FISHES 107 



L. sicculus (Cope). Brook silversides (Fig. 50), Length 85 mm.; 

 head 4.5; depth 6 to 8; color pale olive green with a distinct lateral 

 silvery band; back dotted with black; rays of dorsal fins IV-I, 9 to 11 ; 

 anal I, 23; scales 14-75; body very slender: western New York and the 

 Great Lakes to Iowa; southward to Florida and Texas; locally common 

 in ponds and sluggish streams. 



Family 2. Elassomidae. — Pigmy sunfish. Body elliptical, com- 

 pressed, very small in size, with rather large cycloid scales; mouth 

 small, with strong teeth; upper jaw protractile; eyes large; checks and 

 opercles scaly; no lateral line; i dorsal fin: i genus. 



Elassoma Jordan. With the characters of the family: 2 species. 



E. zonatum Jord. Length 35 mm.; head 3; depth 3.5; color olive 

 green, with fine dots; sides with 11 vertical dark bands; rays of dorsal 

 fin IV to V, 9 or 10; anal III, 5; scales 18-38 to 42-19: southern Illinois 

 to Texas and Louisiana; in sluggish streams; not common. 



E. evergladei Jord. Scales very large, 27 to 30: swamps from Caroli- 

 nas to Georgia and Florida; common in the Everglades. 



Family 3. Centrarchidae. — The sunfish and black bass. Body 

 compressed and more or less shortened; mouth terminal; teeth in 

 villiform bands on the jaws, vomer, and often on the palatines, tongue 

 and hyoids; premaxillaries protractile; maxillaries usually with supple- 

 mentary bone; pseudobranchi^e imperfect; lateral line present; but 

 I dorsal fin, with 6 to 13 spines, the spinous and soft-rayed portions 

 being confluent; 6 to 10 pyloric caeca: about 16 genera and about 

 38 species of fresh water fishes, all but one in the eastern States and all 

 among the most familiar food and game fishes. 



Key to the Genera of Centrarchidae 



ai Anal fin relatively long, almost as long as the dorsal. 



bi Spines of dorsal fin 1 1 to 13 i. Centrarchus. 



bo Spines of dorsal fin 5 to 8 2. Pomoxis. 



a2 Anal fin relatively short, much shorter than the dorsal. 



bi Spinous and soft-rayed portions of dorsal fin not separated 

 by a deep notch; depth of body usually more than two- 

 thirds the length; sunfish. 

 Ci Hinder margin of tail convex. 



di Spines of anal fin 5 3. Acantharchus. 



d2 Spines of anal fin 3. 



ei Spines of dorsal fin 9 7. Enneacanthus. 



62 Spines of dorsal fin 10 8. Mesogonistius . 



C2 Hinder margin of tail mostly concave or forked, 

 di Spines of anal fin 5 to 8. 



Ci In the region east of the Rockies 4. Amblopliks. 



62 In the region west of the Rockies 5. Archoplites. 



