FISHES OP NEW YORK 511 



irregular spots and blotches of darker; side with about eight 

 or nine large dark spots lying on the lateral line; belly pale; 

 top of head dark; snout black; lower jaw and throat dark; a 

 broad black line downward from eye to throat; cheek and 

 opercles rusty; spinous dorsal crossed by a median dark line; 

 ventrals blue black; other fins pale, but dusted with rusty 

 specks. 



An examination of the 14 cotj^pes shows some variation in 

 the species. In two examples there is a well developed frenum, 

 rendering the premaxillaries nonprotractile, and in a third 

 specimen the frenum is partially developed; in some individuals 

 the origin of the spinous dorsal is exactly midway between the 

 tip of snout and origin of soft dorsal. The females and imma- 

 ture males are less highly colored than the adult male 

 described above. Length If to 2^ inches. 



This species seems most closely related to Cottog aster 

 s h u m a r d i , from which it may be readily distinguished by 

 the shorter snout, the naked cheeks and opercles, the smaller 

 soft dorsal, the smaller anal and the coloration. 



15 examples of this interesting darter were obtained July 18, 

 1894, by Evermann and Bean in the Racket river near Norfolk, 

 St Lawrence co. N. Y. It did not seem to be very common, as 

 only 15 examples resulted from numerous hauls of the collecting 

 seine. 



Named for A. Nelson Cheney, state fish culturist of New York 



in recognition of his valuable contributions to our knowledge 



of the food and game fishes of that state. (After Evermann 



and Kendall) 



Genus diplesion Kafinesque 



Body rather elongate, subterete; head very short and blunt, 



with tumid cheeks; the profile very convex; mouth small, 



inferior, horizontal; premaxillaries protractile, little movable, 



joined to the forehead mesially by a slight frenum; maxillary 



not protractile, adnate for most of its length to the fleshy skin 



of the preorbital; lower jaw very short; teeth in jaws strong, 



no teeth on vomer or palatines; gill membranes broadly con- 



