 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM the dorsal base equals two thirds of length of head, while lli< pectoral is considerably longer than the dorsal. Caudal moder- ately forked; lateral line fully developed, on median line of body; scales moderate, equal. D. 11; A. 7; V. 9. Scales 7-52-7. Specimen examined, no. 8446, U. S. National Museum, from Cayuga lake, N. Y. The stone roller has a wide distribution and a remarkable variety of common names. Among them are: hammerhead, stone lugger, stone toter, crawl-a-bottom, hog molly, hog mullet, mud sucker, hog sucker, banded sucker, large-scaled sucker, and black sucker. The name, shoemaker, was formerly applied to this species in Lake Erie, perhaps on account of the resemb- lance of its color to that of shoemaker's pitch. Prof. Cope says that this species in Pennsylvania is most abundant in tributaries of the Ohio and in the Susquehanna, while in the Delaware it is uncommon. It ranges from western New York to North Carolina and westward to Kansas. It is the most remarkable-looking of all the suckers of New York, and may always easily be distinguished by the shape of its head. The species grows very large, reaching a length of 2 feet. It delights in rapid streams of cold, clear water. Its habit is to rest quietly on the bottom, where its color protects it from observation. It is sometimes found in small schools. The spawning season is in spring, and the young are abundant in small creeks, as well as in the rivers. The food consists of insect larvae and small shells, and it is specially fitted for secur- ing its prey under stones in the rapids. As a food fish this sucker has little value. Genus ERIMYZON Jordan Body oblong, compressed; head moderate; mouth moderate, somewhat inferior, the upper lip well developed, freely protrac- tile, the lower moderate, infolded, inversely V-shaped in outline.,, plicate, with 12 to 20 folds on each side; lower jaw without cartilaginous sheath, rather stronger than usual, and oblique when the mouth is closed; eye moderate; suborbital bones well FISHES OP NEW YORK 105 developed, not much narrower than the fleshy part of the cheek below them; opercular bones moderately developed, not rugose; fontanel rather large; gill rakers rather long; pharyngeal bones weak; the teeth quite small, slender, and weak, rapidly diminishing in length upward, each tooth narrowly compressed, with a cusp on the inner margin of the cutting surface; scales rather large, more or less crowded forward; no lateral line; dorsal fin rather short and high, rays usually 11 or 12; pectoral fins moderate; anal fin high and short, more or less emarginate or bilobed in adult males; caudal fin moderately forked or lunate, its lobes subequal. Air bladder with two chambers. (After Jordan and Evermann) 59 Erimyzon sucetta (Lacepede) Chub Sucker Cyprians sucetta LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss. V, 503, 606, 610, 1803, Catostomus sucetta LE SUETJE. Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. I, 109, 1817. Labeo giMosits DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 194, pi. 32, fig. 101, 1842 (dorsal incorrect). Catostomus tuberculatus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 199, pi. 31, fig. 97, 1842. Labeo esopus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 195, 1842. Erimyzon goodei JORDAN, Bull. 12, U. S. Nat. Mus. 148, 1878; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 1G, U. S. Nat. Mus. 134, 1883; GOODE, Fish, and Fish. Ind. U. S. pi. 221, 1884. Erimyzon sucetta (part) BEAN, Fishes Penna. 27, 1893. Erimyzon sucetta JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 185, 1896. The body of the chub sucker is oblong, rather deep and com- pressed. Its depth one third of standard length. The head is rather short, broad above, its length one fourth of total length to caudal. The mouth is rather small and but slightly inferior, protractile. The eye is contained five times in length of head and slightly less than twice in its distance from tip of snout. Dorsal short, rather high, placed in middle of length; ventrals directly underneath; highest dorsal ray (fourth) not quite equal to second anal ray, about two thirds of length of head; caudal slightly forked. No lateral line. D. 12 to 15; A. 7 to 8; V. I, 7. Scales 37 to 40; transverse 13 to 15. The chub sucker here described is the southern form which was first made known by Lacepede from an individual received 106 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM from Charleston S. C. Jordan and Evermauu now give the dis- tribution of this form as extending from Virginia to Texas. It appears to reach a little farther northward if the references to De Kay are properly made. His Labeo gibbosus and e s o p u s and the Catostomus tuberculatus seem to indicate the southern chub sucker. The species reaches the length of 1 foot. It has very little value as food, but the young furnish excellent food for the larger fishes and are very interesting for aquarium purposes. 60 Erimyzon sucetta oblongus (Mitchill) Chub Suclcer; Creek Fish C'yprinus oblong us MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 459, 1815. Lulico clcyans DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 192, pi. 31, fig. 100, 1842. Laibeo oUongus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 193, pi. 42, fig. 136, 1842. Moxostom-a Mongum GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 21, 1868. Erimyzon sucetta JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 133, 1883; GOODE, Fish, and Fish. Ind. U. S. pi. 220, 1884; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 27, 1893 (part). Erimyzan sucetta oblonyus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 186, 1896, pi. XXXVI. fig. 89, 1900. The northern chub sucker has the body more slender, its greatest depth being less than one third of the total length with- out the caudal. The nape is less gibbous than in E. sucetta. The caudal peduncle is more slender, its greatest depth being scarcely one third of the greatest depth of the body (two fifths in sucetta). The head is small and short, the eye less than one fifth as long as the head, the dorsal base shorter and -the fins containing fewer rays (11 in sucetta oblongus, 14 in sucetta). This is known as the chub sucker, sweet sucker, rounded sucker, creekfish and mullet. It has a wide range, practically including all the waters of the United States east of the Rocky mountains. The chub sucker grows to a length of about 1 foot. It is very tenacious of life and is a ready biter, but has little value for food. The young up to the length of several inches have a very distinct black lateral band. They are often found in the shelter of water lilies and other aquatic plants close to brackish waters. FISHES OF NEW YORK 107 Dr Evermann collected two specimens in Black creek, tribu- tary of Oswego river, at Scriba Corners N. Y. July 17, 1894. Dr Meek found it very common about Cayuga and Montezuma N. Y., ' but did not observe it near Ithaca. In the market of New York, according to De Kay, the chub sucker makes its appearance in October, November and December. Specimens were seined in Bronx river in August 1897. A young example sent from near Princeton N. J. by Prof. Ulric Dahlgren in September 1897 showed the following volun- tary change of color. When it arrived, it had the broad, longi- tudinal, median band well developed and the vertical bands obsolete; but soon after it was placed in a tank it obscured the longitudinal band entirely and developed the vertical bands. The food of the chub sucker consists chiefly of minute crusta- ceans, insect larvae and aquatic plants. Genus MIXYTUEMA Jordan Body rather elongate, subterete, becoming deep and rather compressed with age; scales rather large and nearly uniform in size; lateral line interrupted in the adult, but with perfect tubes, imperfect in partly grown individuals, and obsolete in the young; head moderate, rather broad above; mouth moderate, inferior, horizontal; the upper lip well developed, freely protrac- tile; the lower rather small, infolded, inversely V-shaped in outline, lower jaw without cartilaginous sheath ; eye moderate, rather high, nearly median; suborbital bones well developed: opercular bones well developed, not very rough; fontanel rather large; gill rakers rather long; isthmus moderate; pharyn- geal bones essentially as in M o x o s't o m a; dorsal fin rather short and high, inserted somewhat nearer to tip of snout than to base of caudal; pectoral fins moderate, placed low; anal high and short; ventrals short, midway between tip of snout and base of caudal; caudal fin moderately forked, the lobes equal; air bladder with two chambers. Head in males tuberculate in spring. 108 NEW YORK STATE 1 MUSEUM 61 Minytrema melanops (Eafinesque) Striped Sucker; Spotted Sucker; Sand Sucker CatostoiiniN iiirlnnops RAFINESQUE, Iclith. Ohieu. 57, 1820; KIRTLAND, Bost, Jour. Nat. Hist. V, 271, pi. 20, fig. 3, 1845. Catostomus fasciatus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit 1 . Mus. VII, 19, 1SG8. Minytrcma- melanops JORDAN, Bull. 12, U. S. Nat. Mus. 138, 1876; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 1(3, U. S. Nat. Mus. 136, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penua. 28, pi. 21, fig. 32, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47. U. S. Nat. Mus. 187, 1896, pi. XXXVI, fig. 90, 1900. Body oblong, robust in adults, its greatest depth one fourth total length to base of caudal; head moderate, subconical, its length contained about four and one half times in total length; eye placed high and in the middle of length of head, its diameter 2 in snout, 5 in head; nostrils about over the angle of the mouth; scales large, firm, in about 48 longitudinal and 12 or 13 trans- verse rows; dorsal origin over tip of pectoral, its base as long as its longest ray; ventrals nearly under middle of dorsal, length one sixth of total; longest anal ray nearly one fifth of total; least depth of caudal peduncle about one half the lengtli of head. D. 12; A. 7; V. 9. Color dusky above, coppery below, usually a dusky blotch behind dorsal fin; scales mostly with a dark spot at the base, the spots forming longitudinal sti-ipes. The striped sucker, also called soft sucker, sand sucker and black-nosed sucker, is found in the Great lakes and south to South Carolina and Texas. In Pennsylvania it is limited to Lake Erie and the Ohio valley. In New York it is to be expected in Lake Ontario and its tributaries, and should also occur in Chautauqua lake. The striped sucker grows to a length of 18 inches. Old males have the head tuberculate in the breeding season in the spring. The species is very readily distinguished by the dark stripes along the sides produced by spots at the base of each scale. In the young of this sucker there is no lateral line, but in adults it is almost entire. This sucker prefers clear, sluggish waters and grassy ponds. It readily adapts itself to life in the aquarium. It feeds almost entirely on mollusks, insects and insect larvae. The species is FISHES OF NEW YORK 109 1 not much esteemed as a food fish, though it is sold in large numbers. Minytrema nielanops is normally without a lateral line, but this feature is occasionally partially developed and has caused some confusion in assigning certain individuals to. their proper genus; indeed, one author has described and figured the striped sucker as two species, belonging to two different genera, having been misled by this undeveloped character. t Genus MOXOSTOMA Rafinesque Body moderately elongate, sometimes nearly round, usually compressed; scales large, nearly uniform in size; lateral line com- plete, straight or anteriorly curved; head varying in length, sub- conical; eye usually rather large, placed moderately high; sub- orbital bones very narrow; fontanelle well developed; mouth varying much in size, inferior, the mandible horizontal or nearly so; lips unusually well developed, the form of the lower varying, usually with a slight median fissure, but never deeply incised; lips with transverse folds which are rarely broken up to form papillae; jaws without cartilaginous sheath; muciferous system well developed; opercular bones moderately developed, nearly smooth; isthmus broad; gill rakers weak, moderately long; pharyngeal bones rather weak, the teeth rather coarser than iu E r i in y z o n and Catostomus, strongly compressed, the lower five or six stronger than the others, which rapidly dimin- ish in size upward, each with a prominent internal cusp; dorsal fin nearly median, moderately long; anal fin short and high, with seven developed rays; caudal fin deeply forked; air bladder with three chambers. (After Jordan and Evermann) 62 Moxostoma anisurum (Rafinesque) White-nosed> Sucker Catostomus a-nis tints RAFIXESQUE, Ichth. Ohien. 54, 1820; KIRTLAND, Bost.. Jour. Nat. Hist. V, 269, pi. 20, fig. 2, 1845; STOKER, Syn. Fish. N. A. 172, 1846. Catostomus carpio GUNTHKR, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 20, 1S6S. Myxostoma iin'mim JORDAN, Man. Vert. eel. 2. 315. 18TS; Bull. 12. U. S. Nat- Mus. 126, 1878. 110 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Moxostoma airisurum JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 141, 1888; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 28, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN. Bull. 47. U. S. Nat Mus. 190, 1896. The body is elongate, little compressed, slightly arched ante- riorly, its greatest depth contained three and one third times in the length to end of scales. The head is moderate, flat and broad above, its length less than one fourth of the total without the caudal. Mouth slightly inferior; upper lip thin, lower strongly V-shaped; eye large, about one half as long as the snout, which is rather blunt and does not project much beyond the mouth; fins all well developed. The dorsal is large; its first ray is as long as the base of the fin, or about seven eighths as long as the head. Upper margin of dorsal nearly straight. Pectorals nearly reach to ventrals; the upper caudal lobe nar- row and longer than the lower. D. 15; A. 7 to 8; V. 8. Scales 5 to 6-43 to 46-4 to 5. Here described in part from a specimen measuring 16 inches, from Ohio. The white-nosed sucker is found sparingly in the Ohio river and the Great lakes region; widely distributed, but nowhere abundant. Cuvier and Valenciennes received from Milbert a specimen sent from Lake Ontario, measuring about 2 feet. Dr Jordan says this is very closely related to the common red horse, from which it can hardly be distinguished except by its fins. Dr Evermann collected a single specimen at Fox island, N. Y. June 29, 1894; he also obtained a specimen, 12 inches long, at Poiutbreeze N. Y. Aug. 21, 1894, which he refers to this species, though indicating some characters in which it differs from the normal form of the white-nosed sucker. 63 Moxostoma anreolum (Le Sueur) Red Horse Catostomus aurcohis LE SUEUR. Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. I, 95, 1817; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 201, pi. 42, fig. 133, 1842. Catostomits onc'ula DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 198, 1842. Oneida Lake. Catostomus (luqiicsirii KIRTEAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. V, 268, 'pi. 20, fig. 1, pi. 21, fig. 2. 1845; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, IS, 1868, Youghiogheuy River, Pa. Moxostoma aurcolum JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 140, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 30, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 192, 1896. FISHES OF NEW YORK 111 Body oblong, the back in front of dorsal elevated and com- pressed, head short, conical, broad between eyes. The eye is rather large, one fourth length of head, which is contained five times in total length without caudal. The depth of the body is contained three and one half times in this length. Caudal peduncle deep, compressed, its least depth equal to one half the length of head; mouth small; the snout somewhat projecting; fins all well developed; the anterior rays of dorsal longest, as long as dorsal base, pectoral or longest anal rays, equaling length of head; caudal forked; scales large, about equal in size all over the body, and finely striated. D. 15; A. 8. Scales 6-4romclas RAFINESQXJE, Ichth. Ohien. 53, 1820; KIRTLAND, Bust. Jour. Nat Hist. Ill, 475, pi. 27, fig. 2, 1841; STORER, Syn. Fish. N. A. Ififi, 1846; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit Mus. VII, 181, 1868; JORDAN & GIL- BERT, Bull. 16, IT. S. Nat. Mus. 158, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. ;;r>. 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 217, 1896. The fathead minnow has a short, deep .and moderately thick body, and the head short with a very obtuse snout. The greatest depth of the body is equal to or slightly greater than length of head and is contained from three and two thirds to four and one fourth times in total length without caudal. The least depth of the caudal peduncle equals the length of postorbital part of the head. The head forms about one fourth of the total length to base of caudal; the width of the head equals two thirds of its length. The eye is as long as the snout and two ninths as long FISHES OF NEW YORK H9 as the head. The mouth is very snuill, terminal, slightly oblique; i he maxilla not reaching vertical through hinder nostril. The dorsal origin is above, and the ventral origin below the 21st scale of the lateral line. The dorsal base is two thirds as long as the head; the first ray is about as long as the eye, and the longest as long as the head without the snout. The ventral reaches a little beyond the anal origin; its length equal to dorsal base. The anal base equals nearly one half the length of head, and the longest ray is as long as the dorsal base. The caudal is moderate and not deeply forked. The lateral line is con- tinuous on about 20 to 28 scales, and in one specimen continued with interruptions almost to the caudal base. D. i, 8; A. i, 7; V. 8; P. 18. Scales 9-45 to 49-G; teeth 4-4. Length of specimens described, 3 inches. Color in spirits light brown, top and sides of head darker. A broad dark band on the base of the dorsal, most distinct anteriorly and sometimes absent behind. Males in spring are dusky, with black head and the snout and chin with numerous coarse tubercles. The fathead or blackhead is an inhabitant of the Ohio valley, and the Great lakes region west to Dakota and southwest to Texas. It is common in sluggish brooks, and instances have been known of its distribution by the action of cyclones. In Pennsylvania it is common in tributaries of the Ohio. The U. S. Fish Commission has obtained specimens from the following localities in the basin of Lake Ontario: Salt brook, H miles above Nine Mile point, June 11, 1893; Mill creek, Sack- ett Harbor, July 2. 1894; Three Mile creek, Oswego, July 27, 1894, where the greatest number of individuals was taken. Dr Meek says it is not very common in Cayuga lake, but is easily distinguished from the other minnows by its very long intes- tines. The fathead grows to a length of 2^ inches. The sexes differ in color, the females being olivaceous, while the males are dusky and in the spring have the head black and the snout covered with numerous large tubercles. The species has no value as food, but is an interesting one for the aquarium. Its food con- sists of mud and algae, and it seems to prefer a muddy bottom. 121) NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 68 Pimephales notatus (Rafinesque) Blunt-nosed Minnow; Spotted Minnow M until us nottitiis RAFINESQUE, Ichth. Obien. 47, 1820. Hyhorliynclius notatus COPE, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. XIII, 392, pi. 13, fig. .">, 1866 (the separate); GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 182, 1868; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat Mus. 159, 1883. I'hnepJiales notatus JORDAN, Cat. Fish. N. A. 22, 1885; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 36, 1898; JORDAN & EVERSIANN. Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 218, 1896. The blunt-nosed minnow has a moderately elongate body and a slender caudal peduncle. The head is somewhat conical with a short and blunt snout. The greatest depth of the body nearly equals length of head and is two ninths of the total length without caudal. The least depth of the caudal peduncle equals about one half of greatest depth of body. The snout is as long as the eye and one fourth as long as the head. The mouth is very small, inferior, nearly horizontal, the maxilla reaching to below the anterior nostril and provided with a short, thick, somewhat club-shaped barbel. The dorsal origin is slightly be- hind the ventral origin and over the 17th scale of the lateral line. The dorsal base is two thirds as long as the head, and about equal to the longest ray. The ventral origin is under the 16th scale of the lateral line; the fin does not reach to the vent. The anal origin is under the 27th scale of the lateral line; the base of the anal is two fifths as long as the head, and the longest ray is equal to the postorbital part of the head. The caudal is moderately large and forked. The lateral line curves very slightly downward as far as the ventral origin and then follows straight along the median line; it is complete. D. i, 8; A. i, 7; V. 8; P. 15. Scales 6-42 to 45-5; teeth 4-4. Length of specimens described, 3 inches. Color in spirits light brown; the fins except the dorsal paler. A black spot about as large as the eye on the front of the dorsal. In life the sides are bluish. Breed- ing males have the black on the dorsal continued backward on the membrane covering the rays and the head black, while the snout has about 14 to 17 large, pointed tubercles. A dusky shade sometimes present at base of caudal. FISHES OF NEW YORK 121 The blunt-nosed minnow is a larger species than the fathead, reaching a length of 4 inches, and its range extends from Quebec to Delaware, west to Kansas and south to Mississippi. B. W. Evennann and B. A. Bean obtained it for the V. S. Fish (Commission in the St Lawrence river, 3 miles below r Ogdens burg, July IT, 1894, in abundance. They found it common also at Scioto creek, Coopersville N. Y. July 19, 1894. In the Lake On- tario region the Fish Commission collected the species at Cape Vincent, Grenadier island, Sacketts Harbor, Pointbreeze, Hunt- ingtonville, Charlotte, Stony Island, Pultneyville, Chaumont, Henderson bay. and Salt brook. Livingston Stone obtained the fish at Cape Vincent in the St Lawrence river, and presented it to the state museum at Albany. It is found in large numbers in the southern end of Cayuga lake, and in streams on the flats. Not very abundant at the northern end of the lake and in streams near Ithaca, above the falls, according to the records of Dr Seth E. Meek. The blunt-nosed minnow differs from the fathead in its larger size and in having a complete lateral line, but the sexual differences are similar in the two species. The males in spring have the head black and the snout with many large tubercles. The species is extremely variable and changes greatly with age. It frequents small and muddy streams, and its food consists of decaying vegetable matter. Genus SEMOTILUS Raflnesque Body stout, moderately compressed and elongate ; mouth ter- minal, wide, the upper jaw protractile; a small barbel just above the end of the maxillary; in most American minnows the barbel is at its tip; the maxillary barbel sometimes absent in young individuals; teeth 2, 5-4, 2, hooked, without grinding surface; scales rather large; lateral line complete; a short intestinal canal; dorsal placed behind ventrals; base of anal short. Vertebrae 22 + 20 = = 42. Fishes of large size in clear, swift streams from Canada to Virginia, west to Missouri and Wyoming. 