SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 71 



41. SOHILBEODES FURIOSUS (Jordan & Meek). 

 "'Mad-torn"; "Tabby-cat". 



Notw-us furiosus Jordan & Meek, in Jordan, 1889a, 351, pi. xliii; Neuse River near Raleigh. Jordan, 1889b, 126, 



127; Tar and Neuse rivers. 

 Noturus eleutherus, Jordan & Brayton, 1878; Tar River (not A^. eleutherus of Jordan). Jordan & Gilbert, 1879, 



368; Neuse River at Goldsboro. 

 Schilbeodes furiosus, Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 149, pi. xxix, figs. 69, 69o, 696; eastern North Carolina. 



Diagnosis. — Depth contained 5.5 times in total length; head contained 3.75 times in 

 length; lower jaw included; dorsal spine less than .5 length of head; pectoral spine very broad 

 and long, contained 1.25 times in length of head, anterior (outer) margin finely serrate, poster- 

 ior margin with 6 to 8 strong recurved hooks; adipose fin large; anal rays 14: caudal fin long 

 and rounded. Color: light brown, with black saddle-like blotches on back and head, and black 

 bars or streaks on dorsal, adipose, caudal, anal, and ventral fins, {furiosus, furious.) 



Fig. 20. Mad-tom. Schilbeodes furiosus. 



Found only in Tar, Neuse, and Little rivers. Length 4 inches. The pec- 

 toral spines are more strongly developed than in any other species of American 

 cat-fish, and the secretion of the axillary gland is said to be more poisonous than 

 in any other mad-tom. 



Order PLECTOSPONDYLI. The Carp-like Fishes. 



This order includes a majority of the fresh-water fishes of the world, and is 

 numerously represented in the local fauna. The 4 anterior vertebrae are united 

 and peculiarly modified, giving rise to a series of small bones (Webberian ossi- 

 cles) which connect the air-bladder with the ear; the opercular bones are well 

 developed; the branchiostegals are few in number; the body is scaled; the dorsal 

 fin is single, and it and the other fins are without true spines. Most of the Ameri- 

 can species belong in a suborder (Eventognathi) in which the jaws are toothless, 

 the inferior pharyngeal bones are falicform, and the upper pharyngeals are 2 in 

 number; the gill-slits are restricted; and the gill-membranes are joined to the 

 isthmus. The 2 families having species in North Carolina are typified by the 

 suckers and minnows, and may be thus distinguished: 



i. Maxillaries forming part of the margin of the jaw; pharyngeal teeth numerous and comb- 

 like Catostomid^. 



ii. Premaxillaries alone forming margin of upper jaw; pharyngeal teeth few... .CYPRiNiOiE. 



Family CATOSTOMID^. The Suckers. 

 Suckers are well represented in North Carolina sti'eams, and are among the 

 best known and most easily recognized of the fresh-water fishes. The body is 



