312 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The following table shows the comparative measurements of these 8 

 specimens : 



No. 



108 



109 

 110 

 111 

 112 



282 

 283 

 284 



Lake where 

 taken. 



Michigan 



....do... 

 ....do ... 

 ....do ... 

 ....do ... 

 Superior. 

 ....do ... 

 ....do ... 



When 

 taken. 



Sex and 

 condition 



Nov. 18 



Nov. 18 

 Nov. 18 

 Nov. 18 

 Nov. 18 

 July 28 

 July 28 

 July 29 



? partly 

 spent. 

 d 

 9 



$ spent. 

 d" spent. 



In. 



13gl4+ 

 13J 13 

 13 11 + 



9+ 



4§ 4 



4 3J 



41 4J 



44 4h 



4§ 41 



4i 4 



4i 41 



4§3+ 



4 J , H 



4J3 



413 



44:3i 



'i 4J3 

 4J 4J3 

 41 41,3 



10 



Scales. 



Gillrakers. 



Number. 



« 



9-81-8 11 + 21; 11 + 19 



9-87-8 11 + 18; 

 9-77-8: 12+21; 

 9-86-8 10 + 20; 



8-85-7; 10+19; 



8-74-7' 13 + 21; 



8-75-7' 11 + 22; 



8-74-7 i 11 + 22; 



I 



10+19 



11 + 21 

 10+20 

 10+19 

 12+21 



12 + 21 



13 + 21 



In 

 eye. 



Spawning habits and food value. — Very little is known about the 

 spawning habits of Hoy's whitefish. All the Lake Michigan specimens 

 examined by us were taken between the 5th and 20th of November, and 

 they were all ripe or nearly so, or partially spent. The spawning time 

 is therefore evidently late in the fall, and probably in deeper water than 

 is resorted to by the herring and other species. The probability that 

 the long-jaw spawns much earlier is an interesting and important fact, 

 and is additional evidence of the distinctness of these species. 



In the original references to this fish in the writings of Miluer and 

 Hoy, it is stated that it has no food value, on account of its small size, 

 but that it constitutes a prominent part of the food of the salmon trout. 

 From the time of its discovery, in 1871, to a comparatively recent date, 

 this fish attracted no attention and was not known to possess economic 

 value. The extension of the operations of the gill-net fishermen of Lake 

 Michigan into the deepest parts of the lake brought the fish into notice, 

 and for fully six years or longer it has had a gradually increasing 

 importance. The relative scarcity of the common whitefish in the 

 fisheries of the western side of the lake has resulted in the utilization 

 of Hoy's whitefish, notwithstanding its small size. 



12. Argyrosomus pusillus (Bean). 

 Small Whitefish; Least Whitefish. 



Coregoviia j}».si//«.s Bean, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1888, 526, Kuwulc River, Alaska. 

 (Type, No. 38366.) 



Head, 5; depth, 5; eye,4f ; D.10; A. 12; V.llj scales, 10-91-9; man- 

 dible, 2 1 ; maxillary, 3.\; gillrakers very long and slender, numerous, 

 49 in all. Body rather elongate, compressed. Mouth as in A. artedi, the 

 lower jaw projecting; maxillary broad, with rather broad supplemental 

 bone, three times as long as wide, not quite reaching middle of the very 

 large eye; preorbital extremely narrow. Teeth none, or reduced to 

 slight asperities on the tongue. Dorsal much higher than long, its last 

 rays rapidly shortened, the first ray twice length of base of fin ; insertion 



