308 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



an example of Cymatopleura solea were also present. In addition 

 to the diatoms 2 examples of the desmid, Closterium dianse, one of 

 Gleocapsa, one of Pediastrum, and 2 tests of the rhizopod Euglypha 

 alveolata were found. 



It is quite likely that this actively wiggling creature might 

 make an attractive bait for some species of fishes, although it is 

 not used at the lake. Prof. Simon H. Gage* says of a similar form 

 (Lampetra wilderi) "from the tenacity with which the larvae re- 

 tain life they have been found excellent bait for all kinds of ordi- 

 nary carnivorous fishes. The fishermen along the Cayuga and 

 Seneca Lake inlets make considerable use of the larvae for bait. 

 This form of bait has not up to the present been much used in the 

 lake fisheries, as apparently its excellence is unknown. At Owego, 

 on the Susquehannah River, however, quite a business is carried 

 on in supplying larval lampreys to fishermen of all kinds, and 

 many are shipped to distant points." The larvae are, therefore, 

 to be regarded as "non-injurious and positively beneficial by serv- 

 ing for bait. The adult Lamprey, however, is injurious, and is 

 a common parasite of the sturgeon and other large fishes. The 

 following is a description of the adult form : 



Body considerably compressed ; head broad, with a large buccal 

 disk, which is moderately fringed ; teeth strong and nearly uniform, 

 the 2 supraoral teeth being similar to those on the rest of the disk ; 

 lateral teeth all simple; infraoral cusps connivent, 7 in number, 

 the middle ones the longest; upper margin of dorsal scarcely de- 

 pressed in front of the vent; origin or dorsal nearly midway be- 

 tween tip of snout and end of tail ; 51 muscular impressions between 

 gill-openings and vent. Head 7.5 ; depth 12. 



Color silvery, bluish above, sometimes with bluish spots; a 

 small dusky spot above each gill-opening, usually conspicuous even 

 in the larva. Length 12 inches. 



2. PADDLEFISH 



POLYODON SPATHULA (Walbaum) 



The Paddlefish, known also as the Spoonbill Cat, Duckbill Cat 

 and Spade-fish, is a fish of the shallow lakes and bayous and slug- 

 gish lowland streams of the Mississippi Valley. It is perhaps most 

 abundant in those portions of Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas 

 bordering on the Mississippi, though it occurs as far south as Texas 

 and as far north as Minnesota. It is fairly common in the Ohio 

 River, at least as far east as Pittsburgh, and a single example, said 

 to have been 6 feet 2 inches long and weighing 123.5 pounds, has 



* The Lake and Brook Lampreys of New York. Wilder Quarter-Century Book, 1893, 457. 



