FOURTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 7 1 



chids and certain little fishes related to the perches, which have 

 been distinguished as Etheostomines, are very characteristic for 

 the American fauna, and are among the most prominent feat- 

 ures, while those types are entirely wanting in Europe. The 

 catfishes so abundant in America, and of which there are at least 

 twenty-six species, are represented by only one in Europe, and 

 even that one is of an entirely different type. 



Another noteworthy contrast is exhibited by the Cyprinids. 

 The species of Europe and Asia are almost all of large size, and 

 are the most conspicuous fresh-water fishes of that region,- 

 whereas the American species of the family are almost all small 

 and even of minute size, and (if we except the Pacific slope, 

 which has features in common with Eurasia) there are not more 

 than a couple of what can be called large species of the family 

 in the entire region. It is indeed to a related family, the suckers 

 or Catastomids (entirely wanting in Europe proper), that we 

 have to look for analogue of the European Cyprinids. Among 

 them we havs forms equalling in size the European carp, 

 barbel and others, and some quite similar in superficial appear- 

 ance. Summing up all the species we find that Europe has been 

 accredited with 360 fresh-water fishes, while the North Amer- 

 ican fauna has at least 625. 



The number of the genera common to North America and Eu- 

 rope is indeed extremely few, and the idea suggested by some 

 recent authors, that the North American fauna is merely a sub- 

 division of a common Arctogean, Triarctic or Holarctic realm, 

 is entirely traversed and negatived by the fish fauna. 



It is also especially noteworthy that a number of the types pe- 

 culiar to America are distinguished by the care which the par- 

 ents take of their young ; whereas the European forms are 

 generally indifferent to the future progeny, and after spawning, 

 leave the eggs to take care of themselves. In this connection 

 it may be recalled to the American Fisheries Society, that the 

 care of the eggs and young is accompanied by an apparent dim- 

 inution of the number of eggs, and we have a sort of analogv 

 in this respect to the relation between fish-culture and nature. 

 The fish-culturists assume the parts which, in nature, is exer- 

 cised by the attentive parent, and the eggs and young being pro- 



