148 NORTHERN FISHES 



GOLDFISH 



Carassius auratus (Linnaeus) 



The goldfish differs from the carp principally in dentition and in the 

 absence of barbels. The teeth are 4 — i and are compressed. In its native 

 state in China and Japan the fish is olivaceous in color and has habits 

 similar to those of the carp. When goldfish are introduced into natural 

 waters they usually revert to their original color. In very early times 

 goldfish were domesticated in China, and some elaborate varieties 

 have been developed. Just when they were introduced into Europe is 

 not certain, but they were present in England as early as 1690. 



Goldfish have been introduced into Silver Lake, North Saint Paul, 

 Ramsey County, where they are apparently thriving, though large num- 

 bers died in 1939 in a heavy winter-kill. They have been caught occa- 

 sionally from Lake Minnetonka and from sloughs along the Minnesota 

 River south of Fort Snelling. Several other small lakes in central and 

 southern Minnesota have been reported to contain goldfish. Greene 

 (1935) reported them from several lakes in Waukesha County, Wis- 

 consin. 



Goldfish should never be placed in lakes or streams because they may 

 thrive and become a nuisance, owing to their carplike habits. In Lake 

 Erie and certain waters of New York State they have become fairly 

 abundant and are used to some extent for food, since they reach a 

 weight of several pounds. 



GENUS Cotiesius Jordan 



LAKE NORTHERN CHUB (Chub Minnow) 

 Couesius plumbeus plumbeus (Agassiz) 



This minnow (Figure 24D) is characterized by protractile premaxil- 

 laries and an oblique terminal mouth rising anteriorly to the level of the 

 eye. It is a rather elongated minnow with a small head and mouth. The 

 body is dusky and has a lateral band. The scales are 11-68-7. The 

 pharyngeal teeth are 2, 4 — 4, 2. It reaches a length of over 5 inches. 



The lake chub, as a species, ranges from the Pacific Coast drainage 

 in British Columbia and from the Rocky Mountains eastward through 

 Wyoming and Nebraska to Maine' and northward. It seems to be 

 absent from the Mississippi drainage in the Central States. In Minne- 

 sota it is confined to the Lake Superior and Arctic drainages. Specimens 

 in the University of Minnesota collections are from Lake Kabetogama, 

 Brule River in Cook County, and Lake Superior, including Grand 

 Portage Bay. Greene (1935) found it in Wisconsin only in tributaries of 

 Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Hubbs has found the western 

 subspecies C. ylumbeus di^shnilis (Girard) in streams tributary to 

 Lake Superior. 



