Fishes of the JVestern North Atlantic 79 



and Crustacea; largescale menhaden {Brevoortia patronus), bay anchovy [Anchoa mit- 

 chiUt), sea catfish {Galeichthys felis), and the blue crab {Callinectes sapidus) were found 

 in the stomachs by Dr. Rezneat M. Darnell. 



Relation to Man. In most areas the Longnose Gar is considered not only an obnoxi- 

 ous predatory fish but a destructive one as well, gill and trawl nets often being damaged 

 by it in the brackish waters of Louisiana, and probably elsewhere. In some parts of the 

 country it is used as food, although most fishermen throw it out on the banks, or 

 mutilate it before release back into the water. Smith {64: 59) reported (after Earl, 18: 

 485) that in 1880 this was one of the principal foodfishes in the New Bern market. 

 The roe, being poisonous, is not used in caviar production as is that of the sturgeons 

 and the paddlefishes. 



Range. It frequents waters from Quebec to Florida along the Atlantic except for 

 the eastern part of the New England states, and in the west it ranges from the Great 

 Lakes region south to northern Mexico. 



The adult is frequently found in the brackish waters of Louisiana; Smith has 

 stated that the Longnose Gar sometimes enters salt water and is not rare in Albemarle 

 Sound {64: 59). In winter it frequents the deeper waters of Lake Pontchartrain, where, 

 during a biological survey, several specimens were collected with trawl nets from dredge 

 holes 30 feet in depth. Uhler and Lugger reported it as common in brackish water of 

 the Potomac and Patapsco rivers {66: 154), but Hildebrand and Schroeder recorded 

 it as not common in Chesapeake Bay (j2: 77). Joseph and Yerger reported three 

 specimens, 1,000-1,070 mm TL, for Alligator Harbor, Florida (jp: 120). 



The type of Lepidosteus crassus Cope 1865 was collected from brackish water at 

 Bombay Hook, near the mouth of the Delaware River. 



Synonyms, with References to Occurrence in Salt Water: 



Esox osseus (in part) Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., loth ed., 1758: 313; after Artedi, based on "Acus maxima squa- 

 mosa viridis," Catesby, 1738: 30, pi. 30 (Virginia). 



Esox virdis Gmelin in Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., 13th ed., I (3), 1789: 1389. 



Leplsosteus gavialis Lacepede, Hist. Nat. Poiss., 5, 1803: 333 (lakes, rivers of both Indies). 



Sarchirus vittatus Rafinesque, J. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., I (2), 1818: 419, pi. 17, fig. 2 (based on juv.). 



Lepisosteus oxyurus Rafinesque, Ichthyol. Ohiensis, 1820: 73 (Ohio R.). 



Leplsosteus longirostris Rafinesque, Ichthyol. Ohiensis, 1820: 74 (Muskingum R., Ohio, descr. based on head). 



Lepisosteus huronensis Richardson, Fauna Boreal. Amer., J, 1836: 237 (Penitanguishene, Lake Huron). 



Lepidosteus rostratus Cuvier in Richardson, Fauna Boreal. Amer., J, 1836: 238 (Penitanguishene, Lake Huron). 



Lepidosteus semiradiatus Agassiz, Rech. Poiss. Foss., 2, 1836: 2, pi. 2. 



Lepidosteus gracilis Agassiz, Rech. Poiss. Foss., 2, 1836: 3. 



Lepidosteus bison DeKay in Zool. N.Y., 1842: 271, pi. 43, fig. 139 (Lake Erie, Buffalo, New York). 



Lepisosteus Hneatus Thompson, Hist. Vermont, 1842: 145 (ill., Winooski R., Burlington, Vermont; based on 

 juv.). 



Macrognathus loricatus Gronow in Gray, Cat. Fish. Coll. and Descr. by L. T. Gronow, in Brit. Mus., 1854: 

 148 (after Linnaeus). 



Lepidosteus leptorhynchus Girard in Pacif. R. R. Surv., Fish., 10 (4), 1858: 351 (Devil R., Texas; head only, 

 USNM 1002). 



Lepidosteus otarius Cope, Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., ij, 1865: 86 (Platte R. near Fort Riley). 



Lepidosteus crassus Cope, Proc. Acad. nat. Sci. Philad., 77, 1 865 : 86 (type from brackish water at Bombay Hook, 

 near mouth of Delaware R.). 



