28O SEVENTH REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



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, when the warm water killed them. 



Eugene Smith writes of this species : 



" Color brownish, olivaceous above, silvery below ; the young are much blotched 

 and marked on sides and back. It is occasionally 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." 



22. Hog Sucker (Catostomus nigricans LeSueur). 



Catostomus nigricans JORDAN & GILBERT, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus., 130, 1883; BEAN, 

 Fishes Penna., 26, pi. 21, fig. 31, 1893; DKK.AY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 202, 1842. 



The Stone Roller has a wide distribution and a remarkable variety of common 

 names. Among them are : Hammer Head, 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 resemblance 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 securing its prey under stones in 

 the rapids. As a food fish this sucker has little value. 



