BRIEF NOTES ON FISHES. 385 



larvoe ; a few fragments of insects ; many Cyclops ; a few 

 very small univalve mollusks, and a single water-mite. 



Here we have evidence that this species of sunfish is 

 a bottom feeder, and resorts to the mud rather than else- 

 where for its main food-supply ; but not always, for, 

 during a recent ramble along Watson's Creek, I no- 

 ticed quite a commotion in the shallow water near shore, 

 and, on approaching the spot, I discovered that three 

 of these spotted sunfish had attacked a crayfish which 

 had just cast its shell. The battle lasted but for a mo- 

 ment after I became a spectator. One by one the 

 limbs of the crustacean were torn off, and portions of 

 them devoured by the fish in full view of their tortured 

 victim. 



"When I see such sights as these and they are by no 

 means uncommon I can not but think that there is a 

 screw loose in nature ; that nothing is perfect, and ani- 

 mal life is only reaching out toward perfection. 



In 1873 I happened to catch a fine specimen of the 

 " gggl e ~ e y e( l perch," and found, on inquiry, that it was 

 a new fish in the Delaware, according to the systema- 

 tists; and "oncommon," according to the experienced 

 fishermen of the neighborhood. I showed it to several 

 old " shad-men," and they all told me that occasionally 

 they had seen them. Since then I have seen perhaps a 

 dozen specimens, all from the river, and hence I conclude 

 that they have a claim to a place in the fauna of the 

 river valley. That they were not here formerly is prob- 

 able ; but now, and for many years, there has been a prac- 

 ticable route open to them, through our canal system, to 

 reach the Delaware from either northwestern or south- 

 ern waters. In this way, most likely, they have managed 

 to come. All the specimens seen were adult, and this 

 leads me to expect that ultimately they will become quite 

 17 



