170 FISHES or ILLINOIS 



grub is a lure the hornyhead can seldom resist, and he bites 

 with a vim and energy worthy of a better fish. The fight he 

 makes, though it would not wholly satisf}^ the veteran black 

 bass angler, is quite enough to fill the youthful Walton with 

 unbounded joy and pride. But as his experiences widen his 

 chief interest in the hornyhead lies in the fact that it is one of 

 the best of live baits for nobler fish. For muskallunge, pickerel, 

 wall-eyed pike, and black bass of either species, as a live bait it is 

 not surpassed; large individuals for muskallunge and increasingly 

 smaller ones for the others, those for the small-mouthed black 

 bass being not over 3 to 5 inches in length. A hardy, active min- 

 now, and of an attractive color, as a live bait it is unsurpassed. " 



Genus PLATYGOBIO Gill 



Body elongate, somewhat compressed; head short, broad, and depressed; 

 mouth subterminal; a well-developed barbel at back of maxillary; teeth 2, 

 4-4,2, with narrow grinding surface; dorsal 8; anal 8; scales 45 to 50; lateral 

 line continuous. Length 6 to 12 inches. Species few, confined principally 

 to the east slope of the Rocky Mountains; one species found in Illinois. 



Aiy&y 



Fig. 45 



PLATYGOBIO GRACILIS (Eichaedson) 

 flat-headed chub 



Richardson, 1836, Fauna Bor. Amer., FisTies, 120 (Cyprinus). 



G. Vll, 240 (Leuciscus gracilis), 267 (Leucosomus communis) and 268 (Leucoso- 



mus gulonellus); J. & G., 219, also 220 (pallidus Forbes); M. V., 65; J. & E., 



326; F., 75 (pjallidus); L., 20 (pallidus). 



A silvery minnow with a broad, flat head, fine scales, and an evident 

 barbel terminal on the maxillary. Length of our largest specimens 3 inches; 

 specimens 10 to 12 inches long known from the waters of the upper Missouri; 

 body rather elongate, the depth 5.1 to 5.4 in the length; adults much more 

 slender than young; caudal peduncle slender, its depth 2.1 to 2.4 in its length. 



