94 CONTRIBUTIONS TO NORTH AMERICAN ICHTHYOLOGY IV. 
51. — AltllA Linnseus. 
{Amiatus Rafinesque.) 
(Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. xii, 1766: type Amia cah'a L.) 
diameters of the gemis included above. ancient name of some 
fish, jirobably the bonito, Sanla inediterranea ; said to be from a, priva- 
tive, and /jLia, one, the fish living in schools.) 
83. A. calVJl L. — Mud-fish; Dog-fish; Bow-fin ; GrindJe, “John A. Grindle” j Lawyer^ 
Dark olive or blackish above, paler below ; sides with traces of 
dark reticulate markings; lower jaw and gular plate often with round 
blackish spots. Fins mostly dark, somewhat mottled. Male with a 
round black spot at base of caudal above, this surrounded by an orange 
or yellowish shade. In the female this spot is wanting. Lateral line 
nearly median, directed slightly upward at each end. D. 18 (42-53) ; 
A. 10-12; V. 7 ; Lat. 1. G7 (05-70). Dead in length; depth 4 to 4i. 
Male about 18 inches in length ; female 24 or more. Great Lakes and 
sluggish waters from Aliniicsota to Virginia, Florida, and Texas ; abund- 
ant. A voracious fish of remarkable tenacity of life. The flesh is pecu- 
liarly" soft and pasty, and is of no value for food. 
(Liun. Syst. Nat. ; Giiiitlier, vii, 325: Amia oeeUicauda Richardson, Fauna Bor.-Amer. 
iii, 236 ( d ): Amia occidentalis Uekay, New York Fauna, Fish. 269.) 
Subclass PHYSOSTOMI. 
{The Soft- rayed Fishes.) 
Skeleton bony. Ventral fins (if present) abdominal, with the basal 
segments rudimental. Parietal bones usually united. Air-bladder (if 
present) connected by an air-duct with the oesophagus. Scales mostly 
cycloid. Lateral line usually running low. Parietal bones usually 
united. Prtecoracoid generally present. Pays of fins all soft and artic- 
ulated, except occasionally one or two of the anterior rays of any fin, 
which may be spinous. Lateral margins of upper jaw usually formed 
by the maxillaries. Pectoral fin placed low, generally near the ventral 
line. 
This groui) corresponds essentially to the Malacopteri Abdorninales of 
different authors, the Cycloidei of Professor Agassiz. Although the 
typical members of this group differ in many ways from the more special- 
