478 CONTRIBUTIONS TO NORTH AMERICAN ICnTHYOLOGY IV. 



very broad, sometimes almost wanting; the flap half or more longer 

 than the eye in the adult, much shorter in the young, its develop- 

 ment subject to great variation. Brilliant blue and orange; the back 

 chiefly blue; the belly entirely orange, the orange on the sides in spots, 

 the blue in wavy vertical streaks; lips blue; cheeks orange, with bright- 

 blue stripes; blue stripes before eye; iris red; soft i)arts of vertical tins 

 with the rays blue and the membranes orange; ventrals dusky. Head 

 without flap, 3 in length; depth 1§-2J. D. X, 10; A. Ill, 8; scales 5- 

 38-14. L. G inches. Michigan to Minnesota, South Carolina, and Mex- 

 ico; very abundant in most streams. One of our most brightly-colored 

 fishes. Extremely variable: the young are often elliptical in form, and 

 the size at which the characteristic ear-flap is developed varies greatly 

 with different individuals. We have thus far failed to distinguish any 

 tangible varieties. Some Southern specimens have the ear-flap longer 

 {fallax); some jSTortheru ones have the scales rather larger {inscriptiis), 

 or the margin of the ear-flap broader than usual {peltastes)^ or wanting 

 altogether {lijthroehloris). Some Southern specimens [hreviccps) have a 

 dusky spot on the last rays of dorsal. These characters gradually dis- 

 appear on examination of a large series. 



'(IchtheUs megaloiis Raf. Iclitli. Oh. 1820,29 : Xevofis mefjaloih Jordan, Man. Vert. ed. 2, 

 242: lehthelis aiirita Raf. Icli. Oh. 1820, 29, not Lahrus aitritus L. : Lepomxs auritus Cope, 

 .Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 18G8, 220: Xenoiis hjthrovhloris Jordan, Bull, U. S. Nat. 

 Mus. X, 40: Pomotis nUida Kirtland, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist, iii, 472: PomoHs fallax 

 Baird «fc Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1854, 24 : Pomotis fallax Girard, U. S. 

 Ptic. R. R. Surv. Fish. 27: Pomotis ruhricauda Giinther, i, 262: PomolU hrericeps B. »fc 

 G. Proc. Acad. Nac. Sci. Phila. 1853, 390: Pomotis popel Girard, U. S. Pac. R. R. Surv. 

 Fish. X, 26: Pomotis sanguinolcnixis Agass. Amer. Journ. Sci. Arts, 1S54, 302: Xenoiis solis 

 Jordan, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. x, 22, not Pomotis solis C. «& V. : Pomotis convexifrons 

 Baird &. Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1854, 24 : Xenoiis aureolus Jordan, Bull. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus. X, 41: Pomotis inscriptus Agassiz, Amer. Journ. Sci. Arts, 1854, 302: 

 Xenoiis inscriptns Jordan, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus. x, 42: Lepomis peltastes Cope, Proc. 

 Amer. Phil. Soc. Phila. 1870, 454; McKay, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. iv, 89.) 



'S'4§, l-o BBiaB'gaMatMS (Holbr.) McKay. 



Body short and deep. Snout shorter than the diameter of the eye, 

 the maxillary extending to the orbit. Paired fins rather long. Color 

 olive, with darker vertical bars; head and body with numerous bluish- 

 green spots; opercular appendi:: bordered with green. Head 3; depth 

 2. D. (IX) X, 12; A. Ill, 10. Fiur da. {Holbrool:) 



{Pomotis marginatus Holbr. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1855, 49: Pomotis margi- 

 ■natus Giinther, i, 264.) 



'S'-49. BL.. bocMbHfB'ons (Agass.) Jor. 



Body rather short and deep, with the profile very steep and the back 



very much arched, the greatest depth of the body being over the 



