REPRINT OF ORIGINAL TEXT 135 



It is found as far as Pittsburgh and in the Alleghany 

 River. Its flesh is as good as that of the Streaked 

 Pike ; but is erroneously thought poisonous by some 

 persons. I shall give a full description of it, which 

 will preclude the necessity of repetitions in describ- 

 ing the others. The individuals which I observed 

 were 26 inches long, the head 5^, the jaws 2^ 

 inches : the dimension from the end of the jaws to 

 the abdominal fins was 12 inches, and to the vent 18. 

 The body was 2 inches horizontally and 234^ verti- 

 cally; nearly cylindrical, but slightly [III. 169] flat- 

 tened on the back and belly, with convex sides 

 slightly yellowish : the whole body is covered with 

 hard bony scales, some what unequal and obliquely 

 rhomboidal, but with the two inner [75] sides con- 

 cave and the two outward sides convex, lying in 

 oblique rows, surface smooth and convex. Head 

 scaleless, hard, and bony, eyes behind the base of 

 the jaws, iris large gilt with a brown stripe across, 

 centre or real eyes small and black. Jaws short, 

 broad, flat and obtuse, breadth about one fifth of the 

 length, the upper one putting over the lower one and 

 with four small nostrils at the end, motionless and 

 with three longitudinal furrows. The lower jaw 

 moveable, soft in the middle. Teeth white, unequal, 

 acute, strong, and upon a single row. Tongue bi- 

 lobed cartilaginous and rough. Branchial with 8 

 rays, jutting out and gilt. Pectoral fins yellow with 

 12 rays, situated directly behind the gill covers and 

 elliptical acute. Abdominal fins yellow, obliquely 

 oboval obtuse and with 7 rays. Anal and dorsal fins 

 oval nearly equal and acute, each with 8 rays the an- 

 terior of which is serrated, yellowish olivaceous and 

 spotted with brown, the dorsal beginning behind the 