122 NEW YOUK STATE MUSEUM 69 Semotilus bullaris (Ratiuesque) Fci'Ufi.sh; Wind Fish; Dace; Chivm; Silver Chub - inn* IiiiUuris RAFINESQUE, Araer. Mouth. Mag. II, 120, Dec. 1817. <'ltl>rinns curpuniUs MITCHILI,, Amer. Month. Mag. II, 324, Mar. 1818. Previous notice in same work, vol. I, 289, July, 1817, insufficient to hold name. The Corporaaleri of the Dutch, moreover, was the striped species, atromaculatus, Hrmntihis ImUarin JORDAN, Man. Vert. ed. 1, 1876; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 1C, U. S. Nat. Mus. 222, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 50, pi. 24. fig. 41, 1803; GOODE, Fish. & Fish. Ind. IT. S. pi. 228, upper figure, 1884. Leuciscux nitirinus tinea LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. X, I, 321, 1758; LACE'PEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss. V, 491, 533, 1800. Tinea vulyaris CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss. XVI, 322. pi. 484, 1842; HECKEL & KNER, Siissw. Fische, 75, fig. 34, 1858; GUNTIIER. Cat Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 264, 1868. Tinea tinea JORDAN & EVERMANN, Check List Fishes N. A. 512, 1896. B. 3; D. 12 to 13 (8 or 9 developed); P. 17; V. 9-10; A. 9-10. Scales 30 to 3190 to 115. Length of head four and one third to four and three fourths; hight of body three and three fourths to four and one fourth in the total length including caudal. Eye six and one half to seven and one half in length of head; two and one fourth in length of snout; two to two and one fourth in distance between eyes. Interorbital space flat. The thickness FIS1IKS OF NEW YORK 127 of the head equals its length exclusive of the snout. Snout obtuse; mouth anterior, jaws anteriorly of the same length. gape wide, cleft rather shallow; I lie maxilla reaches to beneath the posterior nostril; lips thick. Dorsal origin over the end of the ventral base, and the fin extends almost to above Ihe anal origin; all the fins rounded. In the males the first or even more of Ihe ventral rays are thicker than in the female. Lateral line gradually descending to about the middle of the length, thence proceeding straight to the base of caudal. Leaden or greenish, lightest beneath; fins blackish. The tench has been introduced into the United States. An individual taken in the Potomac river near Washington 1>. C. has a grinding surface well developed on -the pharyngeal teeth, a character concerning which no mention is made in the current descriptions. The tench now extends throughout the fresh waters of Europe into those of Asia Minor. Its northern limit is said to be in Finland. It may or may not be native to England. The species prefers still waters in which aquatic plants abound. It is very tenacious of life and has been observed to live a whole day out of water. Its food consists of insects, larvae, worms, and vege- I table substances. Spawning takes place in June and July. The eggs are small and adhesive. The rate of growth is rather rapid under favor- able circumstances, the young having attained 1 to a weight of I pound in their first year. Individuals of the weight of 10 or II pounds are recorded, and Salvianus mentioned a tench of 20 pounds. As for the quality of its flesh, opinions differ, some persons considering it unpalatable, while others regard it as delicious and wholesome. Genus I,KICIS< us Cuvier Body oblong, compressed or robust, covered with moderate or small scales; lateral line decnrved, complete, or variously im- perfect; mouth usually large and terminal, the lips normal, with- out barbel; teeth mostly 2, 5-4, 2 (in American species some 128 NEW YOUK STATE MUSEUM times 1, 5-4, 2, or even by atrophy, 1, 4-4, 1) usually 2, 5-5, 2 in the European type, hooked, with rather narrow grinding sur- face or none; anal basis short or more or less elongate; dorsal fin posterior, usually behind ventrals; intestinal canal short. Size generally large, some species very small. A very large group, one of the largest current genera in ichthyology, repre- sented by numerous species in the rivers of Europe, Asia, and North America. . . Individual irregularities in dentition are common in this genus. The typical species of the genus, Leuciscus leuciscus, is the common dace or vaudoise of Europe, and differs greatly from any of the American forms. The presence of various inter- mediate species, however, makes it impossible to draw any satis- factory line between the dace, Leuciscus, on the one hand, and such extreme forms as the long-mouthed minnows, 1 i n o s t o m u s , on the other. Clinostomus is a peculiar group of small, fine-scaled minnows, with the gape of the mouth larger than in any other C y p r i n i d a e whatever. The relationship of the species to those called R i < h a r d s o n i u s is however very close. (After Jordan and Evermann) Subgenus CI.INOSTOMIJS (Jirard 72 Leuciscus elongatus (Kirtland) Red- sided iSlwner l.u.i-itits elongatus KJRKLAND, Rep't Zool. Ohio, 169, 1836; Bost. Jour. Nut. Hist. Ill, 339, pi. IV, fig. 1, 1841. Leucisciis proriger GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 245, 1868. Squalius elongatus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 232, 1883. Phoxinus elongatus BEAN, Fishes Penna. 52, 1893. Leuciscus elongatus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 214. 1842; STORER, Syn. Fish. N. A. 161, 1846; GUNTHER, Cat Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 245, 1868; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 240, 1896. The red-sided shiner has an elongate fusiform body, its great- est depth two ninths of the total length without the caudal, its greatest width nearly one half of its depth. The caudal ped- uncle is long and slender, its least depth two fifths of greatest KISIIKS OK MOW 10 KK 12',) depth of body. The head is large, two sevenths of total length without the caudal, with long pointed snout and wide mouth. The snout is as long as the eye and tw T o sevenths as long as the head. The width of the interorbital space is about equal to the diameter of the eye. The lower jaw projects strongly. The maxilla reaches to below the middle' of the eye. The gill open- ings are wide, the membranes separated by a very narrow isthmus. The dorsal origin is over the 25th scale of the lateral line; the base of the fin is two fifths as long as the head; the longest ray is as long as the head without the snout; the last ray is about half as long as the longest. The ventral origin is under the 23d scale of the lateral line; the fin extends to the vent, equaling length of eye and snout combined. The anal origin is under the 37th scale of the lateral line; the anal base is two fifths as long as the head; the longest ray twice as long as the last ray and one fourth of its distance from the tip of the snout. The caudal is large and deeply forked. The pectoral is two thirds as long as the head, extending to below the 17th scale of the lateral line. The lateral line is abruptly decurved over the anterior half of the pectoral. I), iii, 7; A. iii, 7; V. 8; P.14. Scales 12-63-7 (sometimes 10-70-5); teeth 2, 5-5, 2, hooked, some of them with a narrow grinding surface. In spirits the color is dark brown; a narrow dark stripe along the middle of the side extending on the head and around the snout; the fins are pale. In life the back is dark bluish, the belly silvery; breed- ing males have the first half of the lateral stripe crimson and the belly and lower fins rosy. The specimen described, number S4(I7, U. S. National Museum, from Meadville, Pa., is 3 inches long. The red-sided shiner is found from Pennsylvania to Minne- sota; abundant in clear streams of the Great lakes region and the upper Mississippi valley. In the Lake Ontario basin the U. S. Fish Commission collectors obtained it in the following localities in 1894: Spring brook, Pulaski, July 24; Wart creek, July 24; Three Mile creek, Oswego, July 27. 1->0 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Subgenus PHOXINUS Kafiucsque T:> Leuciscus margarita (Cope) Pearl Minnow ciiinixlnnuis iiiai-i/arita COPE, Cypr. Peun. 377, pi. 13, fig. 1. 1866. Xake Saratoga. Abramis versicolor DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 191, pi. 32, fig. 103, 1842. Stllbe cJirysoleucas DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 204, pi. 29, fig. 91, 1842. Abramis americanus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 305, 1868. Notetnigonus chrysoleucas JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 250, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 53, pi. 24, fig. 42, 1893. Abramis crysoleucas JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 250, 1896, pi. XLV, fig. Ill, 1900. The body of the roach is compressed, the back elevated and the head depressed and very small. The depth of the body is one third of the total length without the caudal ; the head is con- tained four and two third times in this length. The eye is FISHES OF NEW YORK 133 contained three and one half times in the length of the head. The mouth is small, oblique, the maxillary not reaching to ver- tical through front of eye. The dorsal fin is much higher than long; its base is equal to the least depth of the caudal peduncle or twice the diameter of the eye, situated 6"n middle of body opposite the space between the ventral and anal fins. Anal longer than dorsal, its longest ray slightly exceeding the length of the base. Caudal forked. Lateral line much decurved on lower half of body behind pectorals. D. 8; A. 13. Scales 10-53-3. Teeth 5-5, hooked and with grinding surface. The roach, shiner, golden shiner or bream is one of the com- monest fishes of the eastern states. It is found from New England to Minnesota and southward. A variety of the roach replaces the common northern form from North Carolina to Texas. Evermann and Bean obtained it at Eouse Point N. Y. and in Scioto creek, Coopersville N. Y. July 19, 1894. In the Lake Ontario basin, the U. S. Fish Commission has it from: Salt brook, 1^ miles above Nine Mile point June 11, 1893 ape Vincent June 21, 1894 Grenadier Island June 27, 1894 Black river, Huntingtonville July 5, 1894 Guffon creek, Chaumont July 7, 1894 Chauniont river July 10, 1894 Black creek, Scriba Corners July 17, 1894 Mouth Salmon river, Selkirk July 25, 1894 Dr Meek secured it in sluggish water on the flats near Ithaca. The roach is abundant in the lakes of Central park and in the Bronx; it was not found in the large lake of Prospect park, Brooklyn. Eugene Smith records its occurrence in the vicinity of New York associated with the common sunfish, killies, and catfish. The roach grows to a length of 1 foot and a weight of 1^ pounds. It frequents sluggish waters, abounding in bayous and weedy ponds, as well as in tidal waters. According to Jordan, 134 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM its favorite shelter is the yellow pond lily. It may be readily distinguished by its shape, which resembles that of the shad,, and by the very long anal fin, which contains from 14 to 17 rays. The colors of this fish are greenish above and the sides silvery with golden reflections. Fins usually yellowish; lower fins scar- let in breeding males. Though the roach is not a good food fish, it is taken by the- hook in large numbers and is a very useful species for bait. The roach, writes Eugene Smith, is an active fish and lives well in the aquarium, becoming very familiar with its keeper. Owing to the small size of its gullet, the smaller individuals will at length starve unless their food is much comminuted. The fish spawned in captivity in May, and early in December of the same year the young were H inches long. The adults do not like earthworms, but feed freely on chopped hard clams. 76 Abramis chrysoleucas roseus subs p. nov. Irish Roach; Pearl Roach Abramis crysolettcas subspecies, BEAN, Bull. Arner. Mus. Nat. Hist. N. Y. IX, 334, 1897. The " Irish roach " or " pearl roach " of a lake in Central park, New York city, is even more distinct from the typical northern roach than is the subspecies b o s c i of the rivers of 1he South Atlantic states, and should receive a name. This form is readily distinguished from A. c r y s o 1 e u c a s by its short and deep body, uniform size of scales on all parts of the body, and the permanent vermilion color of the pectoral, ventral,. ;md anal fins. An example studied in the New York aquarium has D. i, 7; A. i, 12; V. i. 8, scales 10-48-4; teeth 5-5, hooked, crenate, and with a grinding surface. The lateral line appar- ently is not so strongly decurved as in A. c r y s o 1 e u c a s. This is a beautiful fish and extremely shy in captivity. Two females and a male were ready to spawn in the aquarium about the end of JTune 1896. The females cast their eggs, but they were immediately eaten by the fish. FISHES OF NEW YORK !:'.") Genus XOTROPIS Rafinesque Body oblong or elongate, wjL'e or less compressed; nioutli nor- mal, mostly terminal and oblique, sometimes snbinferior; no barbels; teeth in one or two rows, those of the larger row always 4-4, hooked, sharp edged, or with a narrow grinding surface; scales large, often closely imbricated, those before the dorsal rarely very small; lateral line complete or nearly so, usually decurved; dorsal fin inserted above, or more usually behind, the veutrals; anal flu short or moderately long; abdomen rounded, never sharp edged. Coloration more or less silvery, often brilliant, the males in spring usually with red or white pigment and the head with small tubercles. A very large group of small fishes, specially characteristic of the fresh waters of the eastern United States, containing about 100 species, many of them characterized by extensive individual variations. (After Jordan and Evermann) 77 Notropis bifrenatus (Cope) Bridled Minnow Hl/bopste bifrenatus COPE, Cypr. Penna. 384, 1866; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit Mus. VII, 211, 1868 (as a doubtful species). Hfmitrciiiia bifrciiata JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, II. S. Nat. Mus. 162, 1888. Xotropis bifrenatus JORDAN, Check List Fishes N. A. 22, 1885; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull, -il, U. S. Nat. Mus. 258, 1896. Front convex between the orbits; length of muzzle equals diameter of iris band and pupil, sometimes nearly equals orbit. Iris colored in continuation of the lateral band. The lateral line rarely extends half way to the dorsal fin, while the pores of the same may be observed at the bases of the scales for half the remaining length of the animal. Length of the largest speci- men, 19 lines; breadth of muzzle at nares, 1.5 lines. Radii of the scales strong. Color above straw, the scales delicately brown edged; below impure white, with a narrow black line along base of anal fin to caudal. Along each side from caudal fin around the end of muzzle including the end of the mandible, a shining black baud loG NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM one and one half scales in width. This is bordered above on the muzzle, forming an arc from orbit to orbit, by an orange band,, which is strongly margined above by the brown of the top of the front. Opercular and suborbital regions below the black band,, pure silvery. (Rearranged from Cope) Head four and one fifth; depth four and one fifth; eye three. D. 8; A. 7. Scales 5-36-3; teeth 4-4. Body rather slender, the caudal peduncle somewhat contracted; head moderate, the muzzle very obtuse; mouth oblique, the jaws about equal, upper lip opposite lower part of pupil; eye large, longer than snout; lateral line developed for a very short distance. 13 scales- before dorsal. Length 1^ to 2 inches. This little minnow has no common name. It is found from Massachusetts to Maryland and is abundant in tributaries of the Delaware river. On account of its conspicuous colors, it is a useful bait for game fishes, specially the black bass. 78 Notropis anogenus Forbes Notropis anogenus FORBES, Bull. 111. Lab. Nat. Hist. 138, 1885; MEEK, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. IV, 304, 1S88, Canal near Montezurna, N. Y.r JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, IT. S. Nat. Mus. 259, 1896. Head four and one fourth; depth four and two fifths; eye three and one fourth. D. 8; A. 7. Lateral line 34 to 37, 13 before dor- sal. Teeth 4-4. Very similar to N. h e t e r o d o n, but with the lateral line usually complete; the mouth very small and very oblique, almost wholly anterior; the lower jaw included, the upper lip above level of pupil; snout very short, blunt, shorter than eye. Dusky; a dusky lateral band through eye, ending in a faint black spot at base of caudal; a black speck above each pore of lateral line; chin black. Length 1^ inches. Western New York (Cayuga lake, Meek) to northern Illinois; rather scarce. (After Jordan and Evermann) According to Meek the species is quite common in the canal' near Montezuma N. Y. It is the smallest of all the Cayuga lake fishes. 79 Notropis cayuga Meek Notropis cayuga MEEK, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. IV, 305, 1888, Cayuga Lake*. N. Y.; JORDAN, Bull. V. S. F. C. IX, 17, 1891; JORDAN & EVERMANN,, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 260, 1896. FISHES OF NEW YORK 137 Head four and one sixth; depth four and one half; eye three and one half. Scales 36; before dorsal 14. Teeth 4-4. Allied to N. h e t e r o d o n, from which it may be best known by the absence of black on the chin. Lateral line wanting on some scales; mouth very small, anterior, the maxillary not reaching the eye; jaws subequal; eye large, equal to snout. Scales above dark edged, the outlines very sharply defined; chin not black; a black stripe through snout and eye, a dusky lateral shade and a small caudal spot. Length 2| inches. Cayuga lake and north- ern New York, westward to Assiniboia, South Dakota, Ne- braska, Kansas and Arkansas. Not rare, but hitherto usually confounded with N. heterodon. (After Jordan and Ever- mann) Several examples were taken by Dr Meek near Ithaca. The longest was 2? inches. He also obtained it from the canal near Montezuma N. Y. The IT. S. Fish Commission parties secured this minnow in many localities in 1894. Mouth of Little Salmon creek July 25 Chaumont river July 10 Black creek, tributary of Oswego river July 17 Three Mile creek, Oswego July 27 Great Sodus bay Aug. 6 Guffon creek, Chaumont July 7 Four Mile creek, Nine Mile point, Webster Aug. 9 Cemetery creek, Watertown July 5 Mud creek, Cape Vincent June 25 Mill creek, Sacketts Harbor July 2 80 Notropis heterodon (Cope) Allurnops licterodon COPE, Tree. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 281, 1864. Hybopsis heterodon COPE, Cypr. Penna. 382, 1866. Leuciscus Jietcrodon GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 261, 1868. Hemttrenria- licterodon JORDAN, Man. Vert. 303, 1878; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 163, 1883. Notropis Jteterodon JORDAN, Cat. Fish. N. A. 22, 1885; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 261, 1896. Head four; depth four; eye three in head. D. S; A. 8. Scales 5-36-3, the lateral line extending about half the length of 1:iS XKW YORK STATE MUSEUM body; teeth 4-4, often crenate. Body moderately stout, the back somewhat elevated; head rather pointed, the muzzle acuminate; mouth oblique, lower jaw projecting, upper lip oppo- site upper rim of pupil; maxillary extending to opposite front of orbit; 13 scales in front of dorsal; lateral line usually more or less imperfect. Color olivaceous; chin black; a blackish rostral band; sides with a leaden or dusky band. Length 2| inches. New York to Michigan and Kansas, common. Va- riable. (After Jordan and Evermann) Common in all the sluggish water on the flats near Ithaca. Not found at the north end of the lake, where it seems to be re- placed by Notropis a n o g e n u s . Meek The U. S. Fish Commission collectors have obtained it at Cape Vincent N. Y. June 21, Stony Island, July 2 and 3, and at Guffon creek, Chaumont, July 7, 1894. 81 Notropis blennius (Girard) Straw-colored Minnow Alluniops blennius GIRARD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 194, 1856. Pacific R. R. Surv. X, 261, pi. 57, figs. 13-16, 1858. Minnilus blennius JORDAN & GILBERT. Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 193, 1883. Notropis Uenn'ms JORDAN, Cat. Fish. N. A. 24, 1885; JORDAN & EVERMAXX, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 261, 1896. Body slender, elongate, its greatest depth one fifth of total length without caudal; head rather large, one fourth of total length without caudal ; the eye large, a little longer than snout, one third as long as the head; mouth small, inferior, horizontal, the maxilla reaching to front of orbit; snout very obtuse; dorsal a little nearer to tip of snout than to base of caudal, its origin about over end of pectoral, its longest ray three fourths as long as the head; teeth 4-4; 13 to 15 rows of scales before dorsal. The ventral is under the base of the dorsal, its length equal to length of head without snout. D. 8 to 9; A. 7 to S. Scales 5 to 6-32 to 38-4. Color pale olivaceous; sides usually pale; usually a darker dorsal band and a small dark blotch before dorsal, sometimes a plumbeous lateral stripe but no caudal spot; fms all plain. Length 2 to 2^ inches. FISHES OF XKW YOIIK !".! Tliis small minnow is found in the Great lakes region, west- ward to Dakota and south to Texas. The U. S. Fish Commission collectors secured a moderate number of specimens in 1894 at the following localities. Cape Vincent June 23 Grenadier island June 27 Little Stony brook, Henderson bay July 4 Big Sandy creek, Belleville July 12 Mouth Salmon river, Selkirk July 25 Great Sodus bay Aug. 6 Dr B. W. Evermann and Barton A. Bean secured 12 examples in Scioto creek, Coopersville X. Y. July 19, 1894. They also took many specimens July IT in the St Lawrence river, 3 miles below Ogdensburg X. Y. Dr Evermann observed a diffuse plum- beous band along the side, each scale in the lateral line punctate with black, making the lateral line very conspicuous. In many a very small black spot was present at base of caudal. The dorsal was very low, only five ninths length of head. 82 Notropis procne (Cope) Shiner HyliOffiiatlnts procne COPE, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 279. 283, 1864. Hybopsis procne COPE, Cypr. Penna. 385, pi. XI, fig. 2, 1S66. Lciiciscus procne GUNTHEE, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII. 260, 1868. Cliola procne JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 169, 1883. Notropis procne JORDAN, Cat. Fish. N. A. 23, 1885; BEAN, Fishes Peniia. 37, 1898; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 264, 1896. This little minnow has a short, slender and compressed body and a very slender caudal peduncle. The greatest depth, at the dorsal origin equals the length of the head, which is about one fourth of the total without caudal. In some described speci- mens the head is contained four and three fourths times and the depth of the body five and one fourth times in total length without caudal. The snout is short and obtuse, shorter than the eye, which is two fifths as long as the head. The mouth is terminal and small, the maxilla not reaching to front of eye. and the jaws equal. The lateral line is gently curved down- 140 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM ward over the pectoral and, in the specimen examined, becomes interrupted in its posterior half. The dorsal origin is over the 12th scale of the lateral line and nearly over the ventral origin. The dorsal base is a little more than half as long as the head, and the longest ray is as long as the head. The ventral reaches to the anal origin. The anal base is half as long as the head and the longest anal ray is four fifths as long as the head. The caudal is moderately forked. D. 8; A. 7; V. 8; P. 13. Scales 5-32 to 34-3; teeth 4-4. Length of specimen described, from Havre de Grace Md., 2^ inches. Color in spirits light brown, the belly pale and lower half of head silvery. A narrow dark line along the top of the back and a narrow dark median band continued forward on the nose. Fins all pale. In life the body is olivaceous with a dark lateral stripe. The long tail suggests \ the name p r o c n e , a kind of swallow. The shiner is found from western New York to Maryland. Prof. Cope found it abundant in the tributaries of the Delaware and Susquehanna, in slow moving streams. It reaches the length of 2^ inches. Eugene Smith records it as " very plentiful in the small brooks directly running into tide water. It appears to approach the sea more closely than any other minnow, though it is never found in brackish water. It delights in strong currents, but in captivity lives well in the aquarium, feeding voraciously. It is almost entirely carnivorous. The Palisade ridge is probably the furthest limit of this species towards the east. It is met with in company of the suckers and the roach." It has proved an excellent bait for the game fishes. 83 Notropis hudsonius (DeWitt Clinton) Spawn-eater; Smelt Clupea Intdsonia DE WITT CLINTON, Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist, N. Y. I. 49, pi. 2, fig. 2, 1824 (fide Giinther). Leuciscus liudsonius DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 206, pi. 34, fig. 100, 1842. (Hudson river and tributaries) Hybopsis hudsonius COPE, Cypr. Penna. 386, pi. 12, fig. 3, 1866. Cliola Intdsonia JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 171, 1SS3. FISHES OF NEW YORK 141 Notropis Inidsonius JORDAN, Cat. Fish. N. A. 24, 1885; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 38, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 269, 1S9G, pi. XLVII, fig. 119. The spawn-eater has a moderately elongate and compressed body, its greatest hight contained four and one half times in the total length without caudal, and about equal to length of head. The head is conical, with short, blunt snout equal to the diameter of the eye, which is contained three and one half times in the length of the head. The space between the eyes equals- length of postorbital part of head. Mouth small, nearly hori- zontal, the lower jaw very slightly the shorter, the maxilla reaching the vertical through the posterior nostril. The lateral line is slightly curved downward over the pectoral, straight and median for the rest of its course. The origin of the dorsal is over, and of the ventral under, the 13th scale of the lateral line. The dorsal base is two thirds as long as the head, and the longest ray as long as the head. The ventral reaches nearly or quite to the vent. The anal origin is under the 24th scale of the lateral line; the anal base is one half and the longest anal ray four fifths as long as the head. The caudal is large and deeply forked, its middle rays half as long as the outer, D. 8; A. 8 or 9; Y. 8; P. 14. Scales 7-38-5; teeth 2, 4-4, 1 or 2, with a narrow grinding surface on at least two. Length of specimens described from Washington D. C. 3^ to 4^ inches. Color in spirits pale brown, the fins and all of head except upper surface pale; a broad median silvery band, its greatest width about equal to diameter of eye; a dusky spot at the root of the caudal in the young. The spawn-eater is said to occur from Lake Superior to New York and southward. In Pennsylvania begins a form elsewhere described as N. a m a r u s , which differs in the structure of the pharyngeal teeth. This minnow does not much frequent small streams, but is abundant in the Delaware river and also in Lake Erie. De Kay records its occurrence in the Hudson and its tributaries. In the Lake Ontario region the U. S. Fish Commission col- lectors obtained numerous specimens in these localities. 