1CTALURUS CHANNEL-CATS 179 



catch of catfishes at Alton, where the smaller channel-cat 

 (I. punctatus) is known as " fiddler, " and fished for with special 

 small nets. It is rare in the Illinois River and the smaller 

 tributaries of the Mississippi in this state. It grows to a great 

 size, specimens weighing as much as 150 Ib* being occasionally 

 caught, although the average size of the larger ones taken is 

 only 15 to 20 Ib. It is commonly known as the "Fulton" or 

 "blue cat" by Mississippi River fishermen. It is called "white 

 Fulton" by those who apply to the smaller species (/. punctatus) 

 the name "blue Fulton"; and "Mississippi cat" is the name 

 given it by some Illinois River fishermen. 



It frequents the deeper waters of the river channels, coming 

 out into the shallower sloughs and backwaters in spring. A 

 specimen examined by Dr. Kofoid had eaten fragments of bark 

 (twenty per cent.), insect fragments and larvae (fifty per cent.), 

 and miscellaneous organic debris. The senior author found 

 fishes only in the stomach of a specimen taken in 1887. The 

 breeding habits of the species are not known. It is caught on 

 trot-lines baited with hickory-shad, mooneye, or crawfish 

 (Louisiana), and in fykes and bait nets. In the words of Dr. 

 Jordan: "The flesh is of excellent quality, firm and flaky, of 

 very delicious flavor, nutritious in a high degree, and always 

 commanding a high price. * * * It is of all the catfishes the 

 one most deserving of cultivation and popular favor, and which 

 could with profit be introduced into other countries." 



ICTALURUS ANGUILLA EVERMANN & KENDALL 



Evermann & Kendall, 1897, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., 125. 

 J. & E., Ill, 2788. 



Body robust, head broad, the back little elevated, the contour from 

 occiput to adipose fin being almost straight and parallel with median axis; 

 depth 4.7 in length; profile steep from snout to postorbital region, from 

 which point the elevation to dorsal is slight and gradual. Length of single 

 specimen obtained 24 inches; others of somewhat larger size, weighing 10 

 to 12 pounds, reported by fishermen about Henry, Illinois. Color slaty 

 olive, darker above, yellowish on sides; anal and caudal dark-edged. Head 

 large, broad, and heavy, much as in species of Ameiurus, the cheeks and 

 postocular portion unusually prominent; length of head 4.1; width 4.7 in 

 length of body; interorbital space somewhat concave, a deep groove extend- 

 ing backward to front of dorsal; bones of top of head covered heavily with 

 flesh and thick skin; mouth broad, upper jaw longer than lower; maxillary 



* These large specimens were formerly thought to belong to another species (Ameiums 

 nigricans, ponderosus, etc.), but have recently been shown by Dr. Evermann not to be distinct. 



