FOREST, LAKE, AND RIVER 



slaty ; on the sides it is pale, and entirely without 

 spots. 



Here and there may be found in New England 

 waters, particularly those of Vermont, and most 

 likely in Lake Champlain, a dark reddish brown 

 catfish, the length of which seldom if ever exceeds 

 eighteen inches. It has no popular name, but the 

 books call it Ameiurus vulgaris, which, being trans- 

 lated, is " common cat with no notch in its tail." 

 It may be recognized by its reddish color, by its 

 projecting lower jaw, high back, wide mouth, and 

 long barbels ; but it must not be confused with the 

 common bullhead, which it slightly resembles, and 

 which I now proceed to describe : 



The common bullhead {Ameiurus nebulosus, the 

 generic name from the Greek, meaning liter- 

 ally " curtailed," and the specific from the Latin, 

 nebulosus, "clouded") is abundant in nearly every 

 pond and stream located between Maine and the 

 Great Lakes, and southward to Florida and Texas. 

 Its color is dark yellowish brown, more or less 

 clouded, sometimes yellow, and sometimes nearly 

 black. Its extreme length seems to be about 

 eighteen inches; but those generally caught and 

 sold in the markets, particularly in Philadelphia, 

 seldom exceed ten or eleven inches. The upper 

 jaw is distinctly longer than the lower, by which 

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