142 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Salt brook, 1^ miles above Nine Mile point June 10-11, 1893 Cape Vincent June 21, 1894 Grenadier island June 27, 1894 Horse island, Sacketts Harbor June 30, 1894 Mouth Salmon river, Selkirk July 25, 1894 Three Mile creek, Oswego July 27, 1894 Great Sodus bay Aug. 6, 1894 Long pond, Charlotte Aug. 17, 1894 Lake shore, mouth Long pond Aug. 17, 1894 Nine Mile point, Webster Aug. 23, 1894 East end Lake Ontario 1894 Livingston Stone also collected the species at Cape Vincent Aug. 9, 1898. In the Lake Champlain basin Evermann and Bean obtained it at Scioto creek, Coopersville, and Rouse Point July 19, 1894. The spawn-eater reaches the length of 10 inches. Its teeth are usually four in the principal row and two in the inner. Its spawn-eating habits are not verified. 84 Notropis hudsonius amarus (Girard) Gudgeon Huclsotmts amarus GIRARD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 210, 1856. (Chesa- peake Bay; Potomac river at Washington) Hybopsis storcrianus COPE, Cypr. Penna. 386, 1866. Leucisciis storcrianus GTTNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 250, 1868; KIRT- LAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. V, 30, pi. IX, fig. 2, 1847. Cliola storcriana JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 170, 1883. Notropis amarus BEAN, Fishes Penna. 30, pi. 23, fig. 37, 1893. Notropis Into" nonius amarus JORDAN, Cat. Fish. N. A. 24, 1885; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 270, 1896. The gudgeon has a moderately elongate and compressed body and a slender caudal peduncle. The greatest depth equals one fourth of the total length to base of caudal, and the least depth of the peduncle equals the length of the postorbital part of head. The head is rather short with an obtuse short snout: the length of the head is nearly one fourth of the total to b.ase of caudal. The snout is one fourth and the eye one third as long as the head. The maxilla extends to the vertical through the front of FISHES OF Ni;\V YORK 143 the eye; the lower jaw is slightly included; the mouth is slightly oblique. The width of the head equals nearly two Thirds of its length. The distance between the eyes equals the length of the orbit. The dorsal origin is over, and the ventral origin under, the 10th scale of the lateral line. The length of the dorsal base equals two thirds that of the head, and the longest dorsal ray is four fifths as long as the head. The anal base is as long as the postorbital part of the head and the longest ray is about two thirds as long as the head. The ventral reaches nearly to the vent, and the pectoral to below the 8th scale of the lateral line. The lateral line is very slightly bent downward over the pec- toral. The caudal is moderate in size and deeply forked. D. ii, 7; A. ii, 7; V. 8; P. 15. Scales 6-36 to 39-4; teeth 1, 4-4, 1 or 1, 4-4, in the example described, from the Susquehanna river. Length 4| inches. The teeth are slightly hooked, and two or three on each side have a developed grinding surface. The color in spirits is light brown, the sides of body and lower half of head silvery; the young have a narrow dusky median lateral band^ which is sometimes continued on the snout, and a more or less distinct small dark blotch at the base of the caudal. The fins are all pale. The gudgeon or smelt of Pennsylvania is a variety of N. hudsonius of Clinton, which ranges from Lake Superior to New York and south in streams east of the Alleghanies to Georgia. The southern form is the variety a ra a r u s of Girard, which exhibits some difference in its pharyngeal teeth. The species is an extremely variable one. It grows to a length of about 8 inches. Prof. Cope records it as abundant in the Susquehanna, specially in the lower part of the river. This is a handsome silvery fish, and is as much used for food as its associate, the silvery minnow. 85 Notropis whipplii (Girard) Silverfin Cyprinella icJiipplii GIRARD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pkila. 198, 1S56. Photogenis spUoptenis COPE, Cypr. Peiina. 378, 1866. Leuciscus spilopterus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 254, 1868. 144 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Luxilus kentuckiensis KIRTLAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. V, 27, pi. VIII, fig. 3, 1847. Hypsilepis kentuckiensis COPE, Cypr. Penna. 371, 1866. Cliola whipplei JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 178, 1883. Cliola analostana JORDAN & GILBERT, op. tit. 179, 1883. Notropis whipplei BEAN, Fishes Penna. 39, 1893. Notropis whipplii JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 278, 1896, pi. XLVIII, fig. 121, 1900. The .silverfin has a moderately elongate body, which is fusi- form in the adult. The caudal peduncle is short and stout. The depth of the body at the ventral fin equals nearly one fourth of the total length to the caudal base. The head is conical, com- pressed and with a pointed snout a little longer than the eye, which is two ninths as long as the head. The mouth is moder- ate, terminal, slightly oblique, the jaws nearly equal, the max- illa reaching to vertical through front of eye. The head is two ninths of the total length without caudal. The dorsal origin is a little behind the ventral origin and over the 15th scale of the lateral line. The length of the dorsal base equals one seventh of the total without caudal, and the longest ray is as long as the head without the snout. The ventral reaches nearly to the anal. The anal begins under the 21st scale of the lateral line; its base is as long as the dorsal base, and its longest ray is about two thirds as long as the head. The caudal is large and moderately forked. The lateral line curves downward over the pectoral. D. 8; A. 9; V. 8; P. 14. Scales 6-38 to 41-4; teeth 1, 4-4, 1, with more or less serrate edges. Length of specimen described, from the Susquehanna river, 4 inches. In spirits the back is brown, the sides dull silvery, the scales with a dusky margin, and the lower parts are whitish. A nar- row and long black blotch on the membrane between the 6th and 7th and another between the 7th and 8th dorsal rays. Lower fins pale. Males in spring have the fins partly or wholly charged with white pigment, and in the hight of the breeding season the pigment in the dorsal has a greenish tint, and the top of the head and snout is covered with minute tubercles. This is one of our finest minnows for the aquarium and is useful as food and bait for larger fishes. FISHES OP NEW YORK 145 The silverfin ranges from western New York to Virginia and west to Minnesota and Arkansas. It is a common and variable species. It reaches a length of 4 inches. In Pennsylvania it occurs in all the rivers and creeks, but according to Prof. Cope is least common in tributaries of the Delaware. According to Dr Meek it is common on flats near Fall creek and in the southern end of Cayuga lake. Evermann and Bean took it in Scioto creek, Coopersville N. Y. in July 1894. In the Lake Ontario region the U. S. Fish Commission secured the following specimens: Grenadier island June 27, 1894 Horse island, Sacketts Harbor June 30, 1894 Cape Vincent June 21, 1894 Mill creek, Sacket Harbor July 2, 1894 Cemetery creek and Black river, Watertown July 5, 1894 Chaumont river July 10, 1894 Great Sodus bay Aug. 6, 1894 Creek near Pultneyville Aug. 7, 1894 Specimens were obtained also by Livingston Stone at Cape Vincent Aug. 9, 1898, and presented to the State Museum. Subgenus LUXILUS Rafinesque 86 Notropis cornutus (Mitchill) Shiner Redfin Cyprinus cornutus MITCHILL, Arner. Month. Mag. I, 289, July, 1817. (meager preliminary notice); op. cit. II, 324, Feb. 1818. (Wallkill river, N. Y.) nts megalops RAFINESQUE, Amer. Month. Mag. II, 121, Dec. 1817. (Hudson river, above the falls) Leuciscus vittatus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 212, pi. 34, fig. 108, 1842. (Ghittenonda and other tributaries of the Mohawk; also in Mohawk) Eypsilepis cornutus COPE, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 158, 1867. Leuciscus cornutus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 207, pi. 29, fig. 92, 1842; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 249, 1868. Minnilus cornutus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 186, 1883. Mlnnilus plumbeohts JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 192, 1883. Notropis mcgalops JORDAN, Cat. Fish. N. A. 26, 1885; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 40, 1893. Notropis cornutus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 281, 1896. 140 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The redfin when young has the body moderately elongate, but it becomes deeper with age and much compressed. The caudal peduncle is short, and its depth equals length of postorbHal part of head. The depth of the body at the ventral is contained three and one third to four times in the total length without the caudal. The head is short, deep and thin, its length one fourth of the total without caudal, its width about one half its length. The eye is as long as the snout and two sevenths as long as the head. Mouth moderate, terminal, oblique, the max- illa reaching about to vertical through front of eye. The dorsal origin is over, and the ventral origin under, the 12th scale of the lateral line. The length of the dorsal base equals one sev- enth of the total without the caudal, and its longest ray one fifth of the same length. The ventral reaches nearly or quite to vent. The anal origin is under the 23d scale of the lateral line. The anal base is one half, and the longest ray two thirds as long as the head. The caudal is large and deeply forked. The lateral line descends in a long curve, becoming straight and median over the anal origin. D. 8; A. 9; V. 8; P. 15. Scales 7-40 to 41-4; teeth 2, 4-4, 2, with narrow grinding surface. Length of specimens described, from 4 to 4-|- inches. The upper parts of this fish are steel blue and the scales are dusky at the edge and base. The sides are silvery, overlaid with a gilt line; there is another gilt band along the back. The belly is silvery except in spring males, in which it is a bright rosy color. The male in the breeding season has the lower jaw and the top of the head and nape covered with small tubercles. In the breeding condition this is a very handsome species, though the females and young lack the bright colors of the adult male. The redfin is known also as the common shiner, dace, rough- head, and banded dace. It is a very widely distributed species, is extremely variable, and, as a consequence, some geographic races have received distinct names. It extends from Maine to the Kocky mountains, but is absent from the Carolinas and Texas. It grows to a length of 8 inches. In Pennsylvania the species is common everywhere and is best known under the name of redfin. It reaches a very large size in Lake Erie. FISHMS OF NEW YORK 147 In New York Mitcliill had it from the Wallkill; Rafinesque from the Hudson above the falls. De Kay knew it from the Mohawk and some of its tributaries including the Chitteuonda. Dr Meek found it very^ common throughout the entire Cayuga lake basin. Evermanu and Bean collected it in the Saranac river, Plattsburg, July 28, and in Scioto creek, Coopersville, July 19, 1894. They secured it also in the St Lawrence river, 3 miles below Ogdensburg, July 17, 1894. The U. S. Fish Commis- sion field parties found it very common in the Lake Ontario basin 1892 to 1894, specimens having been recorded from: Jacket Harbor, Charlotte, Himtingtonville, Henderson Harbor, Cape Vincent, Pulaski, Oswego, Pultueyville, Pointbreezr, \Vebster, Belleville, Scriba Corners, Wart creek, North Hamlin and Salt brook. The redfin runs into small brooks and is most abundant in eddies and other quiet parts of the streams. It has no value except as food and bait for larger fishes, specially the black bass and pike perch. The flesh is very soft and decays rapidly after death. 87 Notropis cornutus frontalis (Agassiz) Leucisciis frontalis AGASSIZ, Lake Superior, 368, pi. 3, fig. 4, 1850, or Hyp- solcpis frontalis fide GUNTHER. Eypsilepis cornutus gibbits COPE, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 158, 1867. Minnilus cornutus var. frontalis JORDAN & GILBEET, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 1ST, 1883. Notropis megalops frontalis MEEK, Ann. N. Y. Ac. Sci. IV, 307, 1888. Notropis cornutus frontalis JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 283, 1896. Very close to the typical cornutus, differing in its very heavy head and in the smaller number of scales (13 to 18) in advance of the dorsal. Great lakes.; everywhere common in mouths of brooks. Dr Meek found it scarce near Ithaca and t eomuion near Montezuma N. Y. Subgenus NOTROPIS 88 Notropis atherinoides Kafinesqne Emerald Minnow; Rosy Minnow Xti-'>iiin atJirrinoidrs RAFINESQTJE, Amer. Mouth. Mas;. II. 20-1, Jan. 1818, Alburnus ruMlns AGASSIZ. Lake Superior, 364, pi. 3, figs. 1-3, 1850. Leuciscus rubellus GUNTHEK, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 254, 1868, 148 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM M inn i Jus riibcJJtis and dinemus JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 202, 1883. Notropis dtlierinoides JORDAN. Cat. Fish. N. A. 27, 1885; MEEK, Ann. N. Y. Aead. Sci. IV, 308, 1888; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 44, 1898; JORDAN & E VERM ANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 293, 1896. The emerald minnow or rosy minnow has a long and thin body a iid the caudal peduncle moderately short and deep. The great- est depth of the body is contained four and three fourths to five and one half times in the total length to caudal base; the least depth of the caudal peduncle is contained 11^ times in the same length. The greatest width of the body is one half its hight. The head is of moderate size, its length two ninths of the total to caudal base. The snout is short and somewhat pointed, its length one fourth that of the head. Eye large, about three and one fourth times in length of head; mouth oblique, moder- ate, the maxilla reaching front of eye. The dorsal origin is midway between the eye and the base of the caudal, over the 17th scale of the lateral line. The base of the fin is two fifths as long as the head, and the longest ray equals the length of the head without the snout. The ventral origin is under the 13th scale of the lateral line, and the fin scarcely reaches to below the end of the dorsal base. The pectoral reaches to below the eighth or ninth scale of the lateral line. The anal origin is under the 24th scale of the lateral line; the base is one half as long as the head, and the longest ray equals the snout and eye combined. The caudal is rather large and deeply forked. The lateral line sweeps downward in a long and shallow curve, becoming nearly median over the anal base. D. ii, 7; A. ii, 9; V. 8; P. 14. Scales 6-39-4; teeth 2, 4-4, 2 or 1, some of them with a slight hook and narrow grinding surface. The specimens described (no. 8735, V. S. National Museum) are 4 to 4-J inches long. In spirits the upper parts are light brown, the sides and cheeks silvery, and the belly golden brown; the fins all pale; the width of the silvery stripe equal to diameter of eye. In life the upper parts are greenish; breeding males have the snout rosy. The emerald minnow is found in the Great lakes region, the Ohio valley and south to Tennessee, being abundant in lakes F I SI IKS OF M:\\ MIRK 140 and in rapids of rivers. The variety found in Pennsylvania has a shorter snout and a smaller eye than the typical a t h e r - i n o i d e s and has received the specific name d i n e m u s ; but the differences are not supposed to be constant. The emerald minnow reaches a length of C inches; it is gregarious like other minnows; and its golden lateral stripe on a clear green ground makes it a handsome species. Dr Meek found one example near Ithaca, in Six Mile creek, below the falls. A few specimens were also found in a small stream near Moutezuma dry dock, in company with X. 1 y t h r u r u s . Evermann and Bean caught a single example in Seioto creek, Coopersville. .Inly 19, 1894; also three specimens in the St Lawrence river. .'! miles below Ogdensburg July 17, 1894. At Cape Vincent June ill, 1X94. the U. S. Fish Commission collectors took 29 specimens, and at Grenadier island, June 27, they obtained 14 individuals. Livingston Stone also collected the species at Cape Vincent Aug\ 9, 1898, and presented speci- mens to the State Museum. 89 Notropis rubrifrons (Cope) Rosy -faced Miniioir AJbitnnix rubrifrons COPE, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 85, lS(.r>. Alltuntcllus rubrifrons COPE, Cyi>r. IVnna. 388, pi. XIII, fig. 3, 1806. Lcucixi-iix nibrifrniis GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Bvit. Mus. VII, 255,- 1868. Minnllns rubrifrons and percobromits JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 202, 1883. 'Notrojilx (Hlectns BEAN, Fishes Penna. 44, 1893. Notropis rubrifrons JORDAN. Cat. Fish. X, A. 27, 1885; JORDAN & EVER- MAXN. Bull. 47, U. S. Xat. Mus. 205.. 1896. The rosy faced minnow has the body moderately long and thin, with a short and deep caudal peduncle. The greatest depth of the body equals one fourth, and the least depth of the peduncle, one eighth of the total length to base of caudal. The head is moderate in size; its width one half of its length, which is one fourth of the total to base of caudal. The snout is pointed and shorter than the eye, which is one fourth to two sevenths as long as the head and equal to the distance between the eyes. The mouth is oblique, and the lower jaw projects slightly; the 150 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM maxilla reaches nearly to below the front of the pupil. The dorsal origin is over the 15th, and the ventral origin under the 12th scale of the lateral line. The base of the dorsal is half as long as the head, and the longest dorsal ray equals the length of the head without the snout. The ventral reaches to the vent, which is under the 18th scale of the lateral line. The anal base is as long as the snout and eye combined, and the longest anal ray is two thirds as long as the head. The caudal is moderate in size and deeply forked. The lateral line curves gently down- ward over the pectoral. D. ii, 7; A. ii, 8; V. 8; P. 13. Scales 6-36-4; teeth 2, 4-4, 2, hooked. The specimens described are 2 inches long. In spirits the body is pale brown; a silvery shade along the median line; the head silvery except above; belly golden; fins all pale. In life the upper parts are olive green and the sides silvery. Males in the breeding condition in spring have prickles on the snout and the forehead; gill covers and dorsal base with a rosy flush. The name d i 1 e c t u s means delightful. The rosy-faced minnow, though reaching a length of only 3 inches or less, is a very beautiful fish. It is abundant in the Ohio valley and extends westward to Nebraska. This is the Alburnellus rubrifrons of Cope. The U. S. Fish Commission collections of 1894 contain this minnow from Salt brook, 1 miles above Nine Mile point June 11, Mill creek, Sacket Harbor July 2, Wart creek July 24, Sandy creek, North Hamlin Aug. 20. Evermann and Bean secured it in abundance in Racquette river, Norfolk, July 18, 1894, and they had a few specimens from Scioto creek, Coopersville, July 19, 1894. 90 Notropis amoenus (Abbott) Alburn ell us amaenus ABBOTT, Amer. Nat. VIII, 334, 1874. Raritan River, N. J. Notropis amoenus JORDAN, Bull. U. S. Fish Com. XIII, 102, 1891; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 296, 1806. Head four; depth five and one third (four and three fourths to five and one half) ; eye three and one third. D. 8; A. 10. Scales FISHES OF NEW YORK 151 6-39-3. Close toN'otropis rubrifrons, but the scales before dorsal smaller, asinN. photogenis. Body elon- gate, compressed; eye large, longer than snout; mouth large, oblique, the jaws subequal, the maxillary reaching to below front of eye; 22 to 25 (rarely 18 to 20) scales before dorsal; lateral line much decurved; dorsal high, placed behind ventrals; pectorals moderate. Translucent green, sides silvery, with sometimes a faint plumbeous band ending in an obscure plum- beous spot. Length 3f inches. Clear streams east of the Alleghanies from the Raritan to the Neuse; abundant; formerly confounded with N. photogenis, of which it may be a variety. (After Jordan and Evermann) Eugene Smith 1 says it is perhaps a variety of N. photo- genis (Cope). Abbott mentions it from the Raritan river, near New Brunswick N. J. 91 Notropis umbratilis lythrurus Jordan Redfin Notropis lythnints JORDAN, Proc. TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 476, 1884. HypsUepis diplaemia COPE, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 162. 1867. Minnilus diplaemius JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 197, 1883. Luxilus lucidus GIRARD, Pacific R. E. Surv. Fishes, 282, pi. LX, figs. 9-12, 1858. Notemigonus lucidus JORDAN & GILBERT, op. cit. 249, 1883. Notropis lythrurus MEEK, Ann. N. Y. Ac. Sci. IV, 307, 1888. Notropis umbratilis lythrurus JORDAN & EVERMANN Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 300, 1896. Head four and one fourth; depth four to four and one half; eye three to four. D. 7; A. 11. Scales 9-40 to 52-3; teeth 2, 4-4, 2. Body compressed, the caudal peduncle long; head long, conical, rather pointed; mouth large, moderately oblique, the premaxillary on level of pupil, the maxillary reaching to below eye; lower jaw somewhat projecting; eye moderate, about equal to muzzle; scales closly imbricated, crowded anteriorly, about 30 before dorsal; dorsal fin high, inserted about midway be- tween ventrals and anal; pectorals not reaching ventrals; . Soc. N. Y. Proc. 1S97. no. 9, p. 18. 152 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM ventrals reaching to vent; caudal fin long. Coloration dark steel blue above; pale or silvery below; a more or less evident black spot at base of dorsal in front; the fins otherwise all plain. Males with the anterior dorsal region and the head profusely covered with small whitish tubercles, the belly and lower fins being of a bright brick red in the spring. Females very pale olive, sometimes almost colorless. Length 3^ inches. Minne- sota to western New York (Cayuga lake), North Carolina, Ala- bama, and Kansas; generally abundant in small, clear streams. (After Jordan and Evermann) Dr Meek took a single specimen from a small stream near the Montezuma dry dock. Genus RHINICHTHYS Agassiz Body moderately elongate and little compressed, with usually stout caudal peduncle and long, conical nose; head rather large, sometimes broad and flat above; eye small; mouth small, sub- inferior, the upper jaw fixed by the union of the upper lip to the skin of the forehead; end of maxillary with a small barbel. Teeth 2, 4-4, 2 (sometimes 2, 4-4, 1) those of the principal row usually hooked, without grinding surface. A short intestinal anal; scales very small; lateral line decurved, continuous; dorsal origin slightly behind ventral; base of anal short. Small fishes inhabiting clear, cold brooks and streams. 92 Rhinichthys cataractae (Cuv. & Val.) Long Nosed Dace; Niagara Gudgeon G-obio cula nu-t ac CrviER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss. XVI, 315, pi. -is:: (pour), 1842 (specimen 5 inches long, from Niagara Falls, N. 1., Milbert); DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 394; 1842. (After Cuvier and Valenciennes) Leuciscus iiasutus AYRES, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. IV, 299, pi. XIII, fig. 3 (very bad), 1844. West Hartford, Conn. Specimen 514 inches long. Rhinichthys marmoratus AGASSIZ, Lake Superior, 354, pi. 2, figs. 1-2, 1850; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 189, 1868. Rhinichthys iiasutus GUNTHER, op. cit. VII, 189. Argyreus nasiitus COPE, Cypr. Penna. 369, pi. XII, fig. 5, 1866. Geratichthys cataractae GUNTHER, op. cit. VII, 176, 1878. Rhinichthys cataractae JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 207, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 46, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 306, 1896. FISHES OF NEW YORK 153 The long nosed dace has a moderately elongate body, with short and stout caudal peduncle and a moderate sized head. The greatest depth is contained four and two thirds times in the total length without caudal; the least depth of the caudal peduncle eight and one half times. The width of the body equals the combined length of snout and eye. The length of the head is one fourth of the total without caudal and three times the length of the snout. The eye is placed high, one fifth to one quarter as long as the head and about two thirds as long as the interorbital width. The mouth is horizontal, small, placed under the snout, the lower jaw the shorter, the upper lip thick and provided with a small barbel at each end. The maxilla reaches to below the posterior nostril. The dorsal origin is above the 23d scale of the lateral line, and the ventral origin is under the 20th. The dorsal base is one half, and the longest ray four fifths as long as the head. The ventral reaches a little beyond the vent and almost to the anal origin. The pectoral reaches nearly or quite to the origin of the ventral, being longer in males. The anal origin is under the 34th scale of the lateral line and a little behind the end of the dorsal. The anal base is one half, the longest ray three fourths as long as the head. The caudal is comparatively large and well forked. The lateral line drops gently downward in a short curve over the pectoral and becomes median over that fin. I), ii, 7; A. ii, 6; V. 8; P. 12. Scales 13-57 to 65-10; teeth 2, 4-4, 2, three of the principal row hooked. Length of the specimen described (no. 8505, U. S. National Museum) 3^ inches. In spirits the color is brown mottled with grayish; the under surface of head sharply defined and pale; the fins all pale. Breeding males in spring have the lips, cheeks and lower fins crimson. The sides are without a black lateral band, which is characteristic of the black nosed species. The general color is olivaceous or dark green with the lower parts paler. The back is nearly black. Some of the scales are mottled with dark and olivaceous. The young have a trace of a dusky lateral band. The fish reaches the length of 5 inches. 