New York, October 26, 1917. No. 50 



OPEI/S 



Published to advance the Science of cold-blooded vertebrates 



COULTER'S WHITEFISH. 



In a recent article on Coregonus coulteri (Co- 

 peia No. 45), Dr. Kendall overlooks an obscure sec- 

 ond record of the occurrence of the species in the 

 Columbia basin (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. XXXVI, 

 p. 430). The specimens there referred to were col- 

 lected by the writer at Diamond Lake, Stevens Co., 

 Wash., in June, 1894. It was observed at the time 

 that kingfishers were catching a slender, silvery fish 

 from near the surface of the lake, and by- firing at 

 the birds with a rifle, they were on several occasions 

 made to drop the fish within reach. These were 

 Coulter's whitefish. None was seen in the shallow 

 water near shore, there was no boat at hand, and 

 consequently nothing more was learned of the spe- 

 cies. Some of these fishes, measuring 127 millimeters 

 in length, were about as large as the birds could well 

 manage. These specimens and likewise some of those 

 taken by Dr. Eigenmann appear to be fishes of the 

 year, and it is possible that the adults of the species 

 may reach a much larger size. Indeed it is not im- 

 probable that the species may be a deep water form 

 of some food value. The Bureau of Fisheries has 

 lately learned of the presence of several undescribed 

 species of whitefish in western waters. Some of these 

 are good food fishes, and it is possible that their range 

 may be profitably extended by artificial means. An 



