THE FOOD AND GAME FISHES OE NEW YORK. 



359 



76. Mascalonge ; Spotted Mascalonge {Lucius inasqiiinongy Mitchill). 



Esox iiias(juincingv Mitchill, Mirror, 297, 1824, Lake Erie. 

 Esox twbilior Bean. Fishes Penna., 93, pi. 29, fig. 57, 1893. 



Lucius masquinongy Jordan & Everm.\nn, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus., I, 629, 1896, 

 pi. C, fig. 270, 1900. 



The color i.s usually dark gray, .sometimes immaculate as in the color variety 

 iinmaculatus, but generally with numerous distinct, roundish, black spots about as 

 large as buckshot. The dark spots are present only on the basal parts of the dorsal, 

 anal and caudal fins. The lower parts are pale, the belly white. 



The name of this giant Pike is apparently derived from the language of the 

 Ojibwa or the Cree Indians; it is. variously spelled and its meaning is uncertain, 

 though the roots, according to H. W. Henshaw, are probably mask (ugly) and 

 kinongc {^^\). In the books it appears as Muscalonge, Muskellunge, Muskallunge 





m.\sc.^longe. 



Mascalonge and Maskinonge, all variations of the same term. Some writers style it 

 the Great Pike, and by others it is confused with the common Pike, E. lucius. Prof. 

 Cope mentions also the name Blue Pike. 



The Mascalonge is recorded by Prof. Cope from Conneaut Lake, Crawford 

 County, Pa., the specimen measuring 17 inches in circumference behind the eyes. 

 It is found occasionally in the Ohio Valley. The species, however, is most abundant 

 in the (ireat Lakes region. In Lake Erie favorite localities arc Dunkirk and Barce- 

 lona, N. Y., Erie, Pa., and Mills' Grove, O. The northern limit of the fish is not 

 definitely fixed. 



It is asserted by some persons that the fish inhabits Cayuga Lake, but others 

 deny this. Dr. Meek was unable to find it there after diligent search. It was 

 known in Lake Champlain more than half a century ago and was described by Rev. 

 Zadock Thompson. Mitchill and Kirtland had it from Lake Erie. DeKay con- 

 founded the Mascalonge with the Pike, and apparentlj- had no example of the 

 former. In the .St. Lawrence River the species is well known. 



