Series Ostariophysi 169 



perch as a real fish: "So many unquestionable fish he counts, 

 then so many chubs which he counts, then throws away." 



Chubs of the Pacific Slope. In the Western waters are numer- 

 ous genera, some of the species reaching a large size. The species 



FIG. 131. The Squawfish, Ptychocheilus grandis Agassiz. (Photograph by 



Cloudsley Rutter.) 



of squawfish (Ptychocheilus lucius in the Colorado, Ptychocheilus 

 grandis in the Sacramento, and Ptychocheilus oregonensis in the 

 Columbia) reach a length of 4 or 5 feet or even more. These 

 fishes are long and slender, with large toothless mouths and 

 the aspect of a pike. 



Allied to these are the "hard tails" (Gila elegans and Gila 

 robusta) of the Colorado Basin, strange-looking fishes scarcely 

 eatable, with lean bodies, flat heads, and expanded tails. The 

 split-tail, Pogonichthys macrolepidotus, is found in the Sacramento. 



In the chisel -mouth, Acroche'ilus alutaceus, of the Columbia 

 the lips have a hard cutting edge. In Meda, very small fishes 



FIG. 132. Chub of tbe Great Basin, Leuciscus lineatus (Girard). Heart Lake, 

 Yellowstone Park. Family Cyprinidce. 



of the Colorado Basin, the dorsal has a compound spine of 

 peculiar structure. Many of the species of Western waters 

 belong to the genus Leuciscus, which includes also many species 



