2i6 The Life Story of the Fish 



mouth, which the systematists changed from the genus Mi- 

 crofterus to the genus Huro some years ago, and have now 

 decided to restore to Microfterus. Microfterus salmoides is 

 now once more its name. The two are so much alike that it 

 is sometimes difficult for the fisherman to tell which he has 

 caught. Such distinctions as "smaller" mouth, "darker" color, 

 do not help much unless one has the two species side by 

 side. Some people look for the notch between the spines of 

 the forward portion of the dorsal fin and the soft rays of the 

 after portion j this is much deeper in the large-mouth. There 

 is one difference which, while requiring more labor to deter- 

 mine, is exact. It is in the scales, which are smaller in the 

 small-mouth than in the large-mouth. The former typically 

 has eleven horizontal rows of scales between the lateral line 

 and the base of the dorsal fin, the latter not more than eight. 



In habits the two fish differ more than in appearance. The 

 small-mouth is restricted to cooler waters. He frequents 

 rocky streams, or the gravelly shoals and the bottom springs 

 of lakes. In addition to the insects, larvae, frogs, etc., which 

 both forms eat, he is addicted to crustaceans, especially craw- 

 fish. Whether this is because they abound in his favored habi- 

 tat, or whether he favors that habitat because of his dietary 

 preference, is still to be decided. 



The large-mouth is hardier. He gets along in either mod- 

 erately cool or in very warm water, and he therefore has a 

 wider geographical range. If given the chance, he will hang 

 about sunken logs in rivers, and will stick to the reedy parts 

 of lakes. Although seeming to this extent to prefer a more 

 sheltered life than the small-mouth, he is more aggressive in 

 his feeding, for the minnows on which he specializes certainly 

 require more active pursuit than crawfish. It has been long 

 the fashion to rate him as inferior to his brother in gameness, 

 but sportsmen well acquainted with both state that this is an 

 illusion, and that under equal conditions he is just as good 

 a fighter. 



