The Food of Fishes. 57 



Chiroiiomus larva?, the tube of a case-worm, a few fish- 

 scales and an indeterminable aquatic beetle were the only 

 objects found. 



Xenotis peltastes, Cope.* 



This beautiful little fish, hitherto taken in this state 

 only in very small number from Fox R., was found quite 

 abundant in the "slip" at South Chicago, in June, 1880. 

 The three opened had eaten more larvae of Chironomus 

 than anything else (sixty per cent.). Next came sixteen 

 per cent, of mollusks, then Allorchestes and Asellus, Co- 

 rixa, Gyrinid larvae and a few terrestrial larvffi (Chryso- 

 melidae). The large percentage of Chironomus was proba- 

 bly owing to the situation, — a foul and muddy little bay, 

 serving as a harbor for fishing-boats. 



EupoMOTis AUKEus, Wahl. Pumpkin-seed. Bream. 



This species swarms in the lakes and ponds of northeast- 

 ern Illinois, but is much less abundant in the Illinois K., 

 and in the southern part of the state is almost unknown. 

 The cause of this limitation of its range is apparently cli- 

 matic, as there is certainly nothing in its food, nor, appar- 

 ently, in any of its habits, to exclude it from our southern 

 waters. Indeed, I do not see that its place is taken by any 

 other fish to the southward. No other, unless Eupomotis 

 palUdus^ resembles it in food, and this is too infrequent to 

 replace it. My knowledge of its food is based upon the 

 study of twenty-five specimens, ranging from one and one- 

 half inches upward,, taken from the Illinois, Fox and Cal- 

 umet rivers, and from Long, Crystal and Nipisink lakes 

 and Lake George, in central and northern Illinois and 

 Indiana. The months of May, June, July, August and 

 October are represented by these specimens. 



Fo od of the Y u n g . 



The nine smaller specimens, from one and one-half to 

 two inches long, show at once two prominent peculiarities 

 of the food. The larvae of Chironomus compose fifty-one 



*lt is considered doubtful, by Dr. Jordan, if this species and the pre- 

 ceding are distinct. 



