Chap. 5. 



FISHES OF VERMOiNT. 



O/ 



THE MUD FISH. 



THE COMMON PIKE. 



Genus Hydrargyra. — Lc Sueur. 

 Generic Chararlcrs.—V e\\\ra.\ fins 6 layod ; 

 teeth in the jaus and throat; those oftliejaws 

 conic and lecurvi-d ; none in the palate ; jaws pro- 

 tractile; lower jaw longer than the upper one; 

 one dorsal tin, situated nearer the tail than the 

 head, Opposite to the anal fin ; scales on the oper- 

 cula and body; head flat, -shielded above wiili 

 large scales, the centre scale largest. 



THE MUD FISH. 

 Hydrargyra fusca. 



Description. — Color above dark olive, 

 mottled with blackish; sides mottled or 

 variegated with brown, green and golden, 

 with taint indications of yellowish bars; 

 bell}' dull brownish, bronzy yellow ; fins 

 dusky yellow ; sides yellowish at the base 

 of the tail, crossed by a vertical black bar, 

 with a brownish, crescent-shaped line a- 

 long tile base of the caudal rays, making, 

 with a vertical line, the form of tlie letter 

 D. Furm thick and plump; head slight- 

 ly flattened above ; upper jaw shorter 

 tiian the lower, and broadly truncated ; 

 lower jaw curved upward and rounded; 

 mouth slightly cleft; teeth in both jaws 

 and front part of the vomer, sinall, crowd- 

 ed, and incurved ; four patches of short, 

 conical teeth in the throat. Eyes moder- 

 ately large, pupil lilack, iris yellow, cor- 

 nea very prominent and clear. Settles on 

 the body, head, cheeks and operculum ; 

 those on tlie back part of the head largest. 

 Tail fully rounded, a little shorter than 

 tlie head, which is a little more tlian one- 

 fifth the total length of the fish. Ventral 

 fins small, medial, and slightly in advance 

 of the beginning of the dorsal; anal fin 

 under the posterior part of the dorsal tiiid 

 about as high as long ; the dorsal nearly 

 twice as long as high, and about its length 

 from tlie caudal. The dorsal and anal 

 have their first rays short and closely ap- 

 plied to tlie