20 Fishes of the Ohio 



L. platostomus. Raf. The Duck-bill Gar-fish. 



Lepisdsteus 2fl(itdstomus. Raf. Ichth. Ohien. p. 72. 



»' ** Kirtland. Rep. on Zool. of Ohio. p. 196. 



Plate I. Fig. 3. 



Head hardly one fourth of the total length of the fish, flat- 

 tened above the angles of the mouth, broader behind the eyes. 

 Upper jaw the longer, equal to the remainder of the head ; 

 expanding on the under side of the tip into an elastic knob, 

 and gradually widening from thence to the junction with the 

 skull ; its surface rough and deeply furrowed with a curved 

 sulcation extending from behind the nostril to the head, above 

 the eyes, on each side. Lower jaiv wider at the base than 

 the upper, but narrower at the tip ; their margins furnished 

 with numerous sharp and prominent teeth. Tongue asper- 

 ous, bi-lobed at its tip. Throat lax and pendulous beneath. 

 Operculum 3.nd pre-operculum bony and compressed. Nostrils 

 near the extremity of the upper, and anterior to the tip of the 

 lower jaw. 



Body cylindric, flattened above ; back somewhat elevated ; 

 scales corneous, and arranged in oblique series. 



Dorsal Jin sub-oval, posterior to the anal. 



Caudal fi7i oblong-oval, the base oblique ; upper and lower 

 rays serrate. 



Anal fin similar to the dorsal, in form and size. 



Ventral fin ovate, its rays cartilaginous, anterior to the 

 middle of the body. 



Pectoral fin ovate-falcate. 



Color. Head and back dusky, and umber ; sides yellow- 

 ish ; abdomen white; iris golden yellow. Dorsal, caudal, 

 and anal fins maculate. A series of obscure, circular spots is 

 situated on the medial line behind the anal fin. 



Length. The specimen I have before me is twentysix 

 inches ; others, it is said, have attained the length of four or 

 five feet. 



D. 8 ; C. 12 ; A. 9 ; V. 6 ; P. 10 rays. 



Observations. I have had the good fortune to obtain a sol- 



