THE KNELT ANT) ITS ALLIES 



241 



pecies is Ameiurus 1 catus? the bull-head or horn-pout. 3 

 t was with reference to this species that Thoreau wrote 

 hat they are "a bloodthirsty and bullying race of rangers, 

 ahabiting the river-bottoms, with ever a lance at rest and 

 eady to do battle with their nearest neighbor." The 

 tiff, jagged rays of the pectoral fins can make severe 

 vounds. The great catfish of the Mississippi River, 

 vhich may weigh up to 90 kilogrammes, is known as 

 imeiurus lacustris.^ This, as well as most other species 

 f catfish, is much prized as food. 



FIG. 224. The brook sucker. After Goode. 



The suckers are characteristic North American fish, 

 ibundant in every creek, and consequently known to every 

 over of woods and brooks. Characteristic is the form of 

 ips, which are thick and drawn down at the corners. 5 They 

 ire rather sluggish fishes, and feed on small aquatic insects 

 tnd suck up mud. They are not generally esteemed as 

 ood, inasmuch as their flesh is coarse and very full of 

 )ones. In the Mississippi valley, however, they are so 

 ibundant and large that they are of some commercial 

 mportance. 



not curtailed. 2 Cat. 3 Fig. 223. 



Living in lakes. 



5 Fig. 224. 



R 



