RUSE 
BY WM. C. 
AND FISHING IN AMERICA: 
HARRIS. 
(Continued from page rot.) 
The fishes of the sucker family— 
Catostomidw—belong tea distinct order, 
that of the FEventognathi (from three 
Greek words, signifying “ well,” “ with- 
” 
in,’ “jaw,” having reference to the 
maxillary bone being perfect, not enter- 
ing into or being a part of a barbel or 
“feeler,” as is the case with the preced- 
ing order—the Nematognathi—under 
which we have just treated the catfishes ). 
This order embraces the majority of 
the fresh-water fishes of the world, but 
includes only a few of those that come 
within the scope of our work, the 
greater number being small fishes, used 
generally for baits, and others scarcely 
worthy of attention of the angler, 
were it not that they are considered by 
fishermen in many parts of the United 
States as legitimate objects of pursuit. 
The prominent physical features of 
the suckers are: Absence of teeth in 
the jaws; a protractile mouth with 
thick and fleshy lips, the mouth being 
usually situated under and behind the 
snout; the lower throat bones (called 
pharyngeal and situated behind the 
gills and at the beginning of the throat) 
are curved like a scythe and have many 
comb-like teeth in one row, and the air 
bladder is large and divided’ into two 
or three parts. They have no adipose 
dorsal fin, which readily distinguishes 
them from some of the whitefishes, 
particularly the Rocky Mountain white- 
fish, which many anglers, thoughtlessly, 
believe to be a sucker. 
There are, so far as is known, about 
eleven genera and about sixty species 
of the sucker family, in which is also 
included the buffaloes and red horse 
fishes. The species most commonly 
met with by the angler is the common 
or white sucker—Catostomus  teres— 
(Catostomus from two Greek words, 
signifying “inferior” and “mouth,” 
having reference to the position of the 
mouth, and feres from the Latin, mean- 
ing ‘“terete”’ or cylindrical and slightly 
tapering, alluding to the shape of the 
body.) This fish is found in nearly all 
ponds and from Canada to 
Florida and westward to Montana, and 
individual fish have been taken measur- 
ing over twenty inches in length, and 
weighing nearly, if not quite, five 
pounds. The adult species, however, 
are subject to great variation in size and 
coloration; those found in the mountain 
streams being of small size, from five to 
nine inches, and of different coloration 
from the larger fish. It has twelve rays. 
in the dorsal fin and two or three rows. 
of papille or nipple projections on its 
upper lip. The usual color is olive 
with dusky markings along the dorsal 
line, merging into silvery on the sides 
and belly, and the male is said to have, 
in the spring, a rosy stripe along the 
lateral line. Dr. Bean tells us that the 
young of this species are brownish in 
color and somewhat mottled, with a 
dark median band, or a series of large 
blotches. This fish has a number of 
local names, such as the pale sucker, 
gray sucker, brook sucker, and, in 
Canada, it is known as the Carpe 
blanche. It has also a curious name, 
streams 
