254 FISHES. 



35; length 2 to 4 inches. New Jersey to Minnesota, 

 chiefly northward and westward; most abundant in Wis- 

 consin; rare in Ohio Valley; usually associated with 

 Eucalia inconstans. 



FAMILY GIL ESOCIDJE. 



(The Pikes.) 



Body elongated, sub-cylindrical, with rather small 

 scales; margin of upper jaw formed by intermaxillaries 

 mesially and by .the maxillaries laterally; mouth very 

 large; jaws elongate, depressed; teeth strong, hooked, 

 unequal, on intermaxillaries, vomer and palatines; dorsal 

 short, opposite anal; gill openings wide; air bladder 

 present. Voracious fishes of the fresh waters of north- 

 ern regions, two or three of the species reaching a large 

 size. With a single exception (E. lucius, L. the Pike 

 of Europe and Asia) all the species belong to the U. S., 

 and our E. estor is perhaps identical with E. lucius. 



Genus one (or two) ; species five to twenty; the follow- 

 ing seem to be well characterized; many others have 

 been described and some of them may be good, but that 

 has yet to be proven. It maybe convenient to recognize 

 the sub-genus Picorellus, proposed long ago by Rafin- 

 esque. 



* Lower half of opercles scaleless ; cheeks scaly or not ; species 

 of large size; grayish blue in color, with round whitish 

 spots Esox, 1. 



** Cheeks and opercles entirely scaly; size smaller; color olive 

 green, with darker bars or reticulations ; a black vertical bar 

 below the eye PICORELLUS, 2. 







/. ESOX, Linnaeus. PIKES. 



1. E. nobilior, Thompson. MUSKALLUNGE. GREAT 

 PIKE. Cheeks as well as opercles half bare; grayish 



