220 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



2. Grystes salmoides Ciivier & Valeucieuues. 



Lohnis salmoides Lac^pede, Hist. Nat. des Poiss. Ill, 716. 



Grystes salmoides Cuv. & Val., Hist. Nat. des Poiss. Ill, 54, pi. 46. 



It seems rather a thankless task to reopen the question of the proper 

 nomenclature of the Black Bass, but it is evident that we have not yet 

 reached the bottom. The name Micropterus salmoides is now generally 

 adopted in America as the proper name of the small-mouthed Black Bass, 

 not only among naturalists, but among anglers and sportsmen as well. 

 In the Museum at Paris, however, the same name is fully adopted for 

 the large-mouthed Black Bass. Let us inquire into the history of the 

 use of the name salmoides. 



In 1800, the name Labrus salmoides was given by Lac6p^de to a fish 

 inhabiting the waters of Carolina, and known to Americans as "Trout." 

 This fish was known to Lacepede only through a drawing and manu- 

 script description by Bosc. Both species of Black Bass occur in Caro- 

 lina, the large-mouth most abundantly. Neither drawing nor descrip- 

 tion is exact enough to enable us to tell with certainty, or even mth 

 reasonable j>robability, which species was meant by Bosc and Lacepede. 

 It is unlikely that Bosc discriminated between them at all, both being 

 alike "Trout" to the Carolina fishermen. In the figure the mouth is 

 drawn large, and if we must choose, the large-mouth is best represented. 



The specific name salmoides next appears in the great work of Cu- 

 vier & Valenciennes (III, p. 54) as Grystes salmoides. The description 

 here given is for the most part applicable to both species ; the small size 

 of the scales (" il y en a quatre-viDgt-dix sur une ligne longitudinale et 

 trente-six on quarante sur une verticale" *) and the naked preoperculum 

 render it evident that at least that part of the description was taken 

 from a small-mouth, while the accompanying figure more resembles the 

 large-mouth. 



We are, however, not here left in doubt. The original material of the 

 French naturalists is still preserved in the museum. It consists of the 

 following specimens as described by Cuvier and Valenciennes : 



1. " Nous avons re§u, par M. Milbert, un individu de huit a neuf pouces 

 et un de six ^ sept. C'est ce dernier qui a six rayons a la membrane des 

 ouies et quatorze rayons mous a la dorsale." 



From one of these specimens the figure in the Histoire Naturelle des 

 Poissons (pi. 46) was taken.t This specimen is unquestionablj^ a large- 

 mouthed Black Bass. 



2. " Plus tard, M. Lesueur nous en a envoye de la riviere Wabash un 

 individu long de seize pouces, et trois autres qui n'en out guere que cinq. 

 Les jeunes sont d'un vert plus pale, et out sur chaque flanc vingt-cinq a 

 trente lignes longitudinales et paralleles brunes, qui paraissent s'eifacer 

 avec I'age." 



These specimens are stiU preserved, bearing the MSS. name of Giehla 

 variabilis Le Sueur, and belong to the small-mouthed species. This 



*Tlie very small in-ecaudal scales are doubtless here included. 

 iFide Vaillant. 



