90 



FISHES OF ILLINOIS 



Found in the Great Lake region and the Ohio Valley, in- 

 cluding Pennsylvania and New York; also ranging down the 

 St. Lawrence and into the streams of the Atlantic coast as far 

 south as North Carolina. Northward its range extends to 

 Lake Winnipeg and the Assiniboin River. 



This is the so-called white-nosed sucker of the Great Lakes. 

 It is distributed throughout Illinois, but in rather moderate 

 numbers, and mainly in the larger streams — the Illinois, the 

 Rock, the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Wabash. The species 

 reaches a large size, varying in length from one to two feet, and 

 it is a somewhat acceptable, though not abundant, food fish. 

 At some points on Lake Michigan it contributes a considerable 

 percentage to the catch of suckers, although the fine-scaled 

 sucker and the short-nosed red-horse commonly outnumber it. 



MOXOSTOMA AUREOLUM (Le Suedr) 



COMMON RED-HORSE 

 (Map XXI) 



Le Sueui-, 1817, J. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., I, 99 (Catostomus). 



G., VTI, 18 (Catostomus duquesni); J. & G., 140 (macrolepidotum, part); M. V., 47 

 (macrolepidotum duquesnei and (?) aureolum); J. <fe E., I, 192; N., 49 (Teret- 

 ulus duquesnii and macrolepidotum); J., 63 (Myxostoma macrolepidotum var. 

 duquesnii); F., 80 (macrolepidotum); F. F., II. 7, 442 (macrolepidotum). 



Body elongate, heavier forward, considerably compressed, the back 

 little elevated; depth 4 to 4.4 in length. Size rather large, attaining a 

 weight of 5 or 6 lb. Color of back and sides an almost miiform oHvaceous, 

 very little darker above, taking on a faint silvery tinge lower down; faint 



tints of salmon or yellowish along sides in front 

 of dorsal; belly smoky white; dorsal quite dusky, 

 without pale edge; caudal grayish olive; lower fins 

 with some orange near base, the broad outer 

 margins faintly dusky. Head moderate, 3.9 to 

 4.5 in length, "its width 5.7 to 6.8, depth 5.2 to 

 5.9, not strongly tapered, rather flattened above, 

 the cheeks nearly vertical; interorbital space nearly 

 flat, 2.2 to 2.6 in head; snout 2.3 to 2.8 in head, 

 its tip squarish, little decurved; mouth large, both 

 upper and lower lips thick, strongly and coarsely 

 phcate, halves of lower lip meeting at a rather 

 wide angle; eye large, 4 to 5 in head. Dorsal rays 

 12-14, the fin a little higher than long, last ray 

 more than half the length of longest anterior ray; free margin of dorsal 

 straight; lower fins rather longer than in the next species, longest in the 

 males, pectorals reaching ^'s to % of distance from pectoral to ventral basis; 

 upper lobe of caudal a little longer than lower. Scales 6,41-48,5-7; lateral 

 line complete, faintly flexuose. 



Fig. 22 



Lips of Moxosloma 

 aureolum 