154 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The long nosed dace or Niagara gudgeon is found in New England and the Middle states, and in the Great lakes region in clear, cold water. In Pennsylvania, according to Cope, it is limited to the rapids and swift waters of the eastern part of the state. Evermann and Bean collected 50 specimens in Saranac river, Plattsburg N. Y. July 28, 1894, but did not find it in the St Lawrence river or in the Lake Ontario tributaries. Though Dr Meek obtained no specimens of this species from Cayuga lake basin, he believes it a member of the fauna, as it is common in the streams south of Ithaca near Van Ettenville, Chemung co. N. Y. The long nosed dace frequents rapids and rocky pools, and is associated in mountain regions with the brook trout. Its move- ments are swift and powerful and it is a very shapely little fish. As a bait for the black bass it is scarcely surpassed. 93 Rhinichthys atronasus (Mitchill) Black Nosed Dace; Brook Minnow Cyprinus atronasus MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soe. N. Y. I, 460, 1815. (Wallkill River; Fresh-water trout brooks of New York); Amer. Month. Mag. I, 289, Aug. 1817. Mud-fish, from Wallkill Creek. Cyprinus vittatus RAFINESQUE, Amer. Month. Mag. II, 121, Dec. 1817. Hudson River above the falls. Leuciscus atronasus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 205, pi. 23, fig. 69, 1842. RJiiniclitliys atronasus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 191, 186S; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 208, 1883; MEEK, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 308, 1888; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 47, pi. 23, fig. 39, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 307, 1896. Aryyreus atronasus STORER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 122, pi. XXI, fig. 4, 1867. The black nosed dace has a moderately long and stout body, with a broad back, and rather small conical head. The greatest depth of the body is contained four and one fourth to four and one half times in the total length without caudal. The least depth of the caudal peduncle equals one half greatest depth of body. The head is one fourth as long as the fish to caudal base; its width is about one half its length and the snout nearly one third to two sevenths. The eye is as long as the snout and much less than width of interorbital space. The mouth is small, FISHKS OF NEW YORK 155 slightly oblique and with nearly equal jaws; the maxillary bar- bel small or wanting; the maxilla reaches to below the front edge of the posterior nostril. The dorsal origin is nearer to root of caudal than to tip of snout, over the 26th scale of the lateral line. The length of the base is contained two and one third times in that of the head, and the longest ray equals length of head without snout. The ventral origin is slightly in advance of the dorsal origin, and the fin extends to the vent. The pectoral reaches to the 16th scale of the lateral line. In breeding males it is greatly thickened. The anal origin is behind the end of the dorsal base, under the 34th scale of the lateral line; the fin is variable in length with sex and age, some- times five sixths as long as the head. The caudal is small and not deeply forked. The lateral line curves downward over the pectoral, soon becoming median. D. ii, 6 or 7; A. ii, 6; V. 8; P. 11. Scales 10-56 to 63-10; teeth 2, 4-4, 2, three of the prin- cipal row strongly hooked. Length of the specimens described (no. 33984, U. S. National Museum) 2| to 3 inches. In spirits the upper parts are brown and are separated from the silvery lower parts by a dark lateral band, as wide as the short diame- ter of the eye and continued on the snout. Breeding males in spring have the lateral band and the lower fins crimson, run- ning into orange in summer. In the young the dark median band extends on the tail fin. The black nosed dace or " rockfish " is represented in our waters by two forms, one of which is found in the eastern part of the Great lakes region and from Maine to Virginia; this is replaced in the upper lake region and in the Ohio valley, south- ward to Georgia and Alabama, by the blunt nosed variety, Ehinichthys obtusus of Agassiz. The species grows to-the length of 3 inches. The collections of the U. S. Fish Commission in the Lake Onta- rio region contained this species from a great many localities: Cape Vincent, Great Sodus bay, Sacketts Harbor, Stony Island, Grenadier island, Oswego, Buena Vista, Belleville, Pulaski, Wart creek, Huntingtonville, Henderson bay, and Webster. The 156 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM fish were taken in June, July and August and were rather com- mon in most places. Everinann and Bean took one example in the St Lawrence river, 3 miles below Ogdensburg, July 17, 1894; they secured eight specimens in the Saranac, at Plattsburg, July 28, 1894. According to Dr Meek it is common near Ithaca in all streams above and below the falls; but was not found by him near Mon- tezuma. Mitchill described the fish from fresh-water brooks of New York containing trout, chiefly from the Wallkill, where Rafmesque also knew of its occurrence. De Kay states its hab- itat to be clear, fresh-water streams and rivulets of New York and adjoining states. Eugene Smith found it associated with darters, blobs and small minnows in the vicinity of New York city. This fish prefers clear small brooks. Swift and active in its movements and beautiful in colors, it is one of the most inter- esting inhabitants of the waters in which it lives. In the aqua- rium Eugene Smith observed it to eat voraciously of animal food and to be more hardy than any other minnow. Genus HYBOPSIS Agassiz Body robust, or variously elongate; mouth terminal or in- ferior, with lips thin or somewhat fleshy, a conspicuous barbel always present and terminal on the maxillary; a second barbel sometimes present on each side; prernaxillaries protractile. Teeth 4-4, or 1, 4-4, 1, or 0; hooked, the grinding surface narrow or obsolete. Scales usually rather large; lateral line continu- ous. Dorsal inserted over, in front of, or slightly behind ven- trals; anal basis short. Males usually with nuptial tubercles, and sometimes flushed w r ith red. A large and varied group, closely allied to N o t r o p i s, from which it differs chiefly in the presence of the small maxillary barbel. (After Jordan and Evermann) FISHES OF NEW YORK 157 Subgenus ERIJIYSTAX Jordan 94 Hybopsis dissimilis (Kir tl and) Spotted SMner Luxilus dissimilis KIRTLAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. Ill, 341, pi. IV, fig. 2, 1841. Ceraticlitliys dissimilis COPE, Cypr. Penna. 368, pi. 12, fig. 1, 18C6; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 177, 1868; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull, 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 215, 1883. Hifbopsis dissimilis JORDAN, Cat. Fish. N. A. 29, 1885; BEAN. Fishes Penn:i. 48, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. :!1S, 1S96. The spotted shiner has a long and slender body, its greatest depth being nearly one fifth of the total length without the caudal. The caudal peduncle is long and low, its least depth two fifths of greatest depth of body. The width of the body equals two thirds of its depth. The head is moderately large, its length one fourth of the total without the caudal. The snout is long but obtusely rounded at the point, its length one and one half times the diameter of the eye, which is two sevenths of the length of the head. The mouth is small, in- ferior, horizontal, the maxilla reaching to below the anterior nostril and with a small barbel at its hind end. The gill open- ings are separated by a very broad isthmus. The dorsal begins over the 16th scale of the lateral line and sliglilly in advance of the ventral; the dorsal base is one half as long as the head; the longest ray is as long as the head without the snout; the last ray is as long as the snout. The ventral reaches to the vent, its length one seventh of the total without the caudal. The pectoral reaches to below the 13th scale of the lateral line. The anal origin is under the 27th scale of the lateral line; the anal base is short, equaling the diameter of the eye; the longest ray is as long as the ventral; the last ray is one third as long as the head. The caudal is moderately large and deeply forked, the middle rays one half as long as the external rays. The lateral line is nearly straight and median. D. ii, 8; A. ii, 6; V. 7; P. 15. Scales 6-43-5; teeth 4-4, hooked and with a short grinding surface. In spirits the back is brown, the lower parts are whitish, and the sides are broadly striped with silvery. In 158 XEW YORK STATE MUSEUM life the lateral stripe is bluish and overlaid with dusky spots and is continued forward through the eye around the snout. The fins are pale. The specimen described, no. 36746, U. S. National Museum, from AYhite River Ind., is 3.1 inches long. The spotted shiner occurs in the Great lakes region and Ohio valley southward to Kentucky and west to Iowa. It is abun- / dant in creeks of western Pennsylvania. Kirtland had the spe- cies from the Mahoning river and from Lake Erie. The spe- cies is most common in the Great lakes and in the channels of large streams, and does not run into small brooks. It is a ready biter and is caught in large numbers by hook fishing. It is useful as bait, being employed with minnows to bait the hooks on " set lines." The species grows to the length of 6 inches, and derives its name from the bluish baud along the sides which is inter- rupted so as to form spots. The sides are bright silvery in color and the fins unspotted. The body is long and slender. Subgenus HYBOPSIS Agassiz 95 Hybopsis storerianus (Kirtland) Lake Minnow Rutilus storerianus KIRTLAND, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. I, 71, 1842. (Lake Erie) Leuciscus storeriamis KIRTLAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. V, 30, pi. 9, fig. 2, 1847; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 250, 1868. Ceraticlitliys luccns JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 213, 1883. Cliola storeriana JORDAN & GILBERT, op. cit. 173, 1883. Hybopsis storeriamis JORDAN, Oat. Fish. N. A. 28, 1885; JORDAN & EVEB- MANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 321, 1896. Body elongate, compressed, the dorsal outline ascending grad- ually to origin of dorsal, thence descending to the caudal fin; head short, compressed, its length four and one third in total without caudal; depth of body one fourth total; eye equal to snout, one third length of head; interorbital space broad, flat, somewhat grooved, its width about equal to eye; preorbital bone large, oblong, conspicuous, silvery; mouth rather small, horizontal, the lower jaw included; edge of premaxillary below level of eye; maxillary not reaching to front of orbit; barbel FISHES OF NEW YORK 150 conspicuous; snout boldly and abruptly decurvod, I lie lip thick- ened, forming a sort of pad; lateral line somewhat decurved. Rows of scales along back converging behind dorsal, where the upper series run out, as in N o t r o p i s c o r n u t u s . Fins rather higher and more falcate than in H. k e n t u c k i e n s i s : dorsal fin inserted well forward, over ventrals; pectoral fins pointed, not reaching ventrals; ventrals not reaching vent; caudal long, deeply forked. Teeth usually 1, 4-4, 0, hooked, without grinding surface. Translucent greenish above; sides and below brilliantly silvery; cheeks and opercles with a bright silvery luster; fins plain; a slight plumbeous lateral shade; no caudal spot; no red. Length 5 to 10 inches. Lake Erie to Nebraska and eastern Wyoming, Tennessee, and Arkansas; abundant in the larger streams, specially in Iowa. (After Jor- dan and Evermann) Kirtland found the lake minnow only in Lake Erie, where it was frequently taken with seines in fishing for other species. The U. S. Fish Commission recently added it to the fauna of the Lake Ontario basin, three specimens having been collected in Long pond, Charlotte, Aug. 17, 1894. Subgenus NOCOMIS Girard 9G Hybopsis kentuckiensis (Rafinesque) Horned Chub; River Chub Luxilus kentuckiensis RAFIXESQUE. Ichth. Ohien. 48, 1820. Semotilus Mguttatiis KIRTLAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. Ill, 344, pi. Y, fig. 1, 1841. Leuciscus Uguttatus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 214 (estralimital), 1842. Ccratichtliys Uguttatus COPE, Cypr. Penna. 366, pi. 11, fig. 5, 1866; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 178, 1868; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16. U. S. Nat. Mus. 212, 1883. Ceralu-litlnjs micropogon JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16. U. S. Nat. Mus. 212, 1883. Hybopsis kentuckiensis BEAN, Fishes Penna. 49, pi. 24, fig. 40, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 322, 1896. Body stout and rather short, its greatest depth nearly equal to length of head and one fourth of total length without caudal ; snout long and obtuse, its length rather more than one third 100 MOW YORK STATE MUSEUM length of head, aiid nearly twice diameter of eye; mouth large and placed low, the maxilla reaching to below front of eye, the lower jaw shorter than upper; dorsal origin slightly nearer to root of caudal than to tip of snout, its base one half as long as the head and two thirds as long as its longest ray; ventral under front part of dorsal, its length equal to dorsal base; anal origin under 24th scale of lateral line, longest anal ray about one seventh of total to caudal base, pectoral two thirds as long as head, and reaching to below 13th scale of lateral line; caudal moderately forked. D. iii, 7; A. iii, 6. Scales G-40 to 45-5. Color bluish olive, the head darker; green and coppery reflections on the sides. Fins pale orange, pinkish in spring; lower parts white. Breeding males have the top of head swollen into a crest and covered with coarse tubercles, from which arises the name horned chub; they have also some- times a red spot on each side of head. The young have a broad dark median band and a dusky spot at the base of the tail fin. Kafinesque states that the fish is known as Indian chub, red- tail and shiner. Other names in eastern localities are nigger chub, river chub, jerker, horned dace and horny-head. The species ranges from Pennsylvania westward to Dakota and south to Alabama. In Pennsylvania it is common in the Susquehanna and the Ohio basin, but absent from the Dela- ware. Dr Meek collected a few specimens at Montezuma N. Y. and found none in any of the other localities investigated. Eugene Smith refers to this species two specimens of fish from the Passaic river. The flesh of his fish appeared to be very soft. The horned chub abounds in large rivers and is rarely seen in small brooks. This minnow grows to a length of 10 inches and is good for food. As a bait for the black bass the young horned chub, because of its endurance on a hook, can not be excelled. Genus COVESIUS Jordan Body elongate; head normal, not depressed, the profile con- vex; mouth terminal, normal, a well developed barbel on the anterior side of maxillary, just above its tip. Teeth 2, 4-4, 2, FISHES OF XF:W YORK 161 hook CM!, without grinding surface 1 . Scales rather small; lateral line continuous. Dorsal fin over or slightly behind ventrals; anal basis short. Size rather large. This genus is closely re- lated to the section N o c o m i s under H j b o p s i s , from which it may be separated by the presence of two teeth in the lesser row, by the position of the barbel, and by I he smaller scales. Its relations with S e in o t i 1 u s are equally close. The species are not well known. (After Jordan) 97 Couesius plumbeus (Agassiz) Lake Chub: Plumbeous Minnow; Morse Lake Minnow GoUo pliuiibcus AGASSIZ, Lake Superior, 366, 1850. Cerfttirltilnifi prostJiauius COPE, Cypr. Peuua. 365, pi. XI, fig. 4, 1866. CeraHclitliys plinnbeus GUNTHER, Cat. Fish, Brit. Mus. VII, 176, 1868. i* rtixxiiiiilifi JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 218, 1S83, in part. profitJicmiiis JORDAX & GILBERT, op. cit. 219, 1883; MATHER, App. 12th Rep. Adirondack Surv. 30, 1886. Couesius pliniibcits JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 323, 1896. Body moderately elongate and somewhat compressed; great- est depth four and one half to four and two thirds in total length without caudal, and equal to length of head; head rather flat above, not much raised above the level of the eyes; inter- orbital space nearly one and one half times long diameter of eye, which equals snout and is one fourth length of head; head four and one third in total without caudal; maxillary reaching to below front of orbit, a small barbel placed high at its tip, lower jaw well included. Scales small, smaller in advance of dorsal fin. Lateral line beginning high up on the nape, abruptly descending to the median line over the pectoral fin, and thence running nearly straight to the caudal fin. Dorsal origin mid- way between tip of snout and base of caudal fin,, over middle of ventral base, longest ray two thirds of head, length of base one half of head; ventral scarcely longer than dorsal base, the fin not reaching vent; longest anal ray equal to ventral, base of anal two fifths of head; pectoral reaching to 18th scale of lateral line; caudal deeply forked, its upper lobe two ninths of total without caudal. D. 8; A. 8. Scales 13-65-8; teeth 2, 4-4, 162 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 2. Brown above; sides somewhat silvery, abruptly separated from the dusky upper parts; snout and top of head back as far as hind border of eye, dusky; fins plain. Length 7 inches. Streams and lakes from Lake Superior east to the Adirondack region and Canada; more common northward. Here described from specimens from Beaver river, Herkimer co. N. Y., and Lake Lomond, near St John N. B. Mather had specimens from Morse lake, in the Adirondacks, and it is reported also from Seventh lake, Fulton Chain. The species is known from Lake Superior east to the Adirondacks and New Brunswick. Agassiz had it from Lake Huron as well as Lake Superior. Genus EXOGLOSSUM Rafinesque Body rather short and stout, subterete; lower jaw three- lobed, the dentary bones being close together and completely united, not forming a wide arch as in the minnows generally; upper jaw not protractile; pharyngeal bones small, the teeth hooked, and without grinding surface, 1, 4-4, 1. Scales moder- ate; lateral line complete. Dorsal origin is nearly over the be- ginning of the ventral; anal fin short; isthmus broad; gill rakers weak; pseudobranchiae present; air bladder normal; alimentary canal short; peritoneum white. Size large. No marked sexual peculiarities; the males with some black pigment in spring. 98 Exoglossum maxillingua (Le Sueur) Cut-lips; Niggei* Gliub Cyprinus maxilUngiia LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. I, 85, 1817, Pipe Creek, Maryland. Exoglossum annitlatum RAFINESQUE, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. I, 421, 1818. Hudson River. /:.rr)(//os\(. itittrexcens RAFINESQUE, op. cit. I, 421, 1818. Lake Champlnin. l-:.rn(/!<>ssinn rilhi/inn RAFINESQUE, op. cit. I, 421, ISIS. Hudson River. ExoylOMiim iiifi.fillinf/na AGASSIZ, Amer. Jour. Sci. Arts, XIX, 215, 1855; COPE, Cypr. Peuna. 360, pi. XI, fig. 1, 1866; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 1SS, 1868; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 160, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 36, pi. 22, fig. 36, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 327, 1896, pi. LIV, fig. 140, head below. The cut-lips has a stout, short and thick body, its greatest hight nearly equal to the length of the head, and one fourth of FISHES OF NEW YORK 1G3 the total without caudal. The caudal peduncle is short and deep, its least depth about one half the head. The snout is short and obtusely conical, its length somewhat greater than the eye and nearly equal to one third of the head. The maxilla reaches to below the nostrils, its length equaling that of the snout. Head four and one fifth in total to base of caudal. The dorsal origin is nearly over the ventral origin and in the vertical through the 23d scale of the lateral line. The dorsal base is about one half as long as the head, and its longest ray equals twice the distance from the dorsal origin to middle of eye. The pectoral is about as long as the longest dorsal ray, and the ventral reaches to the anal origin. The base of the anal is one half as long as the longest anal ray. The caudal is moderately forked. D. 8; A. 7. Scales 9-54-6; teeth 1, 4-4, 1. Length of specimen described, 4f inches; from Takorna Park D. C. Color brown or olivaceous, darker above; a short and narrow dark bar above root of pectoral; young with a dusky bar at the caudal base. Fins dusky, their extremities pale. The cut-lips may be readily distinguished by the three-lobed lower jaw, the dentary bones being closely united and the lower lip represented by a fleshy lobe on each side of the mandible. The cut-lips is known also as chub, butter chub, nigger chub, and day chub. It is a very common species in the Susquehanna and its tributaries. Its range is not extensive, reaching only from western New York to Virginia. In New York it occurs in Lake Ontario, the St Lawrence, Lake Chaniplain, Cayuga lake, and the Hudson river. The U. S. Fish Commission has it from the following New York localities in the Lake Ontario basin: Mouth Salmon river, Selkirk. Big Sandy creek, Belleville. Wart creek, Buena Vista. Little Stony brook, Henderson bay. Big Stony creek, Henderson Harbor. Spring brook, Pulaski. Black river, Huntingtonville. All of these were obtained in July, 1894. Everniann and Bean collected it also in the St Lawrence, 3 miles below Ogdensburg, 164 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM July 17, 1894, and in Scioto creek, Coopersville and Saranac river, Plattsburg, July 19, 1894. Dr Meek found it in small numbers in Six Mile creek and Fall creek below the falls. It inhabits clear running water. The fish grows to the length of 6 inches and may be at once distinguished from all of the other minnows by its three-lobed lower jaw. It is believed that this singular structure of the mouth enables the fish to scrape niollusks from their hold on rocks, as its stomach usually contains small shellfish. It takes the hook readily. Genus CARASSIUS Nilsson This genus differs from Cyprinus in being without barbels; its pharyngeal teeth are compressed, in a single series, 4-4. Temperate Asia and Europe. Domesticated and degenerated into numerous varieties. (After Giinther) Pharyngeal teeth spatulate, four in a row on each side; mouth terminal, without barbels; base of the dorsal fin elon- gate; anal fin short; both fins with a spine which is serrated behind. (After Heckel and Kner) Body oblong, compressed and elevated; mouth terminal, with- out barbels; teeth 4-4, molar, but compressed; scales large; lateral line continuous; dorsal fin very long, with the third ray developed into a stout spine, which is serrated behind; anal short with a similar spine; ventrals well forward. (After Nilsson) 99 Carassius auratus (Linnaeus) Goldfish (Introduced) Cyprinus auratus LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. X, I, 322, 1758; CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss. XVI, 101. 