4S IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



A minnow not easy, always, of separation because of great variability. Rather 

 common in our collections, that is, occurs in nearly all our streams, but not in great 

 abundance. 



Plinephales iiotatus Rafinesque. — Middle river; North river; Raccoon river at 

 Adel, Des Moines and Perry; Des Moines river at Des Moines and Ft. Dodge; 

 Beaver creek; Walnut creek: and in a small stream without name in the city of 

 Des Moines, but connected with no other stream. 



Without exception this form is the most common and most abundant Cyprinoid 

 in Iowa. Throughout our area it occurs in nearly every collection made and in 

 the greatest abundance. All collections made in the spring presented males with 

 a black head, much enlarged, apparently, due to the great number of large epi- 

 dermal tubercles. These number, usually, fourteen and are generally arranged 

 in constant order. The somewhat large light, colored scales render it of easy 

 separation from its only congener, the following species. It is the one fish to be 

 alwavs found in the bait-pail of the sportsman. 



Pimephales promelas Rafinesque — Four Mile creek; North river; Raccoon river 

 at Perry, Adel and Des Moines; Walnut creek, Beaver creek. 



P. promelas is easily distinguished from its congener by the dark coloration of 

 the anterior portion of the body, the smaller scales crowded before, the dusky color 

 line along the side of the body, the short blunt head, and the incomplete lateral 

 line. It does not attain the size of P. notatus, specimens rarely or never exceeding 

 three inches in length. It is commonly abundant in ail our collections. 



Cliola vigilax Baird and Girard. — Middle river; Raccoon river at Des Moines 

 Perry and Adel; Des Moines river at Des Momes. 



This species is readily known by the black spot at the end of the lateral line at 

 the base of the caudal, its light coloration and the short, blunt, decurved snout. 

 From Phenacohius tnirabilifi, which it superficially resembles, it is readily distin- 

 guished by the peculiar mouth of the latter. This form occurred in our collections 

 in warm waters, with muddy bottoms, being rarely taken in streams with rapid 

 currents. It occurred to us in great abundance at Adel in a shallow bayou repre- 

 senting a former river channel. 



Sotropis ardeus Cope. — Des Moines river, Des Moines; Beaver creek. 



This form is rare in our collections, one locality, the first, presenting but a 

 single specimen. Among the difficult forms belonging to this genus this takes rank 

 among the most ditficult, has a synonymy which is increasing as more is known of 

 the genus, and is the smallest species of Notrojtis in Iowa. Doctor Jordan justly 

 remarks of the genus that it presents the most puzzling fishes in the world. Its 

 Iowa representatives are especially difficult owing to the great similarity of habitat 

 and the absence of those marked station peculiarities which may be assumed 

 justly as a cause of the more marked differences in the Notropkles of other States. 

 Only the closest scrutiny succeeds in establishing specific characters and then the 

 result is often not satisfactory. That this form is more widely distributed than 

 our personal collections indicate is probable. 



Notropis cajiig'a Meek. — Squaw creek; Beaver creek; Raccoon river, Adel. 



This is a rare form in Iowa. Occasionally occurring in fair numbers it is yet 

 true that a day's collecting in a most favorable locality will discover but a half 

 dozen in number. The chief characters presented are the very close or large 

 scales, few in number before the dorsal fin and the well defined black line passing 

 from the tip of the snout to the base of the caudal fin. This line, moreover, is 

 continuous to and around the front of the face, on the upper lip only, which fact 

 serves as a clear diagnostic character. In forms looking much like it the color 



