94 VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 



fi Anal fin with 21 or 22 rays A. nehidosiis. 



fo Anal fin with 17 to 19 rays A. melas. 



Co Body slender; in the south Atlantic States. 



fi Anal fin with 22 to 24 rays A. erebennus. 



£2 Anal fin with 16 to 20 rays A. platycephalus. 



bo Eyes concealed; a cave species A. nigrUabris. 



A. erebennus Jordan. Body elongate; length 300 mm.; head and 

 depth 4; color black above, pale below; fins and barbels black; tail 

 truncated: coastwise waters from New Jersey to Florida; rare. 



A. lacustris (Walbaum). Great Lakes catfish. Length up to 

 1,500 mm.; average weight 8 lbs.; extreme weight 40 lbs.; head 4; 

 depth 5; color slaty; sides paler; no spots; rays of dorsal fin I, 5; anal 

 25 to 32; caudal fin deeply forked: Great Lakes basin and large lakes 

 and rivers northwards. 



A. catus (L.). {A. alhidus LeSueur). White cat. Length 600 

 mm.; head 3.8; color pale bluish, without spots, but sometimes mottled; 

 anal fin with 19 rays; caudal fin deeply forked; head very broad and 

 mouth very large: eastern States from New York to Texas; introduced 

 into California; very common in coastwise streams and swamps. 



A. natalis (LeSueur). Yellow cat. Length 450 mm.; head 3.5; 

 color yellowish, clouded with darker; caudal fin truncated; body 

 stout; mouth wide: from Great Lakes region southwards into Alabama 

 and Texas; very common. 



A. vulgaris (Thompson). Common catfish. Length 450 mm.; 

 head 3.5 to 4; depth 4.5 to 5; color dark brown or blackish; anal fin 

 with 20 rays; lower jaw more or less projecting: Vermont to Minnesota, 

 and northwards; southward to western New York and Illinois. 



A. nebulosus (LeSueur). Common bullhead; horned pout. Length 

 up to 450 mm.; head 3.8; depth 4 to 4.5; color dark yellowish brown, 

 mottled with darker; anal fin with 21 or 22 rays and extending about a 

 quarter the length of the body; upper jaw longer than the lower: 

 Maine to North Dakota; southward to Florida and Texas; introduced 

 into California; very common. 



Subspecies of A. nebulosus 



A. n. catulus (Girard). Color nearly black: Texas; common. 



A. n. marmoratus (Holbrook). Color strongly marked: Indiana 

 to Florida. 



A. melas (Raf.). Black bullhead. Length 250 mm.; head 375; 

 depth 3.5 to 4.5; color blackish; body stout; anal fin very deep, with 

 17 to 19 white rays: northern New York to Nebraska; southward 



