58 



FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



Diagnosis. — Head short, about .25 total body length; snout short and blunt, only .25 to 

 .33 length of head; dorsal plates 8 to 11, lateral plates 22 to 33, ventral plates 6 to 9; dorsal 

 rays 33, anal rays 19 to 22. Color: brown above, white below; peritoneum dark, viscera 

 black, {brevirostrum, short-beaked.) 



Fig. 13. Short-nosed Sturgeon. Acipenser brevirostrum. 



This is a comparatively rare species, not usually recognized by fishermen, 

 ranging from Massachusetts to Florida. Its maximum length is under 3 feet, 

 and it is mature when under 2 feet. Its habits are similar to those of the long- 

 nosed sturgeon. While it doubtless ascends all suitable streams in North Caro- 

 lina, actual records of its occurrence are rare. 



Order RHOMBOGANOIDEA. The Rhomboid Ganoids. 



Family LEPISOSTEID.^. The Gar Pikes. 



Large fresh-water fishes, of little economic value, with very elongate, more 

 or less cylindrical body, covered with small, hard plates in regular rows; elongate 

 jaws, both armed with sharp teeth; external skull bones rough and hard; small 

 eyes; an accessory gill on the under side of opercle; short gill rakers; and other 

 features shown in the key. Very destructive to other fishes and comparatively 

 free from enemies owing to their strong armor. One genus and five American 

 species, one of which, the alligator gar of the South Central States, attains a 

 length of 10 feet. 



Genus LEPISOSTEUS Lac6pede. Gar Pikes. 



Characters of the genus are shown above. One species inhabits North 

 Carolina watei's. (Lepisosteus, bony-scaled.) 



28. LEPISOSTEUS OSSEUS (Linnaeus). 

 "Gar Pike"; Long-nosed Gar; Bill-fish. 



Esox osseus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. x, 313, 1758; Virginia. 



Lepidosteus osseiis. Cope, 18706, 492; Yadkin and other rivers of eastern North Carolina. Jordan, 1886, 26; 



Beaufort. Earll, 1887, 484, 485; Neuse River. Jenkins, 1887, 85; Beaufort. 

 Lepidosteus huronensis, Cope, 18706, 492, 495; French Broad River. 

 Lepisosteus osseus, Jordan, 18896, 125; Pamlico River. Evermann & Cox, 1896, 304; Neuse River (Raleigh), 



Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 109. 



Diagnosis. — Body elongate, cylindrical, depth .08 of total length; head .33 total length; 

 snout very long, .66 total length of head and 15 to 20 times as long as wide; upper jaw the 

 longer, with a single row of large teeth on each side; lower jaw with several series of teeth; 

 dorsal rays 7 or 8; anal rays 9; scales in lateral line, 62 to 65. Color: green above, silvery on 

 sides, white beneath; body and fins with numerous round black spots, {osseus, bony.) 



The long-nosed gar inhabits the Great Lakes, the Mississippi Valley, and the 

 seaboard states from New Hampshire to Texas. It attains a length of 5 or 6 