1842; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 190, 1S42; STORER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 115, pi. XXI, fig. 1, 1867. Carassius auratus BLEEKER, Syst. Cypr. rev. Ned. Tijclschr. Dierk. I, 255, 1863; Atlas Ichth. Cypr. 74, 1863; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 32, 1S68; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 253, 1883; GOODE, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, pi. 231, 1884; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 54, pi. 25, fig. 43, 1893; JORDAN & EVEBMANN, Check List Fish. N. A. 512, 1896. The body of the goldfish is oblong, stout, with the back ele- vated and compressed. Its depth at dorsal origin is contained FISHES OF NEW YORK 165 about two and one half times in the total length without the tail; the head is contained three and one third times in this length. The head is small in front of eye, being depressed on snout, and the dorsal profile from tip of snout to dorsal fin is very steep. The rather small eye equals one fifth or less of length of head. Mouth terminal, oblique, rather small, the maxilla not reaching the vertical from front of eye. No barbels. Teeth compressed, 4-4. The dorsal fin is high and long, com- mencing over the seventh scale of the lateral line and running back to near the caudal; its longest rays, first and second, a little longer than the spine, equal to one half of depth of body, or length of head from pupil to its posterior end. From the third to the last the rays gradually decrease in size, the last being less than half the length of the longest. The first dorsal spine is minute, one fourth the length of second, which is strong and coarsely serrated. The anal is short, the length of its base being but two thirds the length of its longest rays; first spine small, one third the length of second, which is stout and ser- rated. Pectoral fin broad and rounded, its length three fifths of that of head, or equal to longest anal ray. It reaches to ventral, which is placed well forward. Caudal fin large; scales large, deeper than long; lateral line median, complete, almost straight. D. II, 18; A. II, 7; V. 9. Scales 5-30-6. The specimen described is from the fish ponds, at Washington D. C. Length S inches. The common goldfish or silverfish is a native of Asia, whence it was introduced into Europe and from there into America, where it is now one of the commonest aquarium fishes and is extremely abundant in many of our streams. In Pennsylvania it abounds in the Delaware and Schuylkill river. I)e Kay made the following remarks about the goldfish, or golden carp, as he styles it. The golden carp, or goldfish, as it is more generally called, was introduced from China into Europe in the early part of the 17th century, and probably shortly after found its way to this country. They breed freely in ponds in this and the adjoining states. They are of no use as an article of food, but are kept 166 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM in glass vases as an ornament to the parlor and drawing-room. They are said to display an attachment to their owners, and a limited obedience to their commands. They are introduced into lakes, ponds, fountains and reser- voirs generally. An individual was kept in a fountain at 42d street and 5th avenue, New York, by Patrick Walsh nine years, and was then presented to the aquarium. At the Cold Spring Harbor hatchery, L. I., several varieties were hatched from the same lot of eggs. These included the normal form, the typical fantail, and one which was so deep- bodied that it could scarcely balance itself in swimming. The goldfish in the New York aquarium were never troubled by fungus or parasites. In many of our streams and ponds, the goldfish has run wild, and hundreds of the olivaceous type will be secured to one of a red color. In the fauna of the moraine ponds and in quarry holes, the goldfish stands first. It will breed in foul water where only catfish and dogfish [Umbra] can be found. Eugene Smith The goldfish is extremely variable in color and form. It is usually orange, or mottled with black and orange, yet in some streams, and even in pond culture, silvery individuals are often more common than any of the mottled varieties. The species grows to the length of 12 inches. It spawns early in the spring and is subject to many dangers and is attacked by numerous enemies. The fish, however, is extremely hardy, prolific, and tenacious of life. Genus CYPRIMJS Linnaeus Body robust, compressed, resembling that of the buffalo fish; mouth moderate, anterior, with four long barbels; snout blunt, rounded; teeth molar, broad and truncate, 1, 1, 3-3, 1, 1; scales large; lateral line continuous; dorsal fin very long, with a stout spine, serrated behind; anal fin short, also with a spine. Large fishes of the fresh waters of Asia; introduced into Europe and America as food fishes. It has been generally introduced into private ponds in nearly all parts of the United States; from these it has escaped into the streams and lakes, and is now an FISHES OF NEW YORK 167 abundant fish in most of our larger, warmer rivers and in the ponds and bayous of the Mississippi valley. On the south shore of Lake Erie (and in the Mississippi near Quincy 111. and the Delaware river) it has become well established and is of con- siderable commercial importance. (After Jordan and Evermann) 100 Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus Carp (Introduced) Cyprinus carpio LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. eel. X, I, 320, 1758; CUVIER & VAL- ENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss. XVI, 23, 1842; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 188, 1842; HECKEL & KNER, Siissw. Fische, 54, fig. 21, 1858; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 25, 1868; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 10, U. S. Nat. Mus. 254, 1883; GOODE, Fish. & Fish. U. S. I, pi. 230, Leather carp, 1884; American Fishes, 411, figure, 1888; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 55, pi. 1, colored, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMAXN, Check- List Fishes N. A. 512, 1896. The carp has a stout and moderately elongate body and a small head. The greatest depth equals one third of the length without the caudal fin. The length of the head is nearly one fourth of the total to the base of the tail. The caudal peduncle is about two fifths as deep as the body, and the caudal fin is strongly forked. The eye diameter is contained six and one half times in the length of the head. The mouth is moderate, the upper jaw not extending to front of eye. The dorsal begins at a distance from tip of snout equal to twice length of head; the length of its base equals twice length of pectoral; the long- est ray equals length of head withouf the snout; the last ray is two fifths as long as the head. The anal begins under the 15th ray of the dorsal; its longest ray is two thirds as long as the head and more than twice as long as the last ray; the length of its base is about two fifths of length of head. The ventral begins under the second ray of the dorsal; its length nearly equals longest dorsal ray. The pectoral is nearly one fifth of total length without the caudal. The long spines of the dorsal and anal are strongly serrate along their hinder edges. A bar- bel on the upper lip and another at the angle of the mouth on each side; the longest barbel about equal to diameter of eye. Three varieties are recognized, the scale, the mirror and the 168 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM leather carp, based chiefly on the scaling of the body. The leather carp is nearly naked, and is said to be the best variety; the mirror carp has a few large scales irregularly placed; and the scale variety has the body completely scaled. The color is olivaceous, varying into dusky and blue. In the leather carp the lower parts are more or less suffused with yellowish. D. Ill, 20; A. Ill, 5; V. I, 7; P. 15. Scales 5-38-5. The carp is a native of Asia and has been introduced into Europe and America as a food fish, chiefly for pond culture. It thrives in all warm and temperate parts of the United States and reaches its best condition in open waters. In Texas it has grown to a length of 23 inches in 11 months after planting. The leather variety is most hardy for transportation. Mr Hessel has taken the carp in the Black and Caspian seas; salt water seems not to be objectionable to it, and it will live in stagnant pools, though its flesh will be decidedly inferior in such waters. The carp hibernates in winter except in warm latitudes, takes no food and does not grow; its increase in size in temperate latitudes occurs only from May to August. Reproduction. The spawning season begins in May and con- tinues in some localities till August. A carp weighing 4 to 5 pounds, according to Mr Hessel, yields from 400,000 to 500,000 eggs; the scale carp contains rather more than the other varie- ties. During the spawning the fish frequently rise to the sur- face, the female accompanied by two or three males. The female drops the eggs at intervals during a period of some days or weeks in shallow water on aquatic plants. The eggs adhere in lumps to plants, twigs and stones. The hatching period varies from 12 to 16 days. Size. According to Hessel the average weight of a carp at three years is from 3 to 3^ pounds; with abundance of food it will increase more rapidly in weight. The carp continues to add to its circumference till its 35th year, and in the southern parts of Europe Mr Hessel has seen individuals weighing 40 pounds and measuring 3^ feet in length and 2f feet in circum- ference. A carp weighing 67 pounds and with scales 2| inches PISHES OF NEW YORK 109 in diameter was killed in the Danube in 1853. There is a record of a giant specimen of 90 pounds from Lake Zug in Switzer- land. Examples weighing 24 pounds have been caught recently in the Potomac river at Washington D. C. Food. The carp lives principally on vegetable food, prefera- bly the seeds of water plants such as the water lilies, wild rice and water oats. It will eat lettuce, cabbage, soaked barley, wheat, rice, corn, insects and their larvae, worms and meats of various kinds. It can readily be caught with dough, grains of barley or wheat, worms, maggots, wasp larvae, and sometimes with pieces of beef or fish. During the summer of 1897 two female leather carp died in captivity as a result of retention of the eggs. Large individuals are found in Prospect park lake. Brooklyn, where the specie was introduced. The food of the fish in cap- tivity includes hard clam, earthworms, wheat, corn, lettuce and cabbage. Its growth is remarkable. A leather carp has fully doubled its weight in one year. Linnaeus says the carp was introduced into England about the year 1600. De Kay places the first introduction into New York waters in the year 1831 and publishes a letter of Henry Eobinson, Newburg, Orange co., who brought them from France, reared and bred them successfully in his ponds, and planted from one dozen to two dozen annually in the Hudson dur ing the four years preceding his letter. Mr Robinson stated that they increased greatly and were frequently taken by fisher- men in their nets. Order APODES Eels Suborder EXCHBLYCEPHALI Family AT^OITII^LIDAE True Eels Genus AX<;I'IL,L,.\ Shaw Body elongate, subterete, compressed posteriorly, covered with small, linear, embedded scales which are placed obliquely, some of them at right angles to others; lateral line well devel- 170 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM oped; head long, conical, pointed; eye small, well forward, over the angle of the mouth; teeth small, villiform, subequal, in bands on each jaw and a long patch on the vomer; tongue free at tip; lips rather full, with a free margin behind, attached by a frenum in front; lower jaw projecting; gill openings rather small, slit- like, about as wide as base of pectorals and partly below them; nostrils superior, well separated, the anterior with a slight tube; vent close in front of anal; dorsal inserted at some distance from the head, confluent with the anal around the tail; pectorals well developed. Species found in most warm seas (the eastern Pacific excepted) ascending streams, but mostly spawning in the sea. (After Jordan and Evermann) 101 Anguilla chrysypa Rafinesque Eel Anguilla chrisypa RAFINESQUE, Arner. Month. Mag. II, 120, Dec. 1817. Lake George; Lake Champlain; Hudson River above the falls. Anguilla vulgaris MITCHIIX, Trans. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 360, 1815; GOODE, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, pi. 239, 1884. Muraena bostoniensis LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat Sci. Phila. 81, 1821. Anguilla tyrannus GIRARD, Ichth. U. S. Mex. Bdy. Surv. 75, pi. 40, 1859. Anguilla blepliura RAFINESQUE, Ainer. Month. Mag. II, 120, Dec. 1817. South shores of Long Island. Muraena rostrata LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 81, 1821. Oayuga Lake. Anguilla tenuirostris DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 310, pi. 53, fig. 173, 1842. Anguilla rostrata DE KAY, op. cit. 312, 1842. Copied from Le Sueur. Lakes Cayuga and Geneva, N. Y.; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 361, 1883; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 95, pi. 30, fig. 58, 1893. Anguilla macrocephala DE KAY, op. cit. 313, 1842. After Le Sueur. Sara- toga Lake, N. Y. Anguilla bostoniensis STOREK, Hist. Fish. Mass. 214, pi. XXXIII, fig. 1,1867. Anguilla olirysypa, JORDAN & DAVIS, Rev. Apod. Fish. 668, 1892; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 348, 1896, pi. LV, fig. 143. In the eel the body is elongated, roundish throughout most of its extent, compressed behind. The scales are deeply embedded and very irregularly placed, some at right angles to others. The head is conical, elongated with pointed snout and small eye, except in the male. The lower jaw is longer than the upper. The jaws with small teeth in bands; a long patch of teeth on the vomer. The gill openings are partly below the FISHES OF NEW YORK 171 pectoral fins, small and slitlike. The beginning of the dorsal is at a distance of nearly twice the length of the head behind the gill opening. The anal begins still farther back, and the vent is close to its origin. The dorsal and anal fins are con- tinuous around the tail. Hight of body nearly two thirds the length of the head, which is contained about eight and one fourth times in the total. The distance from the gill opening to the vent equals two and one half times the length of the head. The color varies greatly, but is usually dark brown, more or less tinged with yellow; lower parts paler. In the male referred to the upper parts were silvery gray sharply separated from the satiny white of the abdomen. In the eel the lateral line is very distinct. The eel appears to have only one common name. It is one of the best known and most singular of our fishes, yet its breeding habits are even now enveloped in doubt. The species ascends the rivers of eastern North America from the Gulf of St Law- rence to Mexico, the former being the northern limit of the species on our coast. In the Ohio and Mississippi valleys it is extremely common, and its range has been much extended by the opening of canals and by artificial introduction. It has been transferred to the Pacific coast. The eel has been known to exceed a length of 4 feet. The average length of individuals however is about 2 feet. The female is larger than the male, paler in color, and is different in certain other particulars, which will be mentioned in the description of the species. This is a very important food fish. It is caught chiefly when descending the rivers in the fall. In 1809 about a ton of eels were caught in a single fish basket above Harrisburg. At the present time this method of capture is illegal. Both adults and young eels ascend the streams in spring, the young coming in millions, but in the fall run small eels are seldom seen. Till a comparatively recent date it was not certainly known that the eels have rggs which are developed outside of the body. Even now the breeding 172 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM habits are unknown, but it is supposed that spawning takes place late in the fall or during the winter near the mouths of rivers on muddy bottoms. Dr Jordan has expressed the belief that the eel sometimes breeds in fresh water, since he has found young eels less than an inch long in the headwaters of the Alabama river, about 500 miles from the sea. It is esti- mated that a large eel contains about 9,000,000 eggs. The eggs are very small, measuring about 80 to the inch, and can scarcely be seen by the naked eye. The difference of size in the sexes has already been referred to. According to one writer the males are much smaller than the females, rarely exceeding 15 or 16 inches in length. The question whether eels will breed in fresh water has an impor- tant bearing on their introduction into places from which they can not reach the sea. The generally accepted belief is that, while the eels will grow large and fat, they will not reproduce under such circumstances. When the eels meet obstructions in streams, they will leave the water and travel through wet grass or over moist rocks. They have not been able to surmount the falls of Niagara. At the foot of this barrier hundreds of wagon loads of young eels have been seen crawling over the rocks in their efforts to reach the upper waters. Dr Mitchill heard of an eel, which was caught in one of the south bays of Long Island, that weighed 16| pounds. He records the use of eelpots and the practice of bobbing, and also the winter fishing by spearing. Dr Mitchill states distinctly that the ovaries of eels may be seen like those of other fish, but they are often mistaken for masses of fat. Dr DeKay states that he had examined the silver eel of the fishermen and was disposed to consider it only a variety of the common eel. He charac- terizes it as " silvery gray above, with a clear, satiny white abdomen, separated from the color above by the lateral line." W<- found eels moderately common in Great South bay late in September. At Bellport thousands of eelpots are employed, and these are fastened to stakes which are set in straight lines FISHES OF NEW YORK 173 over a large extent of the bottom. These stakes project from four to six feet above the surface of the water. At Blue Point -cove, Great River beach and Fire Island we found five individuals of a kind of eel known to the fishermen as silver eel. These were taken between September 25 and October 7, and they were the only ones of the kind seen by us. They attracted attention at once, both on account of their colors, large eyes, short snouts and long pectoral fins, as compared with the common form. There is still some doubt in my mind as to whether this represents a distinct species or not. It may be the silver eel, A n g u i 1 1 a a r g e n t e a , of Le Sueur, which is described as silvery gray above, separated from the silvery white abdomen by a distinct lateral line. But, to whatever species they may be referred, the greatest interest attaches to them because they have proved, on examination by Prof. John A. Ryder, to be males with the generative glands so well developed as to leave no doubt con- cerning the sex of the individuals. Prof. Ryder has published a report on these specimens, with figures showing sections of the syrskian organs, and announces the fact that the male eel has now been positively indentified from at least two points along our eastern coast, the other locality being Woods Hole Mass. He felt little doubt that, if the eels had been taken a few weeks later, ripe spermatozoa would have been found in them, and he considers it probable that the eggs are cast some time during the months of December or January. The speci- mens from Woods Hole were taken in November 1881, and they show slightly larger syrskian organs than in the Fire island specimens. In captivity eels live many years. They delight to lie buried in the mud or sand with only their heads out, ready for anything edible to come within reach. Mussels and snails are picked out of the shells by them. (After Eugene Smith 1 ) The eel in captivity is particularly liable to attacks of fungus, which do not always yield to treatment with salt or brackish Soc. X. Y. Proc. 1897. no. 9, p. 29. 174 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM water; but the parasite can be overcome by placing the eel in a poorly lighted tank. In Cayuga lake, N. Y., according to Dr Meek, the eel is not common, but is occasionally taken at each end of the lake. W. H. Ballon makes the following remarks about their feed- ing habits: They are among the most voracious and carnivorous fishes. They eat most inland fishes except the gar and the chub. . . They are particularly fond of game fishes, and show the delicate taste of a connoisseur in their selections from choice trout, bass, pickerel and shad. . . On their hunting excursions they overturn huge and small stones alike, working for hours if necessary, beneath which they find species of shrimp and crayfish, of which they are exceedingly fond. . . They are among the most powerful and rapid of swimmers. . . They attack the spawn of other fishes open-mouthed, and are even said to suck the eggs from an impaled female. . . They are owl- like in their habits, committing their depredations at night. Family Conger Eels Genus LEPTOCEPHAIAS (Gronow) Scopoli Body formed as in A n gu i 1 1 a ; no scales; head depressed above, anteriorly pointed; lateral line present; mouth wide, its cleft extending at least to below middle of eye; teeth in outer series in each jaw equal and close set, forming a cutting edge, no canines, band of vomerine teeth short, tongue anteriorly free; vertical fins well developed, confluent around the tail, pectoral fins well developed, dorsal beginning close behind pectorals; gill openings rather large, low; eyes well developed^ posterior nostril near eye, anterior near tip of snout, with a short tube; lower jaw not projecting. Skeleton differing in numerous respects from that of A n g u i 1 1 a . Vertebrae about 56+100. In most warm seas. This genus contains the well known and widely distributed conger eel and three or four closely related species. (After Jordan and Evermann) Lateral line in a deep, pale furrow, decurved slightly from the head to below dorsal origin, very conspicuous pores in its anterior third. FISHES OF NEW YORK 175 102 Leptocephalus conger (Linnaeus) Conger Eel; Sea Eel Muraena conger LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. eel. X, I, 245, 1758. Anguilla conger MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 360, 1815. Anguilla oceanica MITCHILL, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. I, 407, 1818, off New fYork. Conger occidentalis DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 314, pi. 53, fig. 172, 1842, very poor. Conger vulgaris GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VIII, 38, 1870. Conger niger JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, IT. S. Nat. Mus. 362, 1883. Leptocephalus conger GOODE, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, pi. 240, 1884; JOR- DAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 354, 1896, pi. LVII, fig. 148, 1900; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 90, 1898. Dorsal fin begins opposite to or just behind tip of pectoral; eye one and one half in snout, five to six in head; snout three and one fourth to four and one fourth in head; gape extending nearly or quite to below hind margin of eye; head one and four fifths to one and six sevenths in trunk; tail longer than rest of body; pectorals three and one half in head; upper lip full, with conspicuous pores. Length of head one ninth of total length, depth of body two fifths length of head. Pores in lateral line very conspicuous. Color dark olive brown, sometimes nearly black, above; chin, space behind pectorals and lower parts soiled white. The conger eel occurs on both coasts of the Atlantic, on our coast extending from. Cape Cod to Brazil, but not often coming into shallow bays. An exception is noted in Great Egg Harbor bay, where the fish is not rare in summer. It is sometimes caught in Gravesend bay also in summer, and occasional indi- viduals ai'<- captured on hand lines off Southampton L. I., by men fishing for sea bass and scup. The fishermen dislike to handle the species on account of its pugnacity and strength; it snaps viciously at everything near it when captured in our waters; yet, strangely enough, the writer has seen a hundred or more, taken on trawl lines off the north coast of France, in a boat at one time, and not one gave evidence of ferocity. In captivity in the aquarium the sea eel suffers severely from fungus attacks, which are not relieved by changing the fish from salt water to fresh. Perhaps the salinity of the water in some 176 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM localities is too low, and relief might be obtained by supplying sea water of normal ocean density. The young and larval form of the conger is a curious, elongate,, transparent, bandlike creature with a minute head, a very small mouth and with the lateral line, belly, and anal fin dotted with black points. An individual nearly 3 feet long was captured with a hand line by A. P. Latto in the ocean, near Southampton L. I. Aug. 3, 1898, while fishing for sea bass and scup. In the Woods Hole region, according to Dr Smith, " it comes in July and remains until fall; very common for several years, but rather rare formerly. Fishermen as a rule do not dis- tinguish it from the common eel. A few are taken in traps and with lines, but many large ones, weighing from 8 pounds upward, are caught in lobster pots. A specimen in the col- lection weighs 10 pounds. One caught on a line at Falmouth, Aug. 30, 1897, weighed 12 pounds. The smallest observed are 15 to 20 inches long." Mitchill declared the flesh to be very dainty eating. DeKay said the flesh has a peculiar unsavory taste. He discovered that it is a vicious animal, snapping when captured at everything near it. In France the conger eel is among the cheapest and least esteemed of the food fishes. The observations of Dr Otto Hermes, director of the Berlin aquarium, on the habits and the reproduction of the conger eel are of very great interest. Reference is made to them by Groode in Fixli IIIH] Fislierii Industries of the United States, 1, p. 657, and two figures copied from drawings of Dr Hermes are given in the text. The ovary of the conger, says Dr Hermes, is developed in captivity, and th.s is often the cause of the death of the eel. ' In a conger which <1 ed in the Berlin aquarium the ovaries pro- truded very extens' y, and a specimen in the Frankfort aqua- rium burst on a (<(, f the extraordinary development of the ovaries. The ova; N of this eel, which weighed 22| pounds, themselves weigh/ ounds, and the number of eggs was about 3,300,000. The i t cf a natural opening fcr tho escape of the eggs was evident!;, this case, the cause of death. In the fall FISHES OF NEW YORK ITT of 1879 Dr Hermes received a number of small sea eels taken in. the vicinity of Havre. These eels ate greedily and grew rapidly. Only one was tardy in its development, so that it could easily be distinguished from the rest. This one died June 20, 1880, and was examined the same day. It proved to be a sexually mature male and served to clear up some very doubtful problems in the reproduction of the species, as well as its ally, the common. eel. Order ISOSPONDYLI Isospondylous Fishes Family ELOPIDAE Tarpons Genus TARPON Jordan & Everrnann Body oblong, compressed, covered with very large, thick r silvery, cycloid scales; belly narrow, but not cariuated, its edge w r ith ordinary scales; mouth large, oblique, the lower jaw prom- inent, maxillary broad, extending beyond the eye; villiform teeth on jaws, vonier, palatines, tongue, sphenoid, and pterygoid bones; eye very large, with an adipose eyelid; lateral line nearly straight, its tubes radiating widely over the surface of the scales; branchiostegals 23; pseudobranchiae wanting; gill rakers long and slender; dorsal fin short and high, inserted behind the ventrals (over the ventrals in M e g a 1 o p s ), its last ray elon- gate and filamentous as in M e g a 1 o p s , D o r o s o m a , and Opisthouema ; anal fin much longer than dorsal, falcate its last ray produced; caudal widely forked; pectorals and ventrals rather long; anal with a sheath of scales; dorsal naked; caudal more or less scaly; a collar of large scales at the napi\ Vertebrae about 57 (28+29). Size very large, the largest of the herriuglike fishes'. (After Jordan and Evermann) 103 Tarpon atlanticus (Cuv. & Yal.) : Tdrjioii ; Unnidc EcuiUc ; N/7nr A"///// Megalops atliniticiis CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss. XIX, 39S, 1S46. . Guadaloupe. Megalops elongatus GIEAHD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 224. 