CATFISH GENUS NOTURUS RAFINESQUE 



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Map 3. — Distribution of Noturus leptacanthus Jordan. The circles represent localities from 

 which I have examined specimens. The dashed line outlines the range, which includes 

 those literature records th,t appear to be correct. 



distribution maps of the two species show identical ranges except 

 that Crawford plotted a single record from the Mississippi River 

 basin, and he showed no record from Great Cypress Swamp, South 

 Carolina. 



Some specimens referable to Noturus nocturnus have been reported 

 as Noturus leptacanthus. 



Nomenclature. — The original description of Noturus leptacanthus 

 Jordan (1877b, p. 352) unquestionably applies to the species con- 

 sidered here. The diagnostic characters include the color "pale 

 reddish yellow, slightly blotched," the small anal fin, the eight soft 

 rays of the pectoral fin, the "small and slender dorsal and pectoral 

 spines which are devoid of internal serratures," and the "upper jaw 

 much the longer." 



Etymology. — The name leptacanthus (from Greek) means [small 

 or] slender spined. It was presumably used in reference to the absence 

 of the roughenings on the pectoral spine. 



Relationships. — The large chromatophores and smooth slender 

 spines are exceptional in Noturus. The general morphology, however, 



