248 Bulletin 4"/, United States Natiotial Museiun. 



re. Dorsal with tiluck lilotcli ou its anterior rays, usually none i)Osteriorly ; head 



deeper. kmili.t., 391. 



hh. Lateral line always incomplete ; dorsal usually with a conspicuous black I)lotch on its 



posterior portion. mecalops, ."^OS. 



Oi'SOPffiA, (6*07raicu>, to feed daintily): 



aa. Mouth i-carcely obliciue, its cleft almost horizontal ; a black caudal spot nearly as large as 



eye; lateralline imperfect. bollmani, 39:J. 



Subgenus OPSOPCEODUS. 

 390. OPSOPa:OI)rS OSCULUS, Evermann. 



Head U; depth 4ito 5; eye 3. D. 10; A. 8; scales 7-38 to 41-3; teeth 

 4-5 or 4-4, serrate and hooked. Body slender; head subcouic, its depth 

 at eye but half its length ; snout blunt, shorter than eye. Mouth very 

 small, almost vertical. Breast naked ; scales before dorsal small. Lateral 

 line complete. Pale, with brown, specks along edges of scales above ; a 

 narrow plumbeous lateral baud ; sometimes two rows of specks above and 

 one below it ; no black caudal spot and no black blotch on dorsal. Peri- 

 toneum silvery. Eio Neches, and other streams about Palestine and Hous- 

 ton, Texas. Very close to 0. emilia;, but quite different in color markings, 

 possibly a subspecies of 0. emilice. (osculuti, a small mouth.) 



Opsopceochis nscuhix, Evermann, TJ. S. Fish Comm. Expl. in Texas, 82, 1892, Neches River, 

 near Palestine, Texas. (Type, No. 45560. Coll. Evermann, Scovell <k Gurley.) 



391. OPSOPOEODUS EMILI>E, Hay. 



Head about 4^ ; depth 4^ ; eye 3. D. 9 ; A. 8 ; scales 5-40-3 ; teeth 5-5, 

 very slender, strongly hooked, and deeply serrate. Body rather elongate, 

 moderately compressed, not elevated. Head short, slender. Muzzle blunt 

 and rounded. Mouth very small and very oblique, smaller than iu any 

 other of our Cy^)rillidw,'^Yit]l scarcely any lateral cleft; its size, when 

 opened wide, less than that of the eye. Mandible short and deep, strongly 

 curved; jaws equal. Eye longer than snout. Dorsal beginning over 

 posterior rays of ventrals, nearer snout than base of caudal. Pectoral 

 small, not reaching ventrals, the latter to anal. Caudal peduncle long 

 and slender, the caudal long and deeply forked. Anal short and deep. 

 Breast naked ; 16 large scales before dorsal. Lateral line complete or 

 very nearly so. Yellowish; sides silvery; scales above dark-edged; 

 usually a dark lateral band from snout to caudal, above and below which 

 are series of black dots ; no distinct caudal spot ; anterior rays of dorsal 

 dark; no black spot on the posterior rays. Sandy lowland streams, Lake 

 Erie and southern Indiana (New Harmony) to Georgia and Mississippi. 

 Rather scarce, but widely distributed. (Named for Mrs. Emily Hay.) 



OpKopnmhm eiiiili:i, Hay, Proc. tj. S. Nat. Mus., 1880, 507, Artesia^ Macon, and Enterprise, 

 Mississippi. (Type, No. 32222. Coll. Hay.) Jordan & GiLBERT,*Synoiisis, 247, 1883. 



S92. OPSOP(EODl'S MEGALOPS (Forbes). 



Head 4f ; depth 4 to 5 ; eye 2|. D. 7 or 8 ; A. 7 or 8 ; scales 5-39-4, 15 

 before dorsal. Teeth 5-5, hooked and crenate. Lateral line always 

 incomplete, sometimes on 4 or 5 scales only, sometimes extending with 

 interruptions to middle of caudal peduncle. Body slender, fusiform; 



