104 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



the dorsal base equals two thirds of length of head, while the 

 pectoral is considerably longer than the dorsal. Caudal moder- 

 ately forked; lateral line fully developed, on median line of body; 

 scales moderate, equal. D. 11; A. 7; V. 9. Scales 7-52-7. 



Specimen examined, no. 8446, U. S. National Museum, from 

 Cayuga lake, N. Y. 



The stone roller has a wide distribution and a remarkable 

 variety of common names. Among them are: hammerhead, 

 stone lugger, stone toter, crawl-a-bottom, hog molly, hog mullet, 

 mud sucker, hog sucker, banded sucker, large-scaled sucker, and 

 black sucker. The name, shoemaker, was formerly applied to 

 this species in Lake Erie, perhaps on account of the resemb- 

 lance of its color to that of shoemaker's pitch. 



Prof. Cope says that this species in Pennsylvania is most 

 abundant in tributaries of the Ohio and in the Susquehanna, 

 while in the Delaware it is uncommon. It ranges from western 

 New York to North Carolina and westward to Kansas. It is 

 the most remarkable-looking of all the suckers of New York, 

 and may always easily be distinguished by the shape of its 

 head. The species grows very large, reaching a length of 2 feet. 

 It delights in rapid streams of cold, clear water. Its habit 

 is to rest quietly on the bottom, where its color protects it 

 from observation. It is sometimes found in small schools. The 

 spawning season is in spring, and the young are abundant in 

 small creeks, as well as in the rivers. The food consists of 

 insect larvae and small shells, and it is specially fitted for secur- 

 ing its prey under stones in the rapids. 



As a food fish this sucker has little value. 



Genus ERIMYZON Jordan 



Body oblong, compressed; head moderate; mouth moderate, 

 somewhat inferior, the upper lip well developed, freely protrac- 

 tile, the lower moderate, infolded, inversely V-shaped in outline, 

 plicate, with 12 to 20 folds on each side; lower jaw without 

 cartilaginous sheath, rather stronger than usual, and oblique 

 when the mouth is closed; eye moderate; suborbital bones well 



