THE FISH FAUNA OF NORTH CAROLINA. 19 



(c) The occurrence in the sounds and along the outer shores of immense 

 schools of mullet, S|ueteague, menhaden, blue-fish, croaker, spot, pig-fish, pin- 

 fish, and other food fishes. 



(d) The extension to the North Carolina coast of many species which are 

 characteristic of the West Indies or Florida. 



(e) A few species of the Atlantic coast reach their southern limit in North 

 Carolina (such as the cod and tautog) or do not occur in noteworthy numbers 

 further south (such as the white perch and striped bass). 



The number of species of fishes known from North Carolina waters and 

 herein described is 343, excluding several introduced species which have become 

 more or less established. The native fishes belong in 99 families and 215 gen- 

 era, giving an average of 3.5 species per family and 1.6 species per genus. The 

 twelve largest families, which contain 184 species and 89 genera, are as follows: 



Cat-fishes 12 species in 4 genera. 



Suckers 18 " " 5 " 



Minnows 36 " " 9 " 



Killi-fishes 9 " " 5 " 



Mackerels 8 " " 6 " 



Carangids 17 " " 8 



Sun-fishes 17 || || 10 || 



Perches 24 " "12 



Sea basses 11 " " 7 



Sparids 7 " " 6 " 



Drums 14 " " 10 " 



Flounders 11 " " 7 " 



Among the genera containing a noteworthy number of species are Motos- 

 toma (suckers) with 13 species, Notropis (minnows) with 22 species, Hyhopsis 

 (minnows) with 6 species, and Etheostoma (darters) with 7 species. 



Classifying the fishes of the state according to whether they are (1) marine 

 or brackish water species, (2) fresh-water species, or (3) anadromous or cata- 

 dromous species, it appears that 209 belong in the first class, 125 in the second, 

 and 11 in the third. 



Of the fresh-water fishes, the largest number inhabit the waters of the 

 Atlantic slope; a comparatively small percentage are confined to the western 

 slope of the Alleghanies; while a few inhabit both regions. The distribution of 

 the fresh-water fishes (including the migratory ones) maybe thus summarized: 



Species peculiar to waters of Atlantic slope 85 



Species peculiar to waters of Mississippi basin 36 



Species found in both regions 15 



FISHES FIRST DESCRIBED FROM NORTH CAROLINA WATERS. 



Twenty-nine species of fishes have been based on specimens collected in 

 North Carolina, in addition to a large number described by Linnaeus and other 

 early ichthyologists from "Carolina", which in most cases, however, meant 

 South Carolina. On the following page are given the species first described from 

 the state and now recognized as valid. 



