VI PREFACE. 



our accouDt of the CentrarcJiidcc. Prof. S. A. Forbes, of the Illinois 

 Laboratory of Natural History, has furnished numerous notes on the 

 Percidce and Cyprinidce of Illinois. Prof. Felipe Poey, of Havana, has 

 given valuable information in regard to the fishes of the Florida Keys. 

 Professor O. P. Hay, of Butler University, has furnished us manuscript 

 descriptions of species new to science. Miss Eosa Smith, Mr. Joseph 

 Swain, and especially Mrs. Susan B. Jordan, have given important per- 

 sonal assistance in the verification of the descriptions in our manu- 

 scripts. 



Finally, we may refer to the early encouragement received from Dr. 

 Elliott Coues, whose advice and example led us to undertake to do for 

 American Ichthyology, so far as lay in our power, what Coues' "Key 

 to North American Birds" has done for American Ornithology. 



A Bibliography of North American Ichthyology is soon to be pub- 

 lished by Professor Goode. We have therefore not attempted to give 

 a list of the works consulted by us. We have endeavored to examine 

 everything pertaining to American Ichthyology. 



Under the head of each species, enough synonymy has been given to 

 eonnect this work with other descriptive works, an<l no more. Kefer- 

 ence is made to the original description of each species, to the descri])- 

 tions in Dr. Giinther's "Catalogue of the Fishes of the British Museum," 

 and to other works in which special information is given or in which 

 some name different from the one adopted by us is employed. 



This work was first prepared for the press in 1879, during which year 

 a portion of it was printed. Since then the printing has been several 

 times interrupted, chiefly by the absence of the authors while engaged 

 in field-work. It was finished in September, 1882. Tlie manuscripts 

 unprinted have been from time to time revised, and each part has been 

 brought up to the date of finally leaving our hands. The fact that the 

 printing has extended over more than three years, — three of the most 

 active years in the history of American Ichthyology, — will account for 

 some discrepancies between the first and last parts of the work. In the 

 Addenda, we have included the species which have been described 

 since the printing of the accounts of the families to which they re- 

 spectively belong. 



DAVID S. JOEDxiN. 

 CHAELES H. GILBEET. 



Indiana University, 



Bloomington, Ind:, September 14, 1882. 



