154 The American Angler 
anal, with sixty-two scales along the 
lateral line, which is perfect and almost 
straight. 
The striped sucker, soft sucker, sand 
sucker and black nose sucker, belongs 
to another genus, and is classified as 
Minytrema menalops (the generic name 
from two Greek words —‘‘ lessened ”’ 
and ‘‘aperture,’’ in allusion to the im- 
perfect lateral line: and smenalops, also 
from two Greek words—‘‘ black” and 
‘“‘look”). Dr. Jordan says that the 
lateral line does not appear in the 
young fish, and that it is imperfect in 
those of eight inches in length, but is 
nearly complete in the adult fish. It 
has twelve to fourteen rays in the dorsal 
fin and forty-six scaleS along the lateral 
line. The color is dusky, coppery be- 
low, with a dusky-blotch behind the 
dorsal fin, and each scale has a dark 
blotch at its base, most distinct in adults, 
thus forming longitudinal stripes. 
We now reach the red horse fishes, 
which are classed generically as J/o.xvos- 
toma (from two Greek words—‘‘to 
suck” and ‘‘mouth”). There appear 
to be thirteen species classified so far, 
but further investigation may reduce or 
increase the number. Dr. Jordan be- 
lieves them to be unduly multiplied, 
and states that they are difficult to dis- 
tinguish. Of the thirteen species, eight 
are natives of the Southern States, 
ranging from North Carolina west to 
the Mississippi, and south to Texas. In 
the South they are generally called 
mullets, and in the North, as a rule, 
red horses and suckers. The mouth in 
this genus is always behind the snout, 
with lips usually well developed and 
plicate or folded, and the lower fins 
are generally red. They are spring 
spawners, and run up to the head 
waters of streams fo spawn. 
The white nose sucker—J/orostoma 
antsurum (the specific name from two 
Greek words—‘‘unequal” and ‘‘tail” 
having reference to the lobes of the 
caudal, the upper being longer than the 
lower)—is also known as the carp 
mullet, small-mouthed red horse and 

Its coloration 1s 
pale, with smoky gray on the caudal, 
and the lower fins are red. It ranges 
from North Carolina to the Ohio valley, 
and northward to, and beyond, the 
Great Lakes. It has fifteen to eighteen 
dorsal rays and seven ,rays in the anal. 
The first ray of the dorsal is quite high, 
its length being equal to that of the 
entire base of the fin. 
The common red horse, white sucker, 
large scaled sucker or mullet—J/oxos- 
toma macrolepidotum (the specific name 
from two Greek words signifying 
“large” and ‘‘scaled”’) has a broad 
head, which is flattened above, and a 
blunt snout over-reaching the mouth, 
which has full lips, the lower one being 
particularly large. As its name in- 
dicates, the scales are relatively large, 
and there are forty-five along the lateral 
line, and usually thirteen rays in the 
dorsal and seven or eight in the anal 
fin. It. reaches a length of twosteae 
and is distributed over a wide region— 
the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay and 
thence south to Alabama and west to 
Dakota. This species is not found in 
Eastern New England, and is usually 
called brook mullet in the Eastern 
States, lake shad in Pennsylvania, and 
red horse in the West; those in the last 
named section have larger heads and 
mouths, and are recognized as a va- 
riety or sub-species——J7. duquesnet. 
Professor Goode states that this fish 
and allied species are useful and pal 
atable food fishes, ‘‘ although our writ- 
ers have persistently underrated their 
value.”’ The Philadelphia markets are 
long-tailed red horse. 
