166 Conservation Department 



Annotated List of Fishes Occurring in the Erie=Niagara 



Drainage 



Petrom YZOXiDAE La mpreys 



1. Ivhthyomtizon concolor (Kirtland). — Silver lamprey, lamprey eel. Un- 

 common. Occurs in Lake Erie as a parasite of fish where it is the more 

 common of tlie two parasitic species. Reported to ascend streams in early 

 spring to spawn. 



2. Ichthyomyzon vnicolor (DeKay). — Reighard lamprey. Rare. Found 

 bv Prof. T. L. Hankinson in Little Buffalo creek, June 12. We collected 

 larvae in the mud there June 17, but no adults were seen. These evidently 

 die after spawning, as is the case in other lampreys. This small species 

 is not parasitic and is limited to streams. 



:\. I'etromif.zoii mariims JAnnaeus.''' — Lake lamprey. laiii])rey eel. Rare. 

 Recorded from Lake Erie by Dymond. This species is parasitic on lake fish. 

 Its life history and economics are fully discussed by Gage.i 



4. Entosphcnus appendix (DeKay). — Brook lamprey. Rare. One larva, 

 1^.2 inches long was taken by Dr. G. C. Embody in Lime lake outlet, July 25. 

 Dr. E. H. Eaton, of Hobart College, has found this lamprey in streams near 

 Springville. It is not parasitic. 



PoLYODONTiDAE Paddle-fislics 



5. Polyodon spatula ( Walljaum) .'•'" — Paddle-fish, spoon-bill cat. Rare. Only 

 two specimens have l)een recorded from Lake Erie. 2 Thought to have entered 

 the lake by the Walmsh and Erie canal. s 



AciPENSERiDAE Stuvgeons 



6. Acipenser fulvescens Rafinesque.* — Lake sturgeon, rock sturgeon. Rare. 

 Although once an important commercial fish in Lake Erie and the Niagara 

 river, few are now taken. At present, they are fished only to a limited 

 extent. It seems advisable to give them complete protection. New York 

 protected the species for a short period but complete protection by all states 

 and Canada would be necessary to restore this resource. It is reported that 

 sturgeon do not spawn until their 22nd year. 4 



Lepisosteidae Gar-pikes 



7. Lepisoslcus jylafostoniiis Rafinesque.* — Short-nosed gar. Rare. Recorded 

 from Lake Erie ])y Dymond. 



8. Lepisosteiis ossens (Linnaeus). — Long-nosed gar, gar-pike, bill-fish. 

 Moderatelv common in Lake Erie and the Niagara river. Usuallv found in 



^Oswego Survey Report, 1927 (also contains colored plates). 



2 Hubbs, C. L. A Check-List of the Fishes of the Great Lakes and Tributary 

 \yaters, 1927. 



' American Food and Game Fishes. 1908. 



The nomenclature followed is that given by Hubbs, C. L. and Greene, C. W. in ! 

 Further Notes on the Fishes of the Great Lakes and Tributary Waters, Mich. Acad. ' 

 of Science, Arts and Letters, Vol. VIII, 1927. There is one exception to this, in that ' 

 for the family Esocidue, the authority followed is Weed, A. C, Pike, Pickerel and j 

 Muskalonge, Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Leaflet 9, 1927. Records 

 cited as from Dymond refer to Dymond, J. R. A Provisional List of the Fishes of 

 Lake Erie, University of Toronto Studies: Publications of the Ontario Fisheries 

 Research Laboratory No. 4. Those cited as from Hul)bs refer to Hubbs, C L. A 

 Check-List of the Fishes of the Great Lakes and Tributary Waters, with Nomen- 

 clatorial Notes and Analytical Keys, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology 

 Miscellaneous Publications No. 15, 1920. Species marked by an asterisk (*) are 

 ones of which no specimens were taken by the present survey. All measurements 

 refer to total length. 



* Harkness, W. J. K. The Rate of Growth and the Food of the Lake Sturgeon. 

 Publications of the Ontario Fisheries Research Laboratory No. 18. 1923. 



