FISHES OF THE CONNECTICUT LAKES. 33 
position of the mouth indicates that it is to some extent at least a 
bottom feeder. The stomach contents of several individuals from 
2.25 to 3.08 inches long from First Lake waters contained fragments 
of insects, water mites, and insect larve. It doubtless eats the 
eggs of such small fish as breed in brooks and streams where it 
occurs. It will take a baited hook or a small artificial fly, and is itself 
a useful bait for large fishes, being hardy and living well in a bait 
bucket. The spawning time, like that of other Cyprinide, is in the 
spring or early summer, at which time the males are colored somewhat 
with red. 
It is usually hard to get many individuals of this minnow, owing to 
the difficulty of using a net in the rocky streams where it occurs and 
its habit of darting under rocks and other shelter for concealment, 
though a minnow trap in time is effective in getting a fair supply of 
individuals large enough for live bait. Our largest specimens were 
taken on a small hook baited with angleworm. 
9. Buacknosrt Dace. Lhinichthys atronasus (Mitchill). 
Head 4.15 in length without caudal; depth 4.9; eye 4.33 in head; snout 2.60; 
dorsal 8; anal 7; scales 11-62-7. Head long, rather sharp, mouth small, lower 
jaw included, somewhat inferior, nearly terminal, slightly oblique; maxillary not 
reaching anterior border of eye, small barbel at tip; eye large, high, about mid- 
way between tip of snout and upper end of gill-opening. Body plumply rounded - 
in front, compressed behind; scales small, lateral line nearly straight, about 
in axis of body; dorsal nearer base of caudal than tip of snout, the first rays 
highest, 1.8 in head, extending considerably beyond tips of last rays when de- 
pressed; rays of first half of anal longest, 1.28 in head, reaching much beyond 
the last rays when depressed ; pectoral rounded, not reaching nearly to ventrals; 
ventrals rounded, reaching vent; caudal forked. 
Top of head and back green-gray; back and side thickly spotted and dotted 
with dark brown to lateral line, some of the spots linear, all made up of dots; 
few round and linear groups of dots below lateral line on side of belly and 
caudal peduncle; a jet black stripe from snout through eye to base of caudal 
ending in a black spot on the base of the caudal fin; all below the stripe ex- 
cept the few spots on the side abruptly white; fins all pale. 
Description taken from a male individual 2.7 inches long from outlet of Third 
Lake August 18. 
This species varies but little in color. The young have the black stripe more 
distinct, also a more sharply defined black spot on the caudal. Some individ- 
uals have a border above the lateral stripe, of lighter shade than the ground 
color of the body, and breeding males have broad red borders to the lower 
fins and sometimes red on the sides, and the light border above mentioned a 
beautiful golden red hue. 
Distinguished from the other dace by the less projecting snout and black 
lateral stripe extending on the snout; from other minnows of this region by 
the same characters. 
This species of dace does not lack for local names. It is variously 
known as “rock minnow,” “brook minnow,” “ rock shiner,” “ pot- 
belly,” “ pottle-belly,” etc. The last two names are derived from the 
