SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF FISHES. 267 



front of eye, lower jaw projecting; snout straight, .25 length of head; upper lip on level with 

 upper margin of eye; eye rather less than snout; scales in lateral series 40 to 65, in transverse 

 series about 7 + 7; head naked; lateral line straight, extending about as far as posterior part 

 of spinous dorsal; dorsal rays about viii + 12 to 14, the spinous part in male .3 higher than soft 

 part, the tips with fleshy enlargements; anal similar to soft dorsal, the rays ii,7 to ii,9; caudal 

 rather large, rounded; pectorals avei-aging less than head in length. Color: dark greenish 

 brown, dusky above, the sides with dark cross bars or blotches; a dark line along side of head 

 through eye; a black shoulder spot; fins mostly plain; fleshy tips of spinous dorsal reddish; 

 soft dorsal, caudal, and pectorals barred, (flabellare, fan-like.) 



Ranges from New York to Alabama and Iowa, being found on both slopes 

 of the AUeghanies in North Carolina. It is common in the Catawba, and also 

 in the Swannanoa and its north and south forks, inhabiting cold, clear waters. 

 Length, 2,5 inches. Jordan & Copeland have given the following interesting 

 account of this species: 



The darter of darters is the fan-tail {Etheostoma flabellare). Hardiest, wiriest, wariest 

 of them all, it is the one which is most expert in catching other creatures, and the one which 

 most surely evades your clutch. You can catch a weasel asleep when you put your finger on 

 one of these. It is a slim, narrow, black, pirate-rigged little fish, with a long pointed head, 

 and a projecting, prow-like lower jaw. It carries no flag, but is colored like the rocks among 

 which it lives. It is dark brown in hue, with a dusky spot on each scale, so that the whole 

 body seems covered with lengthwise stripes, and these are further relie\'ed by cross bands of 

 the same color. Its fins, especially the broad, fan-shaped caudal, are likewise much checkered 

 with spots of black. The spines of the dorsal fin are very low, and each of these in the male 

 ends in a little fleshy pad of rusty-red color, the fish's only attempt at ornamentation. The 

 fan-tailed darter chooses the coldest and swiftest waters, and in these, as befits his form, he 

 leads an active, predatory life. He is the terror of water snails and caddis worms, and the 

 larvae of mosquitoes. In the aquarium this darter is one of the most interesting of fishes, for, 

 though plainly colored, it is very handsome, and in its movements is the most graceful of all 

 the darters. Its mouth opens wider than that of any of the others, and it is fuller of bristling 

 teeth. Its large, yellow-rimmed black eyes are ever on the watch. The least of a "fish" and 

 the most of a darter, the fan-tailed is worthily left as a type of the genus Etheostoma, in which 

 it was first placed by its discoverer, Rafinesque. 



Genus BOLEICHTHYS Girard. Darters. 



A small genus, similar to some species of Etheostoma, but having the lateral 

 Hne slightly arched anteriorly and always deficient behind; premaxillaries not 

 protractile; gill-membranes slightly united; top of head naked, opercles scaly, 

 cheeks scaly or not. There are several variable species, inhabiting swampy or 

 lowland waters, one local species. (Boleichthys, dart fish.) 



235. BOLEICHTHYS FUSIFORMIS (Girard). 

 Fusiform Darter. 



Boleosoma fuaiformia Girard, Proceedings Boston Society of Natural History, 1854. 41 ; Charles River. Mass. 

 Boleichthys fusifonnis, Jordan & Evermann, 1896, 1101. Smith, 1901, 134; Lake Mattamuskeet. 



Diagnosis. — Form variable, usually elongate, compressed, the depth .25 to .16 length; 

 caudal peduncle long and slender; head rather long, contained 3.5 to 4 times in length; mouth 

 moderate, maxillary extending beyond anterior margin of eye; snout short, less than eye, 

 .25 length of head; opercular spine strong; lateral line high, more or less interrupted; scales 



