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OHIO RIVER FISHES 
Alosa ohiensis, new species. (Figs. 1 and 2.) 
Type, No. 50469, U. S. N. M., a female example 18 inches long and weighing 3 
pounds, taken by Mr. James Sowders, May 9, 1898, at the Falls of the Ohio. 
Description of the type-—Head 4.5; depth 3.6; eye 5.5; snout 4; maxillary 2.1; 
mandible 1.87; D. 18; A. 18; gillrakers 49 + 26=75 on right side,47 + 27=74 on left. 
Body very long, slender, and much compressed; dorsal and ventral outlines very 
gently and evenly arched; head rather long, conic; caudal peduncle very long, the 
distance from base of caudal to dorsal fin equaling distance from that point to pre- 
opercle; mouth large; maxillary broad, reaching posterior border of eye, lower jaw 
slightly projecting and fitting into a small notch in tip of upper jaw; cheek and oper- 
cles strongly striate; scales large and deciduous; fins moderate; gillrakers moderate 
in number, the longest about equal to snout in length. 
The 10 cotypes, which consist of 2 males and 8 females, exhibit no 
important differences, and the 88 examples examined at Louisville 
May 16 to 19 showed no variations of value. Indeed, the characters 
of this species seem unusually stable, as may be seen from an exami- 
nation of the accompanying table. 
The number of gillrakers varies from 66 to 75, only a single example, 
however, running below 68 and only 5 above 74. The average of 49 
examples was 45+26=71 for the right side, and 46-+26=72 for the 
left side. Theaverage for the + knownadult examples of the Alabama 
shad is 67, and even the minimum for the common shad is more than 
90. In so faras the number of gillrakers is concerned, it thus appears 
that the Ohio shad is between the other 2 known species, approaching 
most nearly the Alabama shad (figs. 3 and 4). Indeed, if this 
species resembled the Alabama shad in other respects as closely as it 
does in number of gillvakers I would hesitate to regard them as being 
distinct. 
The Alabama shad is a short, chunky species, having the depth one- 
third the length, and with the maxillary very slender; while the Ohio 
shad is a much longer, more slender fish, whose depth is scarcely more 
than a fourth of the length even in the females, while the males are 
still more slender. And the maxillary in the Ohio shad is broader, 
more closely resembling that of the common shad (Figs. 5 and 6). 
Besides the 4 examples received from Mr. Sowders May 22, 1897, 
and the 6 received from him May 11, 1898, many others were examined 
by me at Louisville May 16 to 19, 1898, where I was able to do so 
through the kindness of Mr. Sowders, who permitted me to examine, 
weigh, and measure those taken by his fishermen. 
In all, 49 fish were examined critically, including 27 females and 22 
males. 
In looking through the records in the Department of Fishes, U. 8. 
National Museum, I found that a single specimen of shad was received 
from Louisville in May, 1878, through the kindness of a Mr. Griffith. 
In the Museum register it is recorded as ‘*A/osa sapidissima,” and 
bears tag No. 21346. 