38:>S, Long Island. Megalops tlirissokles GINTUFI:. Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII. 472, ISiiS; JORHAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 262, 1883; GOODE, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 610, pi. 217 B, 1884; American Fishes, 406, fig. 1888. 178 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Tarpon atlanticus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 409, 1896; pi. LXVII, fig. 177, 1900; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 90, 1898; EVERMANN & MARSH, Fishes Porto Rico, Bull. U. S. F. C. 1900; 80, fig. 10, 1900. Body elongate, compressed, not deep, its greatest bight about one fourth of total length without caudal. Length of head * nearly equal to greatest hight of body. Mouth large, oblique, the lower jaw very prominent, the maxillary extending beyond the vertical from hind margin of eye; eye moderately large, two thirds length of snout, two elevenths length of head; dorsal origin midway between tip of snout and end of middle caudal rays, dorsal base two fifths as long as head, dorsal filament nearly as long as the head; ventral origin midway between tip of snout and end of anal fin, the ventral fin two fifths as long as the head; base of anal three fourths as long as the head; pectoral fin as long as the longest ray of dorsal; caudal deeply forked, its longest rays equal to dorsal filament. Size large, weight reaching nearly 200 pounds and length 6 or 7 feet. Color silvery, darker above. D. Ill, 12; A. Ill, 23; P. 13; V. II, 9. Scales 12-47. The tarpon inhabits the western Atlantic from Cape Cod to Brazil and the West Indies, being rather uncommon northward, but abundant toward the south, ascending rivers in pursuit of smaller fishes on which it feeds. The species grows to the length of 7 feet and the weight of 150 pounds, or upward. It is not prized for food, but is now very celebrated as a game fish of great endurance and strength. The scales are an article of com- merce as curiosities. Fishermen dread the tarpon because it leaps through their nets with great violence, and the Pensacola seiners have known of persons being killed or severely injured by its leaping against them from the seine in which it was inclosed. As to the edible qualities of the flesh opinions differ, but the fact is that the species is seldom eaten. Girard had a specimen from Long Island which he described in 1858. Since that time it has been seen there occasionally. In the fall of 1898, Capt. H. E. Swezey reported to me that he found one about 4 feet long in Swan river at Patchogue. The fish was FISHES OF NEW YORK 179 recently dead, and lie believes it came into tin- river alive. In the vicinity of Woods Hole Mass, it is now a regular summer visitor. According to Dr Smith, it is " taken every year in traps at South Dartmouth, also occasionally at Quissett and at Menemsha, in latter part of September. All are about one size, 80 to 100 pounds. Fishermen call them ' big scale fish.' An effort has been made to find a market for them in New Bedford, but the people did not like them, owing to the toughness of the flesh." The tarpon evidently breeds at Porto Rico, as Everrnann and Marsh collected a number of individuals measuring from 2^ to 3^ inches at Fajardo in February 1899, these apparently being the first young of the species so far recorded. Genus ELOPS Linnaeus Body elongate, subcylindric; scales small, silvery; head moder- ate; conical anteriorly, with very long jaws, the lower slightly included; branchiostegals 30; eye large and placed high; dorsal fin high in front, the last rays short, origin of fin about midway between tip of snout and end of middle caudal rays, the fin depressible into a scaly sheath; anal fin short, well behind end of dorsal, also depressible into a sheath; pectorals and ventrals each with a long appendage; caudal fin long and deeply forked; opercular bones thin, with expanded, rnembranaceous borders, a collar of scales on occiput; lateral line continuous, nearly straight, its tubes simple; large pseudobrauchiae. Vertebrae 43+29=72. Large fishes of the open seas. The young are ribbon- shaped, elongate, and pass through a series of metamorphoses similar to the changes observed in the congers. 104 Elops saurus Linnaeus Biy-ct/cd }[ erring Elops saunis LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. ed. XII, I, 518, 1TG6; DE KAY. N. Y. Fauna, Fishes. 2G7. pi. 41. fig-. 131, 1842; JORDAN & GILBERT. Bull. 1C. U. S. Nat. Mus. 261, 1883; GOODE, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 611, pi. 218, upper figure, 1884; JORDAN & KVKKMAXN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 410, 180G; pi. LXYII, fig. 178. 1900: BEAN, Bull. Ainer. Mus. Nat. Hist. IX, 334, 1897; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII. 90. 1898; BEAN, 52.1 Ann. Rep't N. Y. State Mus. 9C, 1900; EVERMANN & MARSH. Bull. U. S. F. C. for 1900, 81, fig. 11, 1900. Elops iiiermis MITCHILL, Trails. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I. 4-1.". 180 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Body elongate, subcylindric, compressed toward the tail, its greatest depth contained from five to six times in its length without caudal; caudal peduncle slender, its least depth three eighths of length of head; head moderate, obtusely conical, its length four and one fourth to four and one half in total with- out caudal, flattened above, with a broad, deep furrow between the eyes; eye large, one fifth as long as the head; upper jaw broad, rounded, entire, longer than the lower, which is received into it, the maxillary reaching far behind eye, almost to hind edge of preopercle; the gular plate three or four times as long as broad. D. 20; A. 13; V. 15; B. 30. Scales 12-120-13. Length 3 feet. Tropical and temperate seas; common in America, north to Virginia and the Gulf of California; occasional as far north as Cape Cod. Color bright silvery, with a greenish tinge along the back. Pupils black; iris golden; summit of the head bronzed; opercles with golden metallic tints; all the fins more or less punctate with black; dorsal and caudal light olive brown; lower fins tinged with yellow. Mitchill found some individuals in the New York market in September 1813, under the name of salmon trout. One which he bought was 22 inches long and weighed 42 ounces. The fish were sold at 75c each, a remarkably good price for a species now generally considered unsalable because the flesh is dry and bony. An adult was caught in Gravesend bay Oct. 5, 1896. Among the fishermen there it is known as " seering " and " cisco ". Several examples, each about 1 foot long, were taken at South- ampton L. I. in October 1898, by A. P. Latto, and presented to the State Museum. At Cape Cod, according to Dr Smith, it is " common in fall, none appearing before October. Taken in traps in Vineyard sound and in herring gill nets at Vineyard Haven. Average length, 18 to 20 inches. No young observed." The fish does not breed on our coast. The young are known to be ribbon-shaped and elongate and to pass through a remark- able series of changes similar to those observed in the ladyfish, Albula vulpes. FISHES OF NEW YORK 181 Family Ladyfishes Genus ALBI LA (Gronow) Bloch & Schneider Body rather elongate, little compressed, covered with rather small, brilliantly silvery scales; head naked; snout conical, sub- quadrangular, shaped like the snout of a pig, and overlapping the small, inferior, horizontal mouth; maxillary rather strong, short, with a distinct supplemental bone, slipping under the membranous edge of the very broad preorbital; premaxillaries short, not protractile; lateral margin of upper jaw formed by the maxillaries; both jaws, vomer, and palatines with bands of villiform teeth; broad patches of coarse, blunt, paved teeth on the tongue behind and on the sphenoid and pterygoid bones; eye large, median in head, with a bony ridge above it, and almost covered with an annular adipose eyelid; opercle mod- erate, firm, preopercle with a broad, flat, membranaceous edge, which extends backward over the base of the opercle; pseudo- branchiae present; gill rakers short, tuberclelike; gill mem- branes entirely separate, free from the isthmus; branchiostegals about 14; a fold of skin across gill membranes anteriorly, its posterior free edge crenate; no gular plate; lateral line present; belly not carinate, flattish, covered with ordinary scales; dorsal fin moderate, in front of ventrals, its membranes scaly; no adipose fin; anal very small; caudal widely forked; pyloric caeca numerous; parietal bones meeting along top of head. Verte- brae numerous, 42+28=70. A single species known, found in all warm seas. In this, and probably in related families, the young pass through a metamorphosis, analogous to that seen in the conger eels. They are for a time elongate, band-shaped, with very small head and loose transparent tissues. From this condition they become gradually shorter and more compact, shrinking from 3 or 3^ inches in length to 2 inches. According to Dr Gilbert, this process, like that seen in various eels, is a normal one, through which all individuals pass. In the Gulf of California, where these fishes abound, these band-shaped young are often thrown by the waves on the beach in great masses. (After Jordan and Evermann) 182 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 105 Albula vulpes (Linnaeus) Lady fish; Bone Fisli ; Banana Esox rulpes LINNAEUS, Syst. Na.t. ed. X, I, 313, 1758. Bath-inns inJin-s DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Irishes, 2G8, 1842, name only. All ill a Parrae CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss. XIX, 339, 1846. Albiila crittlirriclieilos CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, op. cit. 362, pi. 574, 184ii. Allnila wHOrlujiu-lins GUNTI-IER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 468. 18G8. Albula nil pcs JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 10, U. S. Nat. Mus. 258. 1883; GOODE, Fish & Fish. Incl. U. S. I, G12, pi. 218, lower fig. 1884; BEAN, 19th Rep. Comm. Fish. N. Y. Separate. 42, pi. XXIII. fig-. 31, 1800; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 411, IMir,. pi. LXVIII, fig. 17'.), 1900; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 91, 1898; EVERMAXX & MARSH, Bull. U. S. F. C. for 1900, 82, fig. 12, 1900. Body fusiform, elongate, rounded, its greatest depth, at dorsal origin, contained four and two thirds times in total length to base of caudal fin and equal to distance from posterior nostril to end of head; caudal peduncle rather slender, its least depth about one third of greatest depth of body; head long, conical, the snout rather acutely pointed, length of head about three and two thirds in total; eye moderate, one half of snout, one fifth of head, placed high; mouth inferior, small, the maxilla not reaching to below front of eye; collar of enlarged scales on the nape extending down to the base of the pectoral; dorsal origin about midway between tip of snout and base of caudal, the base of the fin a little more than one half the length of head, the longest ray as long as the head without the snout, the last ray one third as long as the longest. The pectoral reaches to below the 15th scale of the lateral line. The ventral origin is under the 32d scale of the lateral line; the fin three eighths as long as the head. Anal origin equally distant from base of caudal fin and end of ventral base, the longest ray one third as long as head, the last ray less than one half as long as the longest; caudal fin long, deeply forked, the outer rays equal in length to Light of body. D. Ill, 14; A. I, 8; Y. 1, 10. Scales 8- 75-8. Bright silvery; upper parts olivaceous; fins pale; axils of pectorals and ventrals dusky. Size large, length reaching 3 feet. Tropical seas, on sandy coasts, on our coasts ranging north- ward to Cape Cod and San Diego. A valuable food fish, but FISHES OF NEW YORK 183 not esteemed in northern waters. Highly prized at Key West and the Bermudas; not much in favor at Porto Rico. The ladyfish is found on our coast from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico. It also occurs in the Bermudas and West Indies. The Bermuda names arc bony fish and grubber. It is considered an excellent food fish on these islands, and Dr Goode testifies from personal experience to its value as an edible species. At Cozumel, off the coast of Yucatan, it is highly esteemed. On our coast it is occasionally found as far north as Cape Cod. The ladyfish is not described by either Mitchill or DeKay as one of the fishes of New York; and I did not see it in Great South bay, but it was taken later in the fall by Capt. Lewis B. Thurber, of Patchogue, who forwarded it to me. Dr Smith says it is very rare at Woods Hole Mass, where it was reported by Prof. Baird in 1871. Since 1871 it has been observed only once or twice, and none has been taken for many years. Family HIODONXIDAE Mooneyes Genus HIODON Le Sueur In the mooneyes the body is oblong, compressed, covered with cycloid silvery scales of moderate size. Head short, naked, with obtuse snout and no barbels. The mouth is terminal, of mod- erate size; jaws subequal. The margin of the jaw is formed by the nonprotractile intermaxillaries and the slender maxillaries, which are articulated to the end of the intermaxillaries. The opereular apparatus is complete. Intermaxillary and mandible with small cardiform teeth, wide set; feeble teeth on the maxil- laries; a row of marginal teeth on the tongue, those in front very strong canines; a baud of short close set teeth on middle of tongue; vomerine teeth small, close set, in a long double series; teeth on the palatine, sphenoid and pterygoid bones. The lower jaw is received within the upper so that the mandi- bulary teeth are opposite to those on the palatine bone. The very large eye has a little developed adipose eyelid. Nostrils large, close together, with a flap between them; gill membranes 184 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM deeply cleft, free from isthmus, their base covered by a fold of skin; branchiostegals 8 to 10; no pseudobranchiae; gill rakers short, thick and few in numbers; a straight and well developed lateral line; belly without scutes; no adipose fin; dorsal fin over the caudal part of the vertebral column; anal long and low;, ventrals large; caudal deeply forked; stomach horseshoe-shaped r with blind sac; intestine short; one pyloric appendage; air bladder large and simple. The eggs fall into the abdominal cavity before exclusion. 106 Hiodon tergisus (Le Sueur) Mooneye; Toothed Herring Hiodon tergisus LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. I, 366, Sept. 1818, Ohio- River and Lake Erie. HioOROSOMA Kafinesque The genus D o r o s o m a has a herring-like body, with a short and obtuse snout. The body is much compressed and is covered with moderately large, thin, cycloid scales. The head is scaleless, short and small; the eye large and provided with FISHES OF NEW YORK 187 an adipose eyelid. The belly is compressed to an edge, which is armed with sharp serra! ures. Mouth small, transverse; the lower jaw the shorter, jaws toothless. The maxilla does not extend to the middle of the eye. Gill rakers numerous, mod- erately long and slender; gill membranes deeply cleft and free from the isthmus; pseudo'branchiae well developed; lateral line wanting-. The dorsal fin is placed nearly over the middle of the body, slightly behind the origin of the ventral. Its last ray is produced into a long filament. The pectorals and ventrals are rather long and each is provided with an appendage formed of several elongate, overlapping accessory scales. The caudal is deeply forked. Anal very long, its last rays low. The stomach is stout and short, resembling the gizzard of a hen. 108 Dorosoma cepedianum (Le Sueur) Gizzard Shad \t('!/(ilops cepediana LE SUEUR, Jour. Ac.' Nat. Sci. Phila. I. 361, Sept. 1818. (Baltimore and Philadelphia markets). Chi pea lietentnis RAFIXESQUE, Anier. Month. Mag. Ill, 355, Sept. 1818. Ohio River. Dorosoma notata RAFIXESQUE, Ichth. Ohien. 40, 1820. Ohio River. riiatocssus ci i i>ca"uuiiis and <-IUpticus DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 265, 1842, as oxtrM-liniital. Chatocssus ellipticus KIRTLAND, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist. IV, 235, pi. X, fig. 1, 1844. Chatocssiis ccpciliuniis CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss. XXI, 90, pi. 612, 1848. New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 409, 1868. Dwosonia cepedianum JORDAN GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 271, 1883; GOODE, Fish. & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 610, pi. 217 A, 1884; BEAN, Fishes Peiina. 63, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 416, 1896, pi. LXIX, fig. 183, 1900. The depth of the body is contained two and two thirds times in the total without caudal, the length of the head four and one third times. Eye longer than snout, one fourth length of head. The third ray of the dorsal is two thirds as long as the head, and the filamentous ray nearly equals the head in length. Length of dorsal base about one half that of head; anal base two sevenths of total length of body without caudal, its longest ray two thirds of length of ventral or one third of that of head. Pectoral three fourths as long as head. Lower caudal lobe 188 NEW YORK STATE MUSEfUM longer than upper, its length equal to that of the head. D. iii^ 10; A. ii, 31. Scales 56 to 64, about 20 in a transverse series. Scutes in front of ventrals 17, and from ventral to vent 12. Upper parts bluish; sides silvery, sometimes with golden reflec- tions. In young individuals there is a large dark blotch on eaich side not far behind the head. This disappears with age. The mud shad, also known as gizzard shad, winter shad, stink, shad, white-eyed shad, hickory shad, hairy back, and thread herring, is found in brackish waters along the coast from New York southward to Mexico, ascending streams and frequently becoming landlocked in ponds. A variety of this fish is also common in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, whence it has spread through canals into Lakes Erie and Michigan. Cuvier and Valenciennes had the species from New York, whence it was sent by Milbert. De Kay mentions it only as an extralimital fish; but in his time the fish fauna of Lake Erie was very little known. This fish grows to a length of 15 inches and a weight of 2 pounds. It spawns in summer, and its food consists of algae, confervae, desrnids and diatoms. With its food it takes large quantities of mud, from which it separates the organic sub- stances after swallowing. This is a beautiful species, some- what resembling the shad in general appearance and has been very successfully kept in the aquarium, where its bright colors and graceful movements make it attractive, but its flesh is soft, tasteless and seldom eaten when any better can be obtained. In most regions fishermen consider it a great nuisance and throw away their entire catch. Negroes eat the mud shad from tributaries of the Chesapeake, and in Florida the fish has been utilized to some extent in making guano. The name gizzard shad alludes to the form of the stomach, which is very much' like that of a hen. Family CLTLTI^EIDAE: Herrings Body oblong or elongate, more or less compressed, covered with cycloid or pectinated scales; belly sometimes rounded, sometimes compressed, in which case it is often armed with FISHES OF NEW YORK IS! I bony scrratures; head naked, usually compressed; mouth rather large, terminal, the jaws about equal, maxillaries forming the lateral margins of the upper jaw, each composed of about three pieces; preniaxillaries not protractile; teeth mostly small, often feeble or wanting, variously arranged; adipose eyelid present or absent; gill rakers long and slender, gill membranes not con- nected, free from the isthmus; no gular plate; gills four, a slit behind the fourth; branchiostegals usually few (6 to 15); posterior lower part of opercular region often with an angular emargination, the tips of the larger branchiostegals being abruptly truncate; pseudobranchiae present; no lateral line. Dorsal fin median or somewhat posterior, rarely wanting; no adipose fin; ventrals moderate or small (wanting in Pristi- g a s t e r ); anal usually rather long; caudal fin forked. Verte- brae 40 to 56. Genera about 30; species 150; inhabiting all seas, and usually swimming in immense schools; many species ascend fresh waters, and some remain there permanently. The northern and fresh-water species, as in many other families, differ from the tropical forms in having a larger number of vertebral segments. Genus ETRUMEIS Bleeker Body rather elongate, somewhat compressed; the abdomen rounded and without serratures; mouth terminal, of moderate width, formed as in C 1 u p e a , but the maxillary more slender; teeth moderate, in patches on jaws, palatines, pterygoids, and tongue; scales cycloid, entire, very deciduous; branchiostegals numerous, very slender. Ventrals inserted posteriorly, entirely behind dorsal; the dorsal fin rather long, of 18 to 20 rays; anal low, of moderate length. Pseudobranchiae well developed; pyloric caeca numerous. No silvery lateral stripe. Few species. Asiatic and American. (After Jordan and Evernianu) 109 Etrumeus teres (De Kay) Round Herring Alosa teres DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 262, pi. 40, fig. 128, 1842. New York harbor. Etrumeus teres GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 467, 1866; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 263, 1883; BEAN, Bull. U. S. F. C. VII, 148, 1888; 19th Rep. Comm. Fish. N. Y. separate. 44, 1890. Etrumeus sadina JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 420, 1896, not Clupea sadina MITCHILL; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 91, 1898. 190 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Body slender, rounded, elongate, its greatest depth one sixth of total length without caudal; head rather long, one fourth of total without caudal; mouth small, the jaws subequal in front, the maxilla extending to or slightly beyond the front of the eye; the mandible not at all projecting when the mouth is closed, but rather included; thickness of body more than two thirds of its depth; vo merino teeth present, lingual teeth well developed, teeth in the jaws weak; eye large, equal to snout, three and one third in length of head; dorsal origin midway between tip of snout and origin of anal, the longest dorsal ray more than one half length of head; ventrals well behind dorsal, the length little more than one third length of head; anal basis short, about one third length of head; axillary scales above pectorals and ventrals very long, those over the pectoral more than one half as long as the fin. D. 18; A. 13. Color, bright silvery; darker above, with a tinge of blue and yellow on the sides. Head metallic silvery with coppery reflections; iris golden; dorsal and caudal tinged with yellow, the remaining fins translucent, with minute dark specks. Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico, not rare southward; a favorite food of bluefish. The " New York shadine " of Mitchill can not be identified with this species; it was evidently a species of Pomolobus bearing a close resemblance to the shad. MitchilFs shadine had a spot behind the gill cover, a wide and toothless mouth, a projecting lower jaw and 15 anal rays. These characters are in opposition to the known characters of the round herring, and there is no probability that this little fish was before him for description. De Kay saw only a single specimen of the round herring from the harbor of New York. A copy of Mite-hill's 1 description is here given for comparison. 13 New York S]nulin<\ 1 n p e a s a d i n a An elegant species with a small smutty spot behind the gill cover; but with neither spots nor stripes on its back or sides. Mouth wide and toothless. Tongue small. Back delicately variegated with green and blue. Lateral line straight. Sides silvery white, considerably above that line; and '; Mitchill. Lit. and Phil Soc. N. Y. Trans. 1X1.1. 