29. SILURID.E - AMIURUS. 105 



the length of pectoral spine. L. 18 inches. Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, 

 and eastward. The common bull-head or horned pout of the North 

 and East, abundant in every pond and stream ; also introduced into 

 the rivers of California, where it has rapidly multiplied. 



(1 Silurus catiiy Linn. Syst. Nat. x, 3U5, 1758: Pimelodus nelulosus Le Sueur, M<5m. 

 Mils, v, 149, 1819 : Pimelodus atrarius DeKay, New York Fauna, Fish. 1842, 185 ; Jor- 

 dan, 1. c. 90.) 



cr.. Lower jaw projecting beyond upper. 







99. A. VMBgraB'is (Thompson) Nelson. 



Dark reddish brown or blackish. Body moderately elongate j depth 

 4J-5 in length. Head 3i-4. Barbel long. Month wide. Head longer 

 than broad, rather narrowed forward. Profile rather steep, pretty evenly 

 convex.. Dorsal region more or less elevated. Lower jaw strongly pro- 

 jecting. Anal rays 20. L. 18 inches. Vermont to Minnesota and south- 

 ward ; rather common. 



(Pimelodus vulgaris Thompson, Hist. Vermont, 1842, 138: Pimelodus dckayi Girard, 

 Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1859, 1GO : Pimelodus ailurus Girard, U. S. Pac. E. E. Expl. 

 Fish. 1858, 210; Jordan, 1. c. 88.) 



aaa. Anal fin long, of 24-27 rays, its base more than one-fourth the length. 

 d. Head broo.d ; mouth wide. 



A. mq-taflis (Lo Sueur) Jordan. Yellow Cat. 

 Yellowish, greenish, or blackish. Body more or less short and chubby, 

 sometimes extremely obese (var. natalis), sometimes more elongate (var. 

 lividus). Head short and broad. Mouth wide, the jaws equal (var. livi- 

 dus) or the upper jaw longest (var cupreus). Anal rays 24-27. Great 

 Lake region to Virginia and Texas ; generally abundant. Extremely 

 variable, and running into several varieties.* 



(Pimelodus tiatalis Le Sueur, Me"m. Mus. v, 154, 1819 ; Glinther, v, 101 ; Jordan, 1. c. 

 88: Silurus lividus Rafiuesque, Ichth. Oh. 1820, C'5: Pimelodus felinus et anlonitmsis Grd. 

 U. S. Pac. E. R. Expl. x, 209, 291 : Pimelodus catus, atpreus, et cnprcoides Grd. Proc. 

 Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1859, 159, 160 : Pimelodus coenosus Richardson, Fauna Bor.-Amer. 

 iii, 132: Pimelodus cupreus Raf. Ichth. Oh. 1820,05.) 



dd. Head elongate ; mouth narrow. 



1O1. A- ereEseraEiiius Jordan. 



Color black ; belly paler ; fins and barbels black. Body rather elon- 

 gate, compressed, the depth about 4^ in length. Dorsal region rather 

 elevated; the head quite long and narrowed forward, 4 times in 

 length of body. Head more narrowed than in any of the other spe- 

 cies. Width of the head in front of the eye but little more than half 

 its length. Width of the mouth about half the length of the head. 



* For a discussion of which see Jordan, Bull. U. N. Nat. Mus. x, 80. 



