PERCIDJE. 197 



THE GKOWLER. 



Grystes Salmoriides ; Auctoruin. 



The White Salmon ; Smith's History of Virginia. — The Trout ; Carolina Pro- 

 vincialism. 



This fish, in general form, closely corresponds with that last de- 

 scribed. It has the same gibbous back, with the lateral line following 

 the dorsal curve, and the same protruded lower jaw. Its teeth are 

 set minutely in broad bands or patches. The operculum has two mode- 

 rate points. 



Its color is deep greenish brown, with a bluish black spot on the 

 point of the operculum. When young it has twenty-five or thirty lon- 

 gitudinal brownish bands, which become effaced by age. 



The first dorsal fin has ten spines, the second thirteen or fourteen 

 soft rays ; the pectorals sixteen soft rays ; the ventrals one spine and 

 five soft rays ; the anal three spines and eleven or twelve soft rays ; 

 the caudal fin, which is slightly lunate, has seventeen soft rays. 



There may, perhaps, be two distinct varieties of this fish. It has 

 been taken in the waters of western JN'ew York, in the Wabash in Indi- 

 ana, and abundantly in Carolina, where it attains to the length of two 

 feet, and is considered an excellent fish, passing, as well as another 

 fish of the same family, the Carolina Weak-fish, Otolithus Caro/inensis, 

 under the misnomer of Trout. I am inclined to believe that this fish 

 is also known as the Welchman in the inland waters of North Caro- 

 lina. 



Before passing on to the next species I will observe that I consider 

 the proper classical name of the Black Bass of the St. Lawrence deci- 

 dedly to be Grystes — the genus Huro not having been by any means 

 satisfactorily defined, while that of Ceiitrarchus is distinguished by 

 having many spinous rays to the ventral fin ; while the genus Grystes 

 has but three, Perca two, and Lucioperca only one — this afibrding a 

 broad and clear distinction. 