1:4.17. FISHES OP NEW YORK 191 below it quite to the belly. The white reflects vividly green,, red, and other splendid lines. Head rather elongated. Lower jaw projecting. Scales very easily deciduous. Form neat, taper, and slender. (Jills rise into the throat on each side of the root of the tongue. Eyes pale and large. Tail deeply forked. On account of the even connection of the false ribs, the belly is not at all serrated, but quite smooth. A semitransparent space in front of the eyes from side to side. Rays: Br. 7; P. 10; V. 9; R 18; A. 15; C. 19. This species was not taken in Great South bay, but on the ocean beach adjacent to the Blue Point lifesaving slaiion. Jt is the slender herring described by Dr DeKay from a single specimen taken with a seine in New York harbor in the latter part of October. He found it associated with numerous speci- mens of the big-eyed herring, E 1 o p s s a u r u s. DeKay states that the E 1 o p s appeared to be known to the fishermen as the round herring, but the name is more applicable to the little species now under consideration. Several specimens wen- seined on the ocean beach at Blue Point Lifesaving station, Octo- ber 7. None were obtained in the bay. September 24, 51 exam pies of this fish were found lying on the beach, in the vicinity of the same station, having been driven ashore by bluefish. In August 1890 great schools of round herring were stranded in this way. Prof. Baird found a number of specimens along the beach of Great Egg Harbor bay in 1854, and a single specimen was seined by Capt. Thomas Steelman in the same locality in October 1887. Young individuals, from 4i to 4f inches long, were taken in Gravesend bay July 30, 1896. They were associated with young- mackerel, of slightly larger size, in bunches and schools. John B. DeXvse saw some schools that he estimated to contain 25,000 fish. l)r Smith says it is apparently rare at Woods Hole; known to have been found on only a few occasions. In October, some years ago, several were taken in traps at Meuemsha bight. Marthas Viuevard. 192 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Genus CLUPEA (Artedi) Linnaeus True herrings with the body elongate, numerous vertebrae, the ventral serratures weak, arid an ovate patch of small but persistent teeth on the vorner. The few species belong to the northern seas, where the number of individuals is inordinately great, exceeding perhaps those of any other genus of fishes. Not anadromous, spawning in the sea. The genus C 1 u p e a, which includes the shad, river alewife -or herring and the Ohio golden shad or skip jack, admits of division into several subgenera, one of which includes the common sea herring and other marine species, another the shad and still another the river alewives. The last have the suborbital bone longer than deep and are supplied with teeth on the tongue and in some species in the jaws. 110 Clupea harengus Linnaeus Sea, Herring Clupea Jiarenfftis LINNAEUS, Syst. Nat. eel. X, I, 317, 1758; MITCHILL, Amer. Month. Mag. II, 323, Mar. 1818; OUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss. XX, 30, pi. 591, 1847; GTTNTHER, Gat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VII, 415, 1868; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 265, 1683: GOODE, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 549, pi. 204, 1884; BEAN, 19th Rep. Comm. Fish. N. Y. separate, 42, pi. XXIV, fig. 32, 1890; JORDAN & EVERJI, \NN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 421, 1896, pi. L/XX, fig. 185, 1900; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 91, 1898. 'Clupea Jialec MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 451, 1815. Clupea pusilla MITCHILL, op. cit. 452, 1815. Clupea coerulca MITCHILL, op. cit. 457, 1815. Clupea elongata DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 250, 1842; STORER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 152, pi. XXVI, fig. 1, 1867. Body elongate, slender, fusiform, compressed, its greatest depth one fourth of total length without caudal; caudal pedun- cle slender, its least depth one third of length of head; head moderate, two ninths of total length without caudal; eye large, three and one half to four in head, and with a well developed adipose eyelid; lower jaw strongly projecting; maxilla reaching to below middle of pupil, its length three sevenths of length of head; cheeks longer than high; an ovate patch of small teeth on vomer, palatine teeth minute or wanting, small teeth on the tongue, small teeth in the jaws in young examples, usually dis- FISHES OF NEW YORK 193 appearing with age; gill rakers very long and slender, about 40 on the lower part of the first arch; dorsal origin midway between tip of snout and end of scales, dorsal base one eighth of total length without caudal, longest dorsal ray equal to pos- torbital part of head, last dorsal ray one half the length of longest; yentral under about middle of dorsal, its length three eighths of head; anal base a little shorter than dorsal base, its longest ray one fifth, and its shortest ray one tenth of greatest depth of body; caudal fin well forked, its longest rays three fourths of head; pectoral fin about two thirds as long as the head. Scales very deciduous. Abdomen with weak serratures, before and behind the yentrals, 28 scutes in front of and 13 behind the yentrals. D. 18; A. 17. Scales 14-57. Vertebrae 56. Peritoneum dusky; back and head deep blue, tinged with .yellow; opercles yellowish, tinged with violet; iris silvery; sides silvery with bright reflections. Length 12 to 17 inches. North Atlantic ocean, on our east coast south to Cape Hatteras, spawning in the sea. The sea herring is the most important food fish of the world and it is undoubtedly the most abundant of all the fishes. Its food consists of small invertebrates, chiefly copepods and the larvae of worms and mollusks. It forms the most important food of many of our valuable food fishes including the cod, had- dock, halibut, bluefish, and a great many others. Herring spawn at two seasons, spring and fall, the first spawning con- tinuing from April to June and the second season between July and December. The eggs are adhesive and are deposited on the bottom, where they adhere to seaweeds and other objects of support. The egg is about T 1 li* Pomolobus mediocris i .Mitchill) Hickory tf]m<. .\V\v York; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 1C, U. S. Nat. Mns. \2G(., 18s:: : M< DONALD, Fish & Fish. I ml. U. S. I, GOT, pis. 21GA. 21GB, 1884; BEAN, 19th Rep. Conim. Fish. X. Y. separate. 43, pi. XXV. fig. 34. IS'in. < 'In/tea niuttowaca MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. fc Phil. Soc. X. Y. I, 4.~>1. 181.". Long Island. ('In pea. virfsci'iis DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 252. pi. 13, fig. 37. 184 2. Alona niattoicaca DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 260, pi. 40, fig. 127. 1842. Muxn liiicata STOKER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 102, pi. XXVII, fig. 2, 1867. ciinmi mattoiraca GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mns. VII, 438, 1868. Potiivloliiis ntcdirnrix JORDAN ca pseiidoJiarcnijns WILSON, Rees's Encycl. IX, about 1811. Chipca rcnidlift MITCIIILL, Rep. Fish. N. Y. 22, 1814; Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 454, 1815; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, TJ. S. Nat. Mus. 267, 1883; BEAN, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 588, 1884; Fishes Penna. 58, pi. 25, fig. 45, 1893; GOODE, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, pis. 207, 208, 1884. Alosa t i/ri ii us DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 258, pi. 13, fig. 38, 1842. Pomolobus rernalis GOODE & BEAN, Bull. Essex Inst. 24, 1879. Pamolobiis pscitdoliarcugtts GILL, Rep. U. S. F. C. I, 811, 1873; JORDAN & EVEEMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 426, 1896, pi. LXXI, fig. 189, 1900; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 91, 1898; BEAN, 52d Ann. Rep. N. Y. State Mus. 96, 1900. Body deep and heavy forward, much compressed. Its greatest depth, at dorsal origin equals one third of total length to base of caudal. The least depth of caudal peduncle equals but one half of length of head. The head is short, being almost as deep as long, about one fifth of the standard length. The eye is large, deeper than long, its length slightly greater than its distance from tip of snout about three and one half in head. Maxillary broad, extending to the vertical through pupil; upper jaw ernarginate, lower jaw slightly projecting. Length of dorsal base almost equal to that of head; its highest ray about two thirds as long as the base, or equal to anal base. The anal is low, its longest ray being equal to length of eye. Caudal deeply forked, partially scaled near base. Length of pectoral less than that of dorsal base. D. 16; A. 17 to 19. Scales 15-50 to 54. In the male the dorsal is higher, its longest ray about equal to length of dorsal base, or two thirds the length of head. Color on black blue silvery and paler on sides and underneath; a black spot behind head; dusky lines on body, which are only visible on large examples. Described from no. 27197 U. S. National Museum from Poto- mac river. Length 11 inches. The branch herring, river herring or alewife has a variety of additional names. It is the ellwife or ellwhop of Connecticut river, the spring herring of New York, the big-eyed and wall- 200 XK\V YO1JK STATE MUSEUM eyed herring of the Albemarle, the sawbelly of Maine, the gray- back of Massachusetts, the gaspereau of Canada, little shad of certain localities, and the Cayuga lake shad of New York. The recorded range of the branch herring is from the Neuse river. N. C., to the Miramichi river, in New Brunswick, ascending streams to their head waters for the purpose of spawning. The ftsh is found abundant in Cayuga and Seneca lakes, N. Y., where it has probably made its way naturally. In Lake Ontario, since the introduction there of the shad, the alewife has become so plentiful as to cause great difficulty to fishermen, and its periodi- cal mortality is a serious menace to the health of people living in the vicinity. The belief is that the fish were unintentionally introduced with the shad. In Pennsj'lvania the branch alewife occurs in the Delaware and the Susqiiehanna in great numbers in early spring. The U. S. Fish Commission, in 1894, obtained specimens at the v following localities of the Lake Ontario region. Cape Vincent , June 21 Grenadier island June 27 Mouth Salein river, Selkirk July 25 Long pond, Charlotte, N. Y. Aug. 17 Lake Shore, moutn Long pond Aug. 17 Sandy creek, North Hamlin Aug. 20 Not a native of Cayuga lake but often found there in large numbers. Known to the fishermen as sawbelly. It is thought to have been introduced into the lakes of central New York by the state fish commission. Large numbers are often found dead on the shores of Seneca and Cayuga lakes. (After Meek) De Kay says it appears in New York waters with the shad about the first of April, but never in sufficient numbers to form a separate fishery. The branch herring, or alewife, is the first of the alewives to appear in Graveseud bay; it comes with the shad. It endures captivity well. Nov. 30, 1897, individuals above 7 inches in length were caught in Gravesend bay, which were probably the young of the year. FISHES OF NEW YORK 201 This alewife seldom exceeds 1 foot in length, the average mar- ket examples being about 10 inches. The weight of the largest is about -i pound, and the average weighf is about 5 or fi ounces. The fish enter the rivers earlier than the shad and return to the sea, or to estuaries adjacent to the river mouths, at some undetermined date in the fall. During the summer months enormous schools of full grown, but sexually immature alewives migrate along the coast, feeding on small crustaceans and them- selves furnishing food for bluefish, sharks, porpoises and other predaceous animals; but none of them are known to enter fresh waters. In the rivers the alewives appear to eat nothing, but they can be captured with small artificial flies of various colors. Their eggs are somewhat adhesive and number from 00,000 to 100,000 to the individual. They are deposited in shoal water; spawning begins when the river water is at 55 to 60 F. The period of hatching is not definitely known, but is believed to exceed four days. During the spring and summer the young grow to a length of '2 or 3 inches; after their departure from the streams nothing is known of their progress, but it is believed that they reach maturity in four years. We have no means of learning the age of the immature fish seen in great schools off shore, and thus far the rate of growth is unsettled. . The branch alewife, though full of small bones, is a very valuable food fish and is consumed in the fresh condition as well as dry salted, pickled and smoked. The fry can be reared in ponds by placing adults in the waters to be stocked a little before their spawning season; and they furnish excellent food for bass, rockfish, trout, salmon, and other choice fishes. The proper utilization of the immense oversupply of these fish in Lake Ontario has become a serious economic problem. Alewives are caught in seines, gill nets, traps' and pounds and they are often taken by anglers with artificial flies. 202 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 114 Pomolobus cyanonoton (Storer) Glut Herring; Blueback Alosa cyanonoton STOKER, Proc. Best. Soc. Nat. Hist. II, 242, 1848, Hist. Fish. Mass. 101, pi. XXVII, fig. 1, 1867. Pmnolobus aestivaUs GOODE & BEAN, Bull. Essex Inst. 24, 1879; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47. U. S. Nat. Mus. 426, 1896, pi. LXXI, fig. 190, 1900; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII, 91, 1898. Clupea aestivaUs JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 267, 1883: MCDONALD, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 579, pis. 209, 210, 1884, not Clupea aesti wills MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 456, pi. V. fig. 6, 1815. Body moderately deep and compressed, its greatest depth two sevenths of the length without caudal; least depth of caudal peduncle two sevenths of greatest depth of body; head short, one fifth of total length without caudal, the maxilla extending to below the middle of the eye, its width about one third of its length, lower jaw somewhat projecting, upper jaw notched; eye smaller than in P. pseudoharengus, equal to snout and one fourth of length of head, chiefly covered by an adipose mem- brane; gill rakers about 44 below and 21 above the angle of the first arch, the longest about equal to iris; lower caudal lobe the longer, about equal to length of head. Dorsal fin begins in advance of ventral origin, over the 13th row of scales; the longest ray is about three fourths as long as the base of the fin and twice as long as the last ray. Anal base two and one half times as long as the longest ray and as long as the head with- out the snout. Ventral under the 6th developed ray of dorsal, the fin one half as long as the head; its axillary scale about one half as long as the ventral fin. A small black spot behind the opercle on the level of the top of the eye. Narrow dark streaks on about five rows of scales above the median line. Peritoneum very dark. D. iii, 15; A. ii, 18; V. i, 8; P. i, 15. Scales 13-53; scutes 21 + 14. Above bluish, sides and gill covers with coppery reflections, lower parts silvery. Irish golden. Here described from a male specimen taken in the Potomac river and now in the U. S. National Museum. Mitchill's name, a e s t i v a 1 i s , can not be applied with any certainty to the "glut herring"; it appears to be a synonym of FISHES OF \K\V YORK -<>:> in e d i o c r i s and m attowaca of the same author. Its relation to m a 1 1 o w a c a was long since pointed out by 1 >r Gill. The description 1 herewith appended appears to make this conclusion inevitable. Summer herring of New York (C 1 u p e a a e s t i v a 1 i s). Has a row of spots to the number of seven or eight, extending in the direction of the lateral line. Tail forked. Belly serrate; and, in most respects, resembling the C. h a 1 e c , herein already described. Rays: Br. 6; P. 15; V. 9; I). 16; A. 19; C. 19. The figure shows a row of eight dark spots on the side extend- ing as far back as the end of the dorsal fin on the level of the eye. This resembles the hickory shad, Pomolobus medio- c r i s , more than anything else, and it probably was that species. The glut herring arrives later than the branch herring and does not ascend streams far above salt water. It appears to spawn only in the larger streams or their tidal tributaries and at a temperature of 70 to 75; while the branch herring spawns in water as low as 55 to 60 and ascends far up the streams and their small fresh-water branches. In Gravesend bay the glut herring is called shad herring. Nov. 30, 1897, two young fish of the year, measuring about 7 inches in length, were obtained from that bay. In Great South bay the species is called herring. A single example was secured there on Sep. 29, 1890. In 1898 it was not collected either in Great South bay or Mecox, in both of which the branch herring- was abundant. At Provincetown the species is known as the blueback and kiouk. According to Storer, it appears there in small numbers in May, but is not abundant before June 10, and it remains on the coast for a short time only. The alewife, or branch herring, arrives on the coast of Massachusetts about the end of March, and is taken till the middle or last of May. Genus ALOSA Cuvier Body deep, compressed, deeper than in related American genera, the head also deep, the free portion of the cheeks deeper 1 Mitchill. Lit. and Phil. Soc. N. Y. Trans. 1815. p. 456, pi. 5, fig. 6. L'04 NEW YOKK STATE MUSEUM than long; jaws wholly toothless (except in young); upper jaw with a sharp, deep notch at tip, the premaxillaries meeting at a very acute angle. Vertebrae 56 (in A 1 o s a a 1 o s a), other- wise as in Pomolobus, to which genus A 1 o s a is ver\ closely allied. Species three, of the north Atlantic, ascending- rivers; highly valued as food fishes. Though very full of small bones, the flesh is white and rich, but not oily. 115 Alosa sapidissima (Wilson) Shad Clujtra NiiitiriiHNutHi YTiLSON, Rees's New Cyclopedia, IX, about 1811, in> pagination, no date; RAFINESQUE, Aruer. Mouth. Mag-. II, 205, Jan. 1818, says Wilson first distinguished and named the Shad; MCDONALD in Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 594, pis. 212, 213, 1884; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 60. pi. 2, 1803; CHENEY, 4th Ann. Rep. N. Y. Comm. Fish. colored plate facing p. 8, 1899. Clupea alosa MITCIIILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 440, 1815. Alosa prfiestabilis DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 255, pi. 15, fig. 41, 1842; STOKER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 154, pi. XXVI, fig. 2, 1867. Alosa sapidissima LINSLEY, Am. Jour. Sci. Arts, XLVII, 70, 1844; STORER. Syn. Fish. N. A. 206, 1846; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 427, 1896. pi. LXXII, fig. 191, 1900; SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XVII. 91, 1898. The American Shad. GOODE, American Fishes, 400, fig. 1888. The shad was formerly referred to the genus Clupea, but differs from the typical sea herring in the shape of the cheek bone, which is somewhat deeper than long. The adult is tooth- less, but the young has well developed, though small, teeth in the jaws, which sometimes persist till the fish has reached a length of 15 inches. To this subgenus the name Alosa was given by Cuvier. The shad has a deep body and a large mouth, with the jaws about equal. The gill rakers are very long and slender, varying with age from 40 to 60 below the angle of the first arch. In the female the dorsal originates a little in front of the middle of the length; in the male somewhat farther in front. The dor- sal of the male is rather higher than that of the female, while the body is not so deep. In the female the greatest depth is one third of the total without caudal and the length of the head two ninths. In the male the length of the head is one 1'ISIIKS OF XKW YORK 20." four-Ill of the total without caudal. The dorsal has 1M divided rays and 4 simple ones; anal U> divided and .! simple. Scales 1060 to 05. Scutes 22+16. The color is bluish or greenish with much silvery; a dusky blotch close behind the head, two thirds as large as Ihe eye, and frequently from several to many, in one or two rows, behind this. The lining of the belly Avails is pale. The shad is known also as the white shad, and in the colonial days it was known to the negroes on the lower Potomac river as the whitefish. It is found naturally along the Atlantic coast of the United States from the (Julf of St Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, ascending' streams at various dates from January in its extreme southern limit to June in far northern waters. In the Delaware and Susquehanna it makes its appearance in April and departs after spawning; but remains sometimes as late as July 18, and man}* die. The original distribution of the shad has been widely extended by artificial introduction. In certain rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico the fish has been established by planting-. In the Ohio river a fishery has been created by the same method; and in the Sacramento river, ( 1 al., the shad was successfully introduced, and it has colonized not only this river but all suit- able rivers from San Francisco to southern Alaska. It is now one of the common market species in San Francisco and other west coast cities. In the Susquehanna the shad was formerly one of the most important native food fishes, but its range is now- very limited on account of obstruction by dams. 20 years ago the fish commissioners reported that a few shad are taken yearly above the Clark's Ferry dam, none or at most a few dozen above the Shamokin dam, none above the Xanticoke dam and none above Williamsport. The largest run of shad that has been known to pass the Columbia dam was that of 1867. ' In 1871 the finest Columbia shad were hawked in the market at Harrisburg, MO miles from the fisheries, at considerably less than a dollar a pair. The catch at Columbia exceeded 100,000." 200 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM The obstructions in the Delaware have been almost entirely overcome. In 1891 shad were caught higher up the Delaware than for many years, and spawned in the upper reaches of the river beyond the New York state line. In 1891 the Delaware, for the first time since 1823, was restored to its normal condi- tion by means of the fishway at Lacka waxen; and, according to Col. Gay, it is at present the best shad river in the country. The number of eggs obtained for artificial propagation in the lower river was unusually small, but the number naturally deposited in the upper waters w r as greater than for many years. Col. Gay observed a large number of big female shad at Gloucester City, but a great scarcity of males. This necessitated a long run up the river before spawning. The cause is believed to be the low temperature of the water during May, the lack of rain cutting off the usual supply of warm surface water and the tributaries of the upper river bringing down nothing but cold spring water, keeping the temperature of the river below the normal for spawning purposes. Consequently, the shad as- cended more than 300 miles. Mr Fo Hessel succeeded in rearing sliad on the Daphuia and Cyclops to a length of 3 or 4 inches, and one time, when they had access surreptitiously to an abundant supply of young carp, well fed individuals reached a length of 6 inches by the first of November. Shad have been kept at the central station of the U. S. Fish Commission over the winter, but at the age of one year, doubtless for lack of sufficient food, the largest was less than 4 inches long. At this age they were seen to capture smaller shad of the season of 1891, which were an inch or more in length. The commissioner of fisheries detected young shad also in the act of eating young California salmon; and on one occasion found an undigested minnow, 2 or 3 inches long, in the stomach of a large shad; and they have been caught with minnows for bait. The principal growth of the shad takes place at sea, and, when the species enters the fresh waters for the purpose of spawning, it ceases to feed, but will some- times take the artificial fly and live minnows. The migratory habit of the shad has already been referred to. The spawning habits have been thus described by Marshall McDonald. The favorite spawning grounds are on sandy flats bordering streams and on sand bars. The fish appear to associate in pairs, usually between sundown and 11 p. m. When in the act of spawning they swim close together near the surface, their dorsal fins projecting above the water and their movements producing a sound which the fishermen call '' washing." The eggs are expressed by the female while in rapid motion; the male following close and ejecting his milt at the same time. Such of the eggs as come in contact with the milt are impreg- nated, but the greater portion of them are carried away by the current or destroyed by spawn-eating fishes. After impregna- tion the egg sinks to the bottom, and under favorable conditions develops in from three to eight days. According to Seth Green, the embryo shad swim as soon as they break the shell, and make their way to the middle of the stream, where they are comparatively safe from predaceous fishes. A mature female shad of 4 or 5 pounds contains about 25,000 eggs on the average, but as many as 60,000 have been obtained from a 6 pound fish, and 208 NEW YOKK STATIC M US MUM 100,00(1 were obtained from a single female on the Potomac. There is great mortality among the shad after spawning. Dead fish of both sexes are frequently seen floating in the water in the late months of summer. Mitchill states that the shad visits New York annually about the end of March or beginning of April; that is, ascends toward the sources of the Hudson; that it usually weighs 4 or 5 pounds, but sometimes as much as 12 pounds. I)e Kay says a large variety, supposed to be an old fish, and weighing from 10 to 12 pounds, were frequently taken in the Hudson, under the name of yellow backs. The shad, in his time, ascended the river 150 miles, to spawn, and descended in the latter part of May. The introduction of gill nets, he writes, has caused a scarcity of the fish and will drive them from the river before many years. Nets set off shore in Gravesend bay in the fall frequently inclose large quantities- of young shad, sometimes a ton and a half at one time, during their migration seaward, but they are at once liberated. The fish are usually about to 8 inches long. Oct. 17, 1895, 60 or 70 were caught in John B. I)e Nyse's pound, among them a male 11 inches long and 2f inches deep, and a female 12 inches long and 3 inches deep. Oct. 31, 1895, a male 1?4 inches long and 3^ inches deep, and a female 13i- inches long and 3^ inches deep were obtained in the same pound. Apparently the shad do not all remain at sea after their first migration till they are sexually mature. In the Potomac river young shad 8 to 9 inches long occasionally enter in the spring with the adults in large num- bers'. Mr I)e Nyse informs me that in the first spring run of small shad in Gravesend bay fully 1)0$ are males. Genus SARIJISELLA < " taken in 1885 in Lake Erie. These are caught chiefly in pound and gill nets. The catch in 1885 amounted to more than one third of the entire quantity of fishes taken in this lake. There is no apparent diminution in the number of these fishes, and their artificial propagation has not been practised. A male and a female were forwarded by Mr Annin from Three- mile bay, Lake Ontario, Nov. 22 and 25, 1895. MEASUREMENTS FEMALE Inches IncUes Length, including caudal ............................. 