42 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE, MUSEUM. 
running well up into tide-water where it is fresh. Others never 
wander so far from salt water. From a naturalist’s point of view 
the most interesting region is that of the dark cedar or pine- 
stained streams of the lower half of the state. In these usually 
still and quiet streams are correspondingly dull and quiet-man- 
nered fishes. There are not many species represented, perhaps 
only a minnow or so, a darter, several small sunfish, a black 
cat-fish, pike, and several mud-loving fishes such as the sucker, 
mud minnow and mud sunfish. <A noticeable feature of all these 
fish is that they are as a rule much darker than corresponding 
examples from the uplands, in fact they have been taken almost 
black in some cases. This deep pigment is probably due to the 
dark water in which they live as it does not appear to be associ- 
ated further with any structural differentiation. The alpine or 
northwestern part of the state undoubtedly bears much in com- 
mon with the more common upland fishes of the contiguous 
regions of Pennsylvania and New York, so far as has been deter- 
mined. As much of our information concerning the various 
faunas is at present very incomplete, it is impossible to present a 
complete list of the fishes of all streams. I have, however, from 
time to time been enabled to make fairly representative lists of 
some of the streams and localities from which I know positively 
of the occurrence of the said species either from my own observa- 
tion or that of others apparently reliable. As neither time or space 
will permit I am at present unable to go into a detailed discussion 
of this most interesting subject. I hope in the future, however, 
to present a more or less complete review of this work which will 
be still more valuable with additional research. 
FAUNAL WORKS. 
The first mention, so far as I can gather at present, of New 
Jersey fishes seems to be the interesting account quoted from 
Mahlon Stacy’s letter of April 26th, 1680, by Dr. Charles C. 
Abbott. This was evidently from Trenton and gives but a few 
of the vernaculars, among which is ‘“‘sheep’s-heads,” thought by 
Dr. Abbott to be the chub, Semotilus, but most likely were in 
reality Catostomus commersonnii. This letter, however, is very 
largely of interest as a historical feature. 
