zooLocjY. 333 



diameter, and completely isolated from the others, not confluent, as in some other species ; caudal fin, moderately lunated, not 

 forked; head, small; teeth, email, and very numerous, especiidly on the labials; length of the full grown adults rarely 

 exceed 2 feet. 



Bab — Tlie Columbia river and its larger affluents. The species is apparently not anadromous, but seems to remain in the 

 fresh waters throughout the year. 



The t_ypical specimen upon which the foregoing description is based is a single skin contained 

 in the Smithsonian collection, Catalogue No. 940, that of a female, obtained by the present 

 describer at Fort Dalles, Oregon, April 5, 1855. The species is known to the Walla- Walla 

 Indians as the Shoo-sldnes, and to the Wascos by the name of Ic-kivcDi-eek. 



Mr. Girard, taking the specimen for the S. tsuppitcli of Richardson, figured and described it 

 as belonging to that species. Upon his attention being called to several marked discrepancies 

 between the account given by Sir John Richardson of the S. tsuppitch and certain character- 

 istics of the specimen from Fort Dalles, he at once coincided with me in considering the two 

 species distinct. According to Richardson the S. tsuppitch has the dorsal, anal, and caudal 

 fins destitute of spots, and the hiil forked. The present fish, on the contrary, has the tail but 

 moderately lunated at its extremity ; and the dorsal fins and tail are profusely spotted ivith black. 

 These prominent differences, besides many others less striking, have been deemed sufficient to 

 settle the question of non-identity of the two species ; and as no recorded description seems to 

 refer to the present salmon, it is now presented as a new species, under the name Sahno Gibbsii, 

 in honor of my valued friend George Gibbs, esq., geologist to the Northwestern Boundary 

 Commission, and for many years a resident of Washington Territory. To Mr. Gibbs more than 

 to any other individual am I indebted for rare specimens in all branches of natural history, and 

 especially for information, aid, advice, and encouragement while endeavoring to elucidate the 

 history of the Salmonida3 of the northwest coast. 



This salmon is obtained during the winter and early spring months at Fort Dalles, Oregon. 

 It is also found during the summer in the Yakima, John Day's, and other rivers, emptying into 

 the Columbia. In the fall of 1855 I obtained a fine specimen of a fish resembling this species 

 from Boise river, one of the tributaries of Lewis's Fork. Its flesh is good for the table, and 

 the size renders it convenient for culinary purposes, as it rarely exceeds five or six pounds. 

 Most individuals have a broad reddish band or blueish along the sides, commencing at the 

 middle of the opercula, and extending to near the base of the tail. This band is apparently 

 subcutaneous, and may exist only in individuals not in prime condition. 



Dr. Cooper says : "This fine fish, known as mountain and salmon trout, is quite plentiful in 

 the rivers east of the Cascades in axitumn, when we saw many of them caught by the Indians. 

 They did not bite at the hook, though I caught two other species very easily, using grasshoppers 

 as bait. These were all lost, with other fish obtained there, on account of the want of good 

 alcohol, as before mentioned. Though some of our hunters said that this fish is confined to the 

 east side of the mountains, I saw one caught in Puget Sound in March, 1855, which I thought 

 precisely the same. Its peculiar shape would be hardly mi.stakeable." 



Dr. Cooper's authority for the existence of this salmon at Puget Sound is undoubtedly good ; 

 yet, nevertheless, I am surprised that, during a much longer residence in that vicinity, I never 

 noticed this species, although I paid especial attention to the Salmonidw. 



