£»ox 08SCU9. Mitcliill in Amer. ^Monthly Magazine, Vol. 5j 

 page 321. 



Upper jaw longer than the lower and the bead one fourth of 

 total length and narrow: body cylindrical, dorsal and anal lins 

 with 8 rays, abdominal fins with 6, tail unspotted nearly trun- 

 cate, lateral line obsolete. 



I have only seen the head of this fish, which was taken in the 

 Mtiskingura. It is evidently the same fish described at length 

 by Dr. Mitchill under the old Linncan name of Eaox osseus and 

 found in Lake Oneida; although his description is very minulo 

 in some respects, he has omitted to mention the colour of the 

 "body, shape of the fins, and many other peculiarities. I refer 

 to his description, and shall merely add its most striking dis- 

 crepancies from the former species. Length forty inches, up- 

 per jaw ten inches with two cr«oked teeth at the end, lower jaw 

 nine inches, teeth of three sizes crowded on the jav.s. Scales 

 rhomboidal. Abdominal fins nearly medial. Tail with 12 

 rays, serrated above and below. 



2d Subgenus. Atractosteus. 



Body fusiform or spindle shaped, dorsal and anal fins quite op- 

 posite. The name means bony spindle. 



90th Species. Alligator Garfish. Zesisoi/euv ferox, 

 Lepisoste feroce. v, ' 



Jaws nearly equal, as long as the head, about one eighth of 

 total length and broad: body fusiform and brownish; dorsal 

 and anal fins opposite, tail obliqual oval, lateral line obsolete. 



This is a formidable fish living in the ^Mississippi, principally 



in the lower parts, also in Lake Pontchartrain, the Mobile, Red 



Kiver, Sec. It has been seen sometimes in the lower parts of 



the Ohio. It reaches the length of eight to twelve feet, and 



preys upon all other fishes, even Gars and Alligators. Mr. 



John D. Clifford told me that he saw one of them fight with au 



alligator five feet long and succeed in devouring him, after cut- 



Hng him in two in its powerful jaws. My description ii made 



irom a sketch drawn by Mr. Clifford, and a jaw bone preserv-" 



cd in his Museum. These jaws are from twelve to eighteen 



inches long, and from four to six inches broad. They are crowd- 



ftj YviUi teeth; unequally set, not two of ^yhicU are 9X\)^<i Id %\zt^ 



