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. 



