i[f IOWA ACADKMY OF SCIENCE-?. 



Family 2— ACIPEMSERIDiE. 



2. Acipensei riibic ujidus iji Sueur. I^nke Stui'Ljeoii, Ruck Sluigcdir, 



Til is HpocioS' may he known from tho shovel-nosed sturo-eoira 

 by the |)resence of spiraeles, the suh-eonie snout and by the 

 tail Avhich is not depressed nor eompletely mailed. This- 

 s[)e('ies is common in the Mississippi Ri^•er in, the sprino-,. 

 rather scarce at other times of the year. 1 have no positive 

 record of its being taken in streams within the state, yet it 

 no doubt inl>abits them. It reaches a k'ngtli of six feet and 

 is a fairly good food fish. 



Famify 3— SILURID^. 



5. /tfa/nr us f itrcat us; (liw. 3.w\ Vaf. Chuckle 1 leaded Cat, 



This species may be known f)y its deeply forked tail, and 

 h)ng anal fin, the latter with thirty-two to thirty-five rays. 

 This species is not common in the state, and is fcnind only in 

 tli(^ larger rivers. It reaches a length of t^vo and one-half 

 feet and is the best food fish in the family. 



Jctalui us punctatus, Rafinesque. Channel Cat, Silver Cat. 



This species difl'ers from the above in having twenty-four 

 to thirty rays in the anal fin. It is conmion in all the 

 streams and the larger bodies of water in the state. It is. 

 larger than the preceding, and as a food fish is not distin- 

 guished from it. 



4, Ainciu) us niLnicam. I.eSticiir. 



This s})ecies is distina'uished from the othei- Amciuri by 

 having a forked tail, and from the two preceding it can be 

 recogniz(^d by its more robust form and darker color. \ 

 know of no s[)ecimens of this s[)eci(>s being taken in this state 

 except fnmi the Mississippi Ilivei-. It no doubt inhal)its the 

 larger streams. This is the largest cat-fish found in the state. 

 8[»ecimens of immense size used to be taken from the Missis- 

 sippi River, some said to weigh two hundred pounds. At pres- 



