FISHES 95 



to Kentucky and Texas; common, especially westward of the 

 Mississippi. 



A. platycephalus (Gir.). Brown cat. Length 450 mm.; head 

 3.5; depth 5.5; to 8; color olive brown; body very slender; head flat 

 and broad; upper jaw projecting; anal fin with 16 to 20 rays: Carolina 

 and Georgia; common. 



A. nigrilahris (Cope). Length 250 mm.; color black above; anal 

 fin with 18 rays; eyes rudimentary, beneath the skin; barbels short: 

 in cave streams tributary to the Conestoga River in eastern 

 Pennsylvania. 



3. Leptops Rafinesque. Body large, elongate; head very wide and 

 flat; mouth very large, with a projecting lower jaw; skin thick and 

 villose; premaxillary teeth form a broad villiform band, convex anteri- 

 orly, with a backward prolongation on each side (Fig. 41); anal fin 

 slightly concave: i species. 



L. olivaris (Raf.). Mud cat; goujon. Extreme length 1,500 mm.; 

 extreme weight 100 lbs. ; average weight 35 lbs. ; color yellowish, mottled 

 with brown or greenish; body slender; anal fin with 12 to 15 rays; 

 dorsal spine short: Mississippi Valley and Gulf States; common in 

 deep, sluggish waters. 



4. Noturus Rafinesque. Body elongate and similar to Leptops; 

 dentition also similar (Fig. 41); adipose fin long, low and keel-like 

 and adnate posteriorly and separated from the tail by a notch; a 

 poison gland at the base of the pectoral spine; skin tough and villose: 

 I species. 



N. Havus Raf. Stone cat. Length 300 mm.; head 4.25; depth 

 5.6; color yellowish brown; dorsal spine very short; anal fin with about 

 16 rays; barbels short: Great Lakes region and westward into Montana; 

 southward to Texas; often common in small sluggish streams. 



5. Schilbeodes Bleeker. Mad-toms. Body small, elongate; head 

 flattened; mouth large, with a somewhat projecting upper jaw; teeth 

 in a broad convex band in each jaw (Fig. 41) ; adipose fin as in Noturus; 

 anal fin with 12 to 23 rays; a poison gland as in Noturus: several 

 species, some very rare, in southern and western States, in small 

 rocky streams. 



Key to the Species of Schilbeodes 



ai Pectoral spine not serrate behind. 



bi In the Great Lakes region and Mississippi Valley S. gyrinus. 



b2 In the Gulf States 5. leptacanthus. 



a2 Pectoral spine more or less distinctly serrate behind. 



bi Adipose fin continuous with the tail, no notch present S. uocturnus. 



