REVIEW OF LOCAL FISHES 



41 



Minnow, which may also be recognized by its small scales (about 

 sixty-four cross series). This is the common minnow found in small 

 stony brooks. It has a bold black stripe from snout to tail. The rare 

 Long-nosed Dace is like it but has a longer snout projecting notably 

 beyond the mouth, the distance from its tip to the eye in the adult 

 twice instead of one and a half times the length of the eye. The Long- 

 nosed Dace also has no black stripe or a poorly defined one; the males of 

 both species assume bright rosy colors in the spring. The most abundant 

 minnow in this vicinity is probably the Golden Shiner. It occasionally 



GOLDEN SHINER 



reaches a length of twelve inches and the adult is a rather deep com- 

 pressed fish, but schools of the more slender young are more frequently 

 encountered. These might easily be confused with other minnows, but 

 the species may be recognized by the fact that the belly behind the 

 ventral fins forms a narrow keel over which the scales do not pass. The 

 back fin begins behind the ventral fins instead of directly over them as is 

 usual and the anal fin is longer than in most species (of twelve to fourteen 

 developed rays). The adult is greenish above, silvery on the sides with 

 golden reflections, fins yellowish or even slightly orange. The young are 

 silvery with beautiful pearly luster and an ill-defined dusky lengthwise 

 stripe posteriorly. They swim less steadily than the Black-nosed Dace, 

 for instance, frequently gliding forward motionless after a vigorous 

 stroke or two of the tail. A European fish, the Rudd or Pearl Roach, 

 which looks not unlike the Golden Shiner, has been introduced and is 

 abundant in the lakes of Central Park, New York. It has the keel-like 



