H 



The Brook Silverside. 



W. A. POVSER, Hammond, Iiid. 



E who has observed the little fish 

 bearing the rather forbidding 

 scientific appellation of Lahidesthes 

 sicculis, will agree with me, even though 

 he be most critical, that we have here a 

 veritable finny beauty. The dainty little 

 fellow, seldom exceeding three inches 

 in length, is very slender and semi- 

 translucent. A lateral stripe of brilliant 

 silver, bounded with a dark line above, 

 is the characteristic embellishment of 

 the body. Above, pale olive-green pre- 

 dominates, while the abdominal region 

 is of the same hue, but of a lighter 

 shade. The back may be slightly 

 dotted with black. It will be noted that 



species, our subject among the number, 

 are found in freshwater. The silvery 

 band which is a characteristic of the 

 family, gives the common name. 



Our silverside is fovind from the 

 Great Lakes southward to Florida, and 

 southwestward to Missouri, Arkansas, 

 and Texas. It occurs in a variety of 

 waters, but seems to prefer cool and 

 quiet places. 



Its mouth is well provided with teeth 

 adapted to the capture of the sundry 

 minute animals which make up its food. 

 In common with other fish of carnivor- 

 ous proclivities, it has a very short 

 intestine. Vegetarian fishes require a 

 greater length of time to digest their 

 food, so are provided with longer in« 



HKOOIv SILVERSIDE 

 Urawius by 



our subject is burdened with two dorsal 

 fins, the forward one of which, it is 

 often prone to alternately fold and erect 

 independently of the rear one. The pec- 

 torals are carried rather high. The 

 males may be distinguished from the 

 females by the slightly black-tipped 

 dorsal. 



The conformation of the nose and 

 jaws, at once lead the observer to con- 

 clude that the fish is carnivorous. It 

 belongs in the family of carnivorous 

 fishes called Atherinidae. The various 

 species are mostly of small size, occur- 

 ring in great schools near the shore in 

 temperate and tropical seas: a few 



Lahidesthes sicculis (Cope) 

 W. A. Poyser. 



testinal tracts. Examinations of the con- 

 tents of a number of specimens have re- 

 vealed the minute larva of gnats, and 

 many species of Entomostraca, together 

 with remains of land insects that had 

 fallen into the water. 



To the aquarium, the silverside forms 

 an interesting addition. It is active 

 and harmless, at least when kept with 

 the usual tropical species such as 

 Xiphophoriis helleri, Barbiis sp., Girar- 

 dinus reticidatus, and the sundry species 

 of gourami. While it devours Daphnia 

 with avidity, it is by no means averse to 

 dried shrimp and prepared foods. Though 



(Continued on page 72.) 



