ameiurus — bullheads; horned pout 185 



This species is peculiar to the Great Lake basin, being common in 

 the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It was long confused 

 by American ichthyologists with the great blue cat (Ictalurus fur- 

 catus) of the Mississippi River. Little is known distinctively of its 

 habits, commercial value, or edible qualities. M. Montpetit, writing 

 of the fishes of Canada, speaks enthusiastically of it as a food species, 

 and describes the methods of catching it in the St. Lawrence. 



AMEIURUS NATALIS (Le Sueur) 

 (yellow bullhead) 



Le Sueur, 1819, Mem. Mus., V, 154 (Pimelodus). 



G.. V. 101 (Amiurus); J. & G., 105 and 881 (bolli); M. V., 40; J. & E., I, 139; X., 50 



(cupreusi; I . 66 (Amiurus); F., 83 (Ictalurus); F. F., II. 7,459 (Ictalurus); 



L.. 9. 



Body stout, sometimes obese, rather short and thick and tapering but 

 little from dorsal to adipose fin, depth 3 . S to 3 . 9 in length ; profile low, the 

 elevation from snout to dorsal fin 10° to 14°; caudal peduncle deep. 1 . 7 to 

 2 . 2 in head; skin thick, the epidermis of belly very coarse; fleshy promi- 

 nences covered with thick and loose skin on either side of a median groove 

 through occipital region to base of dorsal. Length 12 to 18 inches, not 

 often found over 12 inches. Color of upper parts yellowish green to 

 blackish, the sides lighter, yellowish brown or waxv vellow; belly yellow; 

 nasal and maxillary barbels light brownish, lower barbels pinkish buff ; fin 

 membranes very weakly pigmented, the rays lighter. Head large, broad, 

 and somewhat depressed, its length 3 . 1 to 3 . 5 in body, its greatest width 

 through the cheeks, the breadth here about same as depth of body at 

 front of dorsal; nose short and broadly rounded; mouth wide, horizontal, 

 upper jaw usually slightly longer than lower; maxillary barbels reaching 

 about to posterior edge of opercles ; eye small, 7 . 2 to 8 . S in head. Dorsal 

 fin small and low; the spine rather short, 2.2 to 2.6 in body. Caudal 

 rather short, rounded posteriori)'. Anal fin of 24 to 2 7 rays, including 

 rudiments, usually 25 or 26, the longest rays somewhat less than depth of 

 caudal peduncle ; base of fin 3 . 5 to 4 in length of body, the free margin but 

 slightly rounded, almost straight from the fifth to the twentieth ray. 

 Pectoral spine strong, its length about same as dorsal spine, usually 

 smooth, but sometimes weakly serrate near tip; humeral process 1 . 8 to 

 2 . 2 in pectoral spine. 



An abundant species thn tughout the state, but much less so than 

 the black bullhead (Ameiurus melas). Taken in 122 of our collec- 

 tions. It is commonest in creeks, and next in lowland lakes, the co- 

 efficients for these two situations being 2.22 and 1 . 18 respectively. 

 In local distribution it contrasts in an interesting way with the brown 

 bullhead, which is much the commonest in lakes and ponds, and 

 comparatively scarce in creeks, where its frequency coefficient is 



