THE FOOD AND GAME FISHES OF NEW YORK. 273 



13. Long-jawed Catfish (Ameiurus vulgar is Thompson). 



Ainiiirus dekayi BEAN, Fishes Penna., 15, pi. 18, fig. 24, 1893. 



Ameiurus vulgaris JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus., I, 140, 1896. 



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 

 & Evermann state its range to be from Vermont to Minnesota and Illinois, chiefly 

 northward. 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 specimens from Lake Champlain. The Long-jawed Catfish is similar 



LONG-JAWED CATFISH. 



in all respects except its projecting lower jaw to the common catfish, A. nebulosus, 

 and may be found identical with it. 



14. White Cat {Ameiurus catus Linnaeus). 



Pitnelodus atrarius DEKAY, N. Y. Fishes. 185, pi. 36, fig. 116, 1842. 

 Amiurus albidus JORDAN, Bull. 10, U. S. Nat. Mus. 84, 1877, figs. 15 & 16, 1877; BEAN, 

 Fishes Penna., 14, pi. 18, fig. 23, 1893. 



This is the White Cat or Channel Cat, in Philadelphia distinguished 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 

 18 