13 ^ 13 Length of middle caudal rays ........................ % ........ Least depth of caudal peduncle. . . .' .................. 1 ........ Depth of body at dorsal .............................. 3 2V 2 Length of head ................................... ... 2% 2% Length of maxilla ................................... % 7 / s Diameter of eye .......................... ........... % Vz Length of longest gill raker .......................... % ........ The male has 17+31 gill rakers; the female, 47. Scales of the male, 8-74-8; of the female, 76. In the female the maxilla reaches to the front of the pupil; the lower jaw projects a little; the dorsal and anal each have 10 divided rays; the dorsal has a black tip; the pectoral is dusky above; the ventral and anal are pale; the caudal is dusky towards its margin. The cisco, according to Mr Anuin, lives in deep waters and spawns in brooks in December. Dr Meek saw a few specimens of the species from Cayuga lake. The U.S. Fish Commission obtained four specimens at Cape Vincent X. Y. Nov. 11 and 17, 1891. The U. S. National Museum lias a number of examples from Lake Champlain, some of them from Yergennes Vt., and others from Ticonderoga N. Y. BeKay savs the shad salmon occurs in the smaller lakes in the interior * of the state, which still communicate with our inland seas. 127 Argyrosomus hoyi Gill Mooneye Cisco; Shiner Argyrosonnis lioiii GILL, Mss. JORDAN, AMKT. Naturalist. 13o. March, 1875. Lake Michigan, near Racine, Wis.; EVERMANN >T here for the first time announced as a member of the New York fauna, and the description leaves no doubt of the correctness of the identification. The fish examined, a female with ripe eggs, was taken in Canandaigua lake, Dec. 19, 1896, by Mr Annin's men. It was the only one caught, and was captured by becom- ing gilled in the funnel of the net. Mr Annin is satisfied th;it this is the lake shiner of the fishermen, which they sometimes- see in immense schools at the surface, and kill for trolling bait by shooting them. 128 Argyrosomus prognathus (H. M. Smith) Long JcuiD' Bloater Coregonus prognatJuis HUGH M. SMITH, Bull. U. S. F. C. XIV. 4, pi. 1, fig. o,. 1895, Lake Ontario, at Wilson N. Y. Argyrosomus hoyi MILNER, Kept. U. S. F. C. II, 86, 1874, Outer Island. Lake- Superior, not of GILL. Argyrosoimts progiiatJnts EVERMANN & SMITH, Kept. U. S. F. C. XX, 314,. pi. 26, 1896; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 471. 18!)<>. Body oblong, much compressed, back elevated, tapering rather abruptly toward the narrow caudal peduncle, the adult fish hav- ing a slight nuchal hump as in C. clupeiformis; greatest depth three and one half to four in body length; head rather short and deep, pointed, four to four and one third in length; greatest width half the length, cranial ridges prominent; snout straight, its tip on level with lower edge of pupil; top of head two in distance from occiput to front of dorsal; mouth large and strong, maxillary reaching to opposite middle of pupil, two- and one half in head, length three times its width, mandible long, projecting beyond upper jaw when mouth is closed, reach- ing to or beyond posterior edge of eye, one and three fourths to one and seven eighths in head; eye small, five in head, one and one half in snout, one and one third in interorbital space, one and one half in suborbital space; gill rakers slender, about length of eye, 13 above and 25 below angle. Adipose fin the- length of eye, its width half its length. Narrowest part of cau- dal peduncle contained nearly four times in greatest bod} r depth. Dorsal rather high, with nine or ten developed rays, the longest one half longer than base of fin and contained one and thn < 238 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM fourths times in greatest body depth, three and one fourth times iu distance between dorsal and snout, and one and one half times in head; free margin slightly concave; origin midway between end of snout and base of caudal; dorsal base opposite nine scales. Anal with 10 to 12 developed rays, the longest ray equal to base of fin and two thirds of hight of dorsal. Ventrals as long as dorsal is high, their origin midway between anterior edge of orbit and base of caudal. Ventral appendage short, covering about three scales. Pectorals as long as ventrals. Scales rather large, about 75 in lateral line, seven or eight above the lateral line, seven or eight below the lateral line. Lateral line straight except at origin, where it presents a rather marked urve. Sides of body uniformly bright silvery, with pronounced bluish reflection in life; the back dusky, the under parts pure white without silvery color. Above lateral line, light longitudi- nal stripes involving central part of scales extend whole length of body. Fins flesh color or pinkish in life, the dorsal and cau- dal usually showing dusky edges; postorbital area with a bright golden reflection; iris golden, pupil black. Branchiostegals, eight. Average length, 15 inches. Habitat: Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and doubtless the entire Great lake basin, in deep water. This fish is called long-jaw in Lakes Michigan and Ontario. Specimens were obtained from John S. Wilson of Wilson N. Y. and from George M. Schwartz of Rochester N. Y. Dr R. R. Gurley also secured examples at Nine Mile Point N. Y. in June 1893. This species is quite different from any other whitefish inhab- iting the Great lake basin. It may be at once distinguished from all the whitefishes known to occur in the United States by the general form of body combined with the very long lower jaw, which is contained less than twice in the length of the head and extends backward to or beyond the posterior edge of orbit. 129 Argyrosomus tullibee (Richardson) Tull'ibec; Mouyrel WhiteftsJi Salmo (Corcf/onus) tttllibee EICHARDSON, Fauna Bor.-Amer. Ill, 201, 1836, Cumberland House, Pine Island I^ake. FISHES OF NEW YORK Coregonus tullibee GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VI, 199, 1866; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 301, 1883; JORDAN, Oat. Fish. N. A. 43, 1885; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 70, pi. 27, fig. 49, 1893. Argyrosomus tullibee JORDAN, Man. Vert. ed. 2, 361, 1878; EVERMANN & SMITH, Kept U. S. P. C. XX, 320, pi. 28, 1896; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat Mus. 473, 1896; BEAN, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. IX, 343, 1897. The body of the tullibee is very short, deep and compressed; its greatest hight about one third of the length without caudal. The head is pointed, as in the blackfin, the mouth large, with the lower jaw scarcely longer than the upper. The maxilla extends to below the middle of the eye. The eye equals the snout in length and is two ninths of length of the head. Scales much larger on front part of body than on the caudal peduncle. The gill rakers are long, slender and numerous, about 30 below the angle on the first arch. D. 11; A. 11. Scales in lateral line 74, eight rows above and seven below lateral line; pyloric caeca,. 120. The upper parts are bluish; sides white and minutely dotted. The spermary, according to Richardson, is wood brown. This species is usually called the tullibee, but in Lakes Erie and Michigan it is sometimes styled the mongrel whitefish on the supposition that it is a cross between the common white- fish and the lake herring. The tullibee has been taken recently in Lake Michigan; and Dr E. Sterling had a specimen from Lake Erie. It is found occa- sionally in others of the Great, lakes and extends northward into British America; but is comparatively little known to the fisher- men and is very rare in collections. This fish grows to a length of 18 inches. The late F. C. Gilchrist was the first to describe the habits of the tullibee, and this he did in Forest and Stream in the following language. In September they will again be found gradually nearing the shoal water, feeding heavily, and plump with fat and the now swelling ovaries. Later on they appear to eat little or nothing and devote all their time to playing until about the 25th of October, when they have settled down to the business of propa- gation, which they have finished by November 10. They prefer shallow water close to shore with clean sand to spawn on, and :240 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM during the day they may be seen in pairs and small schools, pok- ing along the shores, but at night they come in thousands and keep up a constant loud splashing and fluttering, very strange and weird on a calm night. Two years ago I carefuly counted the ova from a ripe fish 2^ pounds in weight, and found there were 23,700, closely resembling whitefish eggs in appearance, but ; somewhat smaller. After spawning the fish are very thin, lank, dull in color, and quite unfit for human food. James Annin jr furnished me the following notes on the .spawning of the tullibee in Onondaga lake, N. Y. They generally commence running up onto the shoals about November 15, and the season extends into December. They come up to the banks or gravelly shoals and spawn in from 3 to 6 and 7 feet of water. They have never been caught with the hook in this lake; and an old fisherman told me that he had tried almost every kind of bait, and had used the very finest gut and the smallest hooks baited with Ganamarus (fresh-water shrimp) and other kinds of natural food that is, he supposed the food was natural to them. At the same time, he claims he could see them in large schools lying in the water 8 or 10 feet from the surface. A female tullibee was sent from Onondaga lake by Mr Annin Nov. 18, 1895, and another of the same sex Nov. 25, 1896. The following notes relate to the female obtained Nov. 18, 1895. Inches Length to end of caudal isy 2 Length of upper caudal lobe 2% Length of middle caudal rays 1 Least depth of caudal peduncle 1% Depth of body at dorsal origin 4% Length of head 3 1 /! Length of inaxilla % Diameter of eye % Length of longest gill raker T 9 s The mandible projects slightly. B. 8; D. 11; A. 11; V. 11. 'Scales 8-75-8; gill rakers, 17+27. The female received Nov. 25, 1896, is 15 inches long. New York is well supplied with Coregonidae, having seven of the 16 North American species. C. quadrilateralis is the frostfish of the Adirondacks and the Great lakes. C. clupeiformis, the common whitefish, inhabits the Great Jakes and Lake Chainplain; it is very abundant also in the FISHES OF NEW YORK 241 Adirondacks. A r g y r o s o rn u s osmeriformis is a shapely little herring of Seneca and Skaneateles lakes. A. a r t e d i is the common lake herring or cisco of the Great lakes and Lake Champlain. A. hoyi, the lake shiner, or Hoy's whitefish, is above recorded from Canandaigua lake. A. p r o g u a t h u s, the long-jaw, the only summer spawning whitefish so far as know r n, lives in Lake Ontario; and, finally, A. t u 1 ] i b e e, is the fine whitefish of Onoudaga lake. Genus OXCORHYXCHIS Sucklcy Body elongate, subfusiform, or compressed; mouth wide, the maxillary long, lanceolate, usually extending beyond the eye; jaws with moderate teeth, which become in the adult male -enormously enlarged in front; vomer long and narrow, flat, with a series of teeth both on the head and the shaft, the latter series comparatively short and weak; palatines with a series of teeth; tongue with a marginal series on each side; teeth on vomer and tongue often lost with age; no teeth on the hyoid bone; branchiostegals more or less increased in number; scales moderate or small; dorsal fin moderate; anal fin comparatively elongate, of 14 to 20 rays ; pyloric appendages in increased num- ber; gill rakers rather numerous; ova large; sexual peculiarities very strongly developed; the snout in the adult males in summer and fall greatly distorted, the premaxillaries prolonged, hooking over the lower jaw, which in turn is greatly elongate and some- what hooked at tip, the teeth on these bones also greatly en- larged. The body becomes deep and compressed, a fleshy hump is developed before the dorsal fin, and the scales of the back become embedded in the flesh ; the flesh, which is red and rich in spring, becomes dry and poor. Salmon, mostly of large size, ascending the rivers tributary to the north Pacific in North America and Asia, spawning in the fall. 130 Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum) King Salmon; Quinnat Salmon; Chinook Salmon (Introduced) .Salmo tshaicytsclia WALBAUM, Artedi. Gen. Pise. Ill, 71, 1792.. Salmo quinnat RICHARDSON, Fauna Bor.-Amer. Ill, 219, 1836; GIRARD, Pac. R. R. Exp. Fish. 306, pi. 67, 1858. Oncorltynch-us quinnat GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VI, 158, 1866. 242 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM Oncorliynchus orientalis GUNTHER, op. cit. 159, 1866. OncorJiyncJnis cJiouiclia JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 300, 1883; STONE in Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 479, pi. 186, lower fig. 1884; BEAN, Bull. U. S. F. C. IX, 190, pi. XLVI, fig. 1, 1891; Fishes Penna. 72, 1893. OncorliyncJius tscJiawytscha JORDAN & EA^ERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 479, 1896, pi. LXXVII, fig. 206, 1900. Body stout, moderately elongate, its greatest depth contained three and two thirds to four times in total length without caudal; caudal peduncle short and stout, its least depth one third of greatest depth of body; head conical, pointed, its length one fourth of total length without caudal; eye small; less than one half of length, of snout, and about one seventh of length of head; maxilla slender, its width scarcely one fourth its length, which is one half the length of head; nostrils nearly midway between eye and tip of snout; teeth small, longer on sides of lower jaw than in front, vomerines few and weak, disappearing in the males; gill rakers usually about 23, of which 14 are below the angle of the first arch; dorsal origin midway between tip of snout and base of upper external caudal rays, the base of the fin as long as the longest ray, one half as long as the head, the last ray two fifths as long as the longest; adipose fin over the end of the anal, its width scarcely one half its length, which is two sevenths of the length of the head. The anal base is three fifths as long as the head; the longest anal ray is two fifths as long as the head and more than twice as long as the last ray. The ven- tral is under the last rays of the dorsal, midway between front of eye and base of caudal, its length one half the length of head, its appendage one half as long as the fin. Pectoral as long as postorbital part of head. B. usually 17 or 18; D. 11; A. iii, 15 or 16. Scales usually 27-146-29, sometimes as many as 155 in a longitudinal series. Vertebrae 66. Pyloric caeca 140 to 185. The quinnat salmon is the largest and finest of the Pacific salmon. It ranges from Monterey Cal. to Alaska and eastern; Asia, ascending rivers in some cases 1500 miles or farther from the sea. It has been introduced into lakes of New York, but there is no evidence that it has become established in any waters of the state. Possibly better results might be secured if larger fish were selected for the experimental stocking. FISHES OF NEW YORK L'-l-'i This is the largest fish of the salmon family, individuals weighing 100 pounds and measuring upward of 5 feet in length being on record from the Yukon and other Alaskan rivers. The average weight of adults is above 20 pounds. The flesh of this salmon is paler in color than that of the red salmon, but it is superior in flavor to all others. The quinnat is the first to arrive near the shores in the spring, and the time of the run depends on the latitude, becoming later and later till, in Norton sound, the present known northern limit of its migration, it appears early in June. Unless the spawning period be close at hand, it does not ascend rivers rapidly, but generally plays around for a few days, or even a couple of weeks, near the river limit of tide water. It has been estimated that it proceeds up the Columbia river at the rate of 100 miles a mouth till the exigencies of reproduction compel a faster rate of travel. In the sea this salmon feeds on herring, caplin, and crusta- ceans. A male of about 35 pounds, taken at Karluk August 4, had in its stomach 45 caplin. In fresh water the fish take no food. Spawning takes place near the head waters of streams in clear shallow rapids. The fish excavate oblong cavities in the gravel beds where there is a current, and in these nests the eggs and milt are deposited. The eggs are protected from some of their enemies and fatalities by their environment, but are still a prey to freshets and to the pestiferous little fresh-water sculpins, or blobs, that abound in all trout and salmon waters, so far as ob- served. The young are hatched in from 60 to 100 days. They are destroyed in large numbers by aquatic birds, blobs, and large fishes. The adults are killed by seals, sea lions, and sharks. After spawning, nearly all the parent fish die, specially those that ascend rivers a long distance. The quinnat is a very valuable fish for canning, salting and smoking. If it could be acclimated in the Great lakes, it would form the basis of new and important industries. The practica- bility of rearing this species in fresh waters without access to the sea has been satisfactorily demonstrated in France by Dr Jousset de Bellesme, director of the aquarium of the Trocadero. 244 XEAV YORK STATE MUSEUM The results of the experiment of introducing this salmon into New York waters are as yet unknown, but it is to be hoped that it will be successful. Since the change of method by which larger fish are employed for transplanting, the outlook appears to be more favorable. Genus SAL-MO (Artedi) Linnaeus Body elongate, somewhat compressed; mouth large, jaws, palatines, and tongue toothed, as in related genera, vomer flat, its shaft not depressed, a few teeth on the chevron of the vomer, behind which is a somewhat irregular single or double series of teeth, which in the migratory forms are usually deciduous with age; scales large or small, 110 to 200 in a longitudinal series; dorsal and anal fins short, usually of 10 to 12 rays each; caudal fin truncate, ernarginate or forked, its peduncle comparatively stout; sexual peculiarities variously developed, the males in typical species with the jaws prolonged and the front teeth en- larged, the lower jaw being hooked upward at the end and the upper jaw emarginate or perforate. In the larger and migratory species these peculiarities are most marked. Species of moder- ate or large size, black spotted, abounding in the rivers and lakes' of North America, Asia and Europe; no fresh-water species occurring in America east of the Mississippi valley; two Atlantic species, marine and anadromous. The noninigratory species (subgenus T r u 1 1 a) are in both continents very closely related and difficult to distinguish, if indeed all be not necessarily re- garded as forms of a single one. The excessive variations iu color and form have given rise to a host of nominal species. 131 Salmo salar Linnaeus Atlantic Salmon ; Salmo salar LINNAEUS, Sj-st. Nat. ed. X, I, 308, 1758; Seas of Europe; MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y. I, 435, 1815; DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 241, pi. 38, fig. 122, 1842; GUNTHER, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mus. VI, 11, 1866; STOKER, Hist. Fish. Mass. 142, pi. XXV, fig. 2, 1867; JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 312, 1883; GOODE, Fish & Fish. Ind. U. S. I, 468. pi. 186. upper fig. 1884; BEAN, Fishes Penna. 74, color pi. 4, 1893; JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, IT. S. Nat. Mus. 486, 1806; BEAN, Bull. Arner. Mus. Nat. Hist. IX, 344, 1897. FISHES OF XK\V YORK -\~> The Atlantic salmon has a moderately thick and elongate body. The greatest hight, at the origin of the dorsal fin, is two ninths of the total length without caudal. The caudal peduncle is rather slender; its least depth about one third of the greatest depth of body. The head is comparatively small; its length in the female about one fifth of total without caudal. The eye is placed at a distance from the top of the head equal to its own diameter. It is one half as long as the snout, and about -one seventh of length of head. The maxillary reaches a little past the eye in adults. Its length equals the depth of caudal peduncle. The dorsal origin is midway between tip of snout and adipose fin. The adipose fin is long and narrow, its width one half its length, and equal to length of eye. The base is slightly longer than its longest ray, and nearly one eighth of total without caudal. The last dorsal ray is about one third of length of dorsal base. The ventral origin is nearly under the end of the dorsal base. The length of the fin equals one half the length of head. The appendage is two fifths of the length of the fin. The pectoral is as long as the dorsal base. The distance of the ventral origin from the anal origin is a little more than length of head. The longest anal ray equals length of ventral. The last ray is two fifths of length of longest. B. 11; D. 11 divided rays and 3 rudiments; A. 9 divided rays and 3 rudiments. Scales 23, 120, 21. Vertebrae 60. Pyloric catca 60 to 70. In the adult the upper parts are brownish or grayish; the sides silvery. Numerous X-shaped or XX-shaped black spots on the upper half of the body, side of the head, and on the fins. Males in the breeding season have red blotches along the sides. In the young there are from 10 to 12 dark crossbars mingled with red blotches and black spots. The salmon in America has but a single common name. When the young have reached a length of 2 inches and taken on the vermilion spots and dark cross bands, they are called parr, and retain this name while they remain in fresh water. Before descending to the se'a in the second or third spring, the parr assumes a bright silvery coat and is then known as a sinolt. 246 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM After a sojourn in salt water lasting from four months to about two years, it may return to its native river either as a sexually immature salmon or as a grilse, the female not yet ready for reproducing its species though the male is sexually mature.. The landlocked variety of the Atlantic salmon has been vari- ously denominated fresh-water salmon, Schoodic trout, Sebago trout, dwarf salmon and winninish, the last in use in the Sagi- naw region. In some Nova Scotian rivers a misnomer, gray- ling, is applied to the landlocked salmon. This species inhabits the north Atlantic, ascending rivers of Europe and America for the purpose of reproduction. In Europe it extends southward to France, and in the United! States the most southern river in which specimens have been, obtained is the Potomac. It occurs in small numbers in the Delaware and in large numbers in the Hudson, but in the last three river basins mentioned its presence is the result of arti- ficial introduction. It is not found in abundance south of the Merrimac, and in rivers of New England and Canada in which it is native it is maintained almost exclusively by artificial culture. The usual weight of the Atlantic salmon ranges from 15 to 40 pounds, but individuals weighing 60 pounds have been recorded. The growth of the salmon is accomplished chiefly in the ocean. As a rule the adults enter the rivers on a rising temperature when ready to deposit their eggs, the spawning occurring on the falling temperature in water not warmer than 50. The time of entering the Delaware and Hudson is April, the Connecticut a little later, the Merrimac still late