CATALOGUE OF THE FISHES OF THE EAST COAST OF 

 JNOKTH AMERICA. 



By Theodore Gill. 



SCOPE OF CATALOGUE. 



The following catalogue may be considered as a new edition of a 

 "Catalogue of the Fishes of the Eastern Coast of North America from 

 Greenland to Georgia," published in 1861, inasmuch as it covers the 

 same ground; but. as it has been entirely recast, and expresses the re- 

 sults of the author's own studies as well as those of others, since the 

 date of its publication, it is essentially a new work. 



LITERATURE. 



The literature of American ichthyology is quite voluminous, but it is 

 in great part represented in the periodical literature (publications of 

 earned societies and scientific magazines) and by monographic essays or 

 isolated descriptions of genera and species. Exclusive of such articles, 

 there are three principal classes of publications which contain descrip- 

 tions or references to more or less of the species described : 



1. Works on fishes in general. 



2. Works on American fishes in general. 



3. Works on faunas, or relating to states, &c. 



1. The general works on fishes, commencing with Willoughby and 

 Ray, and coutinued by Artedi, (1738,) Klein, (1710-'49,) Liune, (1748- 

 §8,') Bloch, (1782-'95,) Hauy, (1787.) Bonnaterre, (1788,) Gineliu, (1788,) 

 palbaum, (1792,) Laeepede, (1798-1803,) Bloch and Schneider, (1801,) 

 Shaw, (1803-'04,) Cuvier and Valenciennes, (1828-'49,) A. Dumenl, 

 (1805-70,) and Gunther, (1859-70,) successively included the species 

 known to them and described by previous naturalists, and the last works 

 include, on the whole, the best descriptions (because comparative) of 

 many of the species. All these works are by foreign authors*. 



2. The general works on North American fishes, in whole or part, 

 are by De Kay, Storer, and Gill. 



3. The more restricted faunal works, or those relating to specific dis- 

 tricts and States, are more numerous, but of very unequal value, some 

 containing descriptions of all the species as well as the including groups, 



* A complete bibliographical catalogue of these works is given by the author of the 

 present article in an "Arrangement of the Families of Fishes/' published by the Smith- 

 -"iiiau Institution. 



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