ABRAMIS BREAMS 135 



J. 7 to 1.9 in its length; interorbital space little convex, 2.3 to 2.6 in bead; 

 eye 3.1 to 3.7, a little longer than the snout, but less than the interorbital 

 space; nose short and blunt, 3.2 to 3.8 in head, the extremely oblique mouth 

 giving it a turned-up or "snubbed" appearance; mouth extremely small 

 and very oblique, making an angle of less than 30° with the vertical; maxil- 

 lary 3.7 to 4.6 in head, shorter than the eye and scarcely reaching anterior 

 nostril; upper lip almost or quite on a level with upper margin of pupil; 

 jaws about equal; isthmus less than pupil. Teeth 5-5 or 4-5, very slender, 

 strongly hooked, and sharply and irregularly crenate; intestine about .9 of 

 length of head and body; peritoneum very lightly specked with dusky. 

 Dorsal fin with 8 or 9 rays, inserted a little behind front of ventrals, but nearer 

 muzzle than base of caudal; longest dorsal ray 1 to 1.3 in head; anal rays 8; 

 pectorals %, or more, to ventrals; ventrals to or slightly past vent. Scales 

 6, 38-40, 4; lateral line variously imperfect, sometimes present only on the 

 first 4 or 5 scales, sometimes extending, with numerous interruptions, to 

 the middle of the qaudal peduncle; slightly decurved anteriorly; 15-18 scales 

 before dorsal. 



This is a southern species in general range, distributed from 

 Ohio through Indiana and lUinois to Georgia, Arkansas, and 

 Oklahoma, and in our collections is relatively much the most 

 abundant from southern Illinois. Northward it has been taken 

 almost wholly along the larger rivers — the Illinois, the Missis- 

 sippi, and the Rock. It is mainly a species of creeks and ponds 

 with us, however, although more than usually abundant from the 

 larger rivers also. Females greatly distended with eggs, and 

 tuberculate males in high spring color, have been taken by us 

 about Meredosia between the 10th and the 20th of June. 



Genus ABRAMIS Cuviee 



BREAMS 



Body deep and strongly compressed; belly before ventrals forming a 

 keel over which the scales do not pass; mouth oblique or horizontal; pre- 

 maxillary protractile; no barbels; teeth 5-5, hooked and with grinding surface; 

 alimentary canal short; peritoneum (in American species) pale; dorsal rays 

 8 to 10; anal typically long, with 20 to 40 rays in the European species; 

 American forms with anal shorter, the rays 9 to 18; scales 39 to 55; lateral 

 line developed. Size rather large,* the American bream reaching a length 

 of 12 inches. Species numerous, inhabiting both Europe and North America; 

 American forms 1 (or 2) ; distributed from Nova Scotia to Texas. 



* The common bream of Europe {Abramis brama) has been known to attain a weight of 

 12 lb in some of the Irish lakes. 



