FISHES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 319 



lower jaw as with those of the palate. The largest, situated on the 

 posterior two-thirds of the maxillary branches, are uniform among 

 themselves and regularly spaced, slender, flattened, and their acute 

 point is curved either backwards or inwards. At the anterior part, 

 and on the sytnphysis, the same uniformity exists ; and though form- 

 ing only one single row, they are grouped in pairs. They incline 

 towards the interior of the mouth, and are more conspicuous than on 

 the body of the palatal bones. 



The tongue is slightly dilated, laterally rounded, subtruncated at 

 its anterior margin. It has on its middle two contiguous shields, 

 covered with excessively small, card-like teeth. The posterior, of 

 elliptical form, is six-eighths of an inch long, and one-fourth of an 

 inch broad. The anterior, half as long, terminates in a conical point, 

 at a distance of one-third of an inch from the end of the tongue. 

 We remark two small, similar shields on the symphysis of the branch- 

 ial arches. The pharyngeal bones are furnished with card-like teeth 

 of great uniformity. 



The external characters of this species may be indicated in the 

 following manner. In general it is fusiform, the greatest thickness 

 corresponding to the middle of the length, whence the body seems to 

 taper towards both its extremities. The head forms one-fourth of the 

 whole length ; its conical form is merely the result of the attenuation 

 of the body forwards, which renders it proportionally small ; its 

 upper face is flattened ; a medium furrow, with widened margins, 

 occupies the centre of it, between both eyes. The snout is depressed, 

 and terminates in an elliptical curve, which exceeds the extremity of 

 the lower jaw. Numerous and considerably large pores extend on 

 the frontals above the snout ; from the occiput they pass beneath 

 the orbits and through the preoperculum on the branch of the lower 

 maxillary. The mouth is moderately opened. The eyes are large and 

 elliptical ; their horizontal diameter is eleven-sixteenths of an inch, 

 their vertical diameter nearly five-eighths of an inch. The nasal ori- 

 fices, two in number on each side, open before and within the eyes ; 

 the hinder is separated from the orbit by a space of only one-fourth 

 of an inch ; it is crescentic, with the convexity turned towards the 

 eye ; a membranous fold shuts its opening ; the anterior is ovoid, and 

 has a large opening outwards. The cheeks are completely covered 



