CATFISH GENTJS NOTURUS RAFINESQUE 127 



preserved, the application of these names may have been subject to 

 some uncertainty. Several species of Noturus, besides the one described 

 here, occur at or near the Falls of the Ohio (Jordan, 1877d, p. 99; and 

 Call, 1896, p. 14). Among them is Noturus gyrinus, which may have 

 been part of the material on which the name Noturus jiavus was based. 

 The other species of the genus that are known from the Ohio Valley 

 seem to be eliminated from consideration in this question on the basis 

 of Rafinesque's descriptions. Confusion arises when it is realized that 

 Rafinesque gave paired fin-ray counts that fit Noturus gyrinus pre- 

 cisely and not jiavus. Further, he described the color as entirely of a 

 rufous yellow (1818a, p. 41) or as entirely yellowish (1819, p. 422), a 

 character that could be assumed to be more applicable to gyrinus. 

 Other parts of the description, however, better fit the form known 

 under Rafinesque's name. Characters that he listed which apply only 

 to jiavus as known and not to gyrinus are : the large size indicated 

 (described simply as small in 1819, presumably in comparison with the 

 larger ictalurids), the truncate tail, and the upper jaw longer. Although 

 it is impossible to know whether he had some specimens of gyrinus 

 mixed vnih. jiavus, or simply made errors in determining the fin formu- 

 las (his fin-ray counts for some other species of catfish es are inaccu- 

 rate), it appears that the description better applies to the form long 

 known as Noturus jiavus, and that the name must be restricted to that 

 species on the basis of the characters listed above. This viewpoint is 

 confirmed by an examination of Rafinesque's unpublished drawing 

 (notebook in the Smithsonian Institution) of Noturus luteus (= 

 Noturus jiavus) , that illustrates a long, slender fish resembling either 

 Noturus insignis or Noturus jiavus but which on the basis of the de- 

 scribed color could only be the form considered here as Noturus jiavus. 



Gill (1861a, pp. 45^6) named this species Noturus occidentalis 

 on the basis of specimens from the Platte River, Nebraska, the identifi- 

 cation of which is confirmed by his descriptions and figures (1876, 

 pp. 423-424, pi. 8). I have been unable to locate any type-specimen of 

 Noturus occidentalis. 



Giinther (1864, pp. 104-105) named the species anew, as confirmed 

 by his figure of the "intermaxillary teeth," after receiving specimens 

 of another species that he thought to be the Noturus occidentalis of 

 Gill. Giinther's two syn types of Noturus jplatycephalMS in the British 

 Museum are labled "Old Collection"; his description indicates only 

 the locality, "North America." They are typical of N. jiavus. 



Etymology. — The nsim.e jiavus (Latin), yellow, was given in refer- 

 ence to the general yellow color of Ohio specimens. 



Relationship. — The relationships of Noturus jiavus and the other 

 species of Noturus are intimate. Noturus is recognized as a monotypic 



