252 FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



of Fisheries, Washington, D. C, deposited a string 88 inches long, the weight 

 of which after fertiUzation was 41 ounces, while the weight of the fish before the 

 escape of the eggs was only 24 ounces. The egg masses are not attached to 

 stones, vegetation, or other submerged objects, but are deposited loosely in the 

 water. Spawning takes place at night, in water having a temperature of 44° to 

 50° F., and the hatching period lasts from 2 to 4 weeks. 



The species is usually found in schools, the movements of which m the rivers 

 and larger lakes are influenced by spawTiing, food, temperature of water, etc. 



The yellow perch is fairly good for the table, and is taken for market in 

 large quantities in the Great Lakes and livers of the Middle Atlantic States. It 

 bites readily at the hooks baited with live minnows, angleworms, etc., and is 

 caught in immense quantities by angleis. The amount taken in the commercial 

 fisheries of No^th Carolina in 1902 was 105,990 pounds, valued at $5,639. About 

 two-thirds of the catch comes from Currituck County. 



Subfamily ETHEOSTOMIN^E. The Darters. 



These diminutive perches are among the most interesting of fresh-water 

 fishes. Tlieir favorite haunts are cold mountain streams, but some few species 

 are found in the lowlands. From the typical perches they differ in having very 

 rudimentary or entirely deficient air-bladder and pseudobranchise, an entire 

 preopercular margm, and 6 brancniostegals, and fewer pyloric cceca, in addition 

 to their small size and gay colors. The following interesting account of the 

 group is taken from Jordan & Evermann (1896): 



The colors of the Etheostominse are usually very brilliant, species of the Etheostominae 

 especially being among the most brilliantly colored fishes known; the sexual chfferences are 

 often great, the females being as a rule dull in color and more speckled or barred than the males. 

 Most of them prefer clear running water, where they lie on the bottom concealed under stones , 

 darting, when frightened or hungry, with great velocity, for a short distance, by a powerful 

 movement of the fan-shaped pectorals, then stopping as suddenly. They rarely use the caudal 

 fin in swimming, and they are seldom seen moving or floating freely in the water like most 

 fishes. When at rest they support themselves on their expanded ventrals and anal fin. All 

 of them can turn the head from side to side, and they frequently lie with the head in a curved 

 position or partly on one side of the body. The species of Amnwcrypta, and perhaps some of 

 the others, prefer a sandy bottom, where by a sudden plunge, the fish bviries itself in the sand 

 and remains quiescent for hours at a time, with only its eyes and snout visible. The others lurk 

 in stony places, under rocks and weeds. Although more than usually tenacious of vitality, 

 the darters, from their bottom life, are the first to be disturbed by impurities in the water. All 

 of the darters are carnivorous, feeding chiefly on the larva^ of Diptera, andin their way voraci- 

 ous. All are of small size; the largest {Percina rex) reaches a length of 10 inches, while the 

 smallest (Microperca punctidata) is, next to Elassoma zonatum, the smallest spiny-iayed fish 

 known, barely attaining the length of an inch and half. 



The different genera are very similar and have not always been recognized by 

 authors, who have sometimes included all the species in the single genus Etheo- 

 stoma; foi convenience, however, if for no othei reason, about 15 genera may be 

 recognized, and of these the following 10 are knoAvn from North Carolina: 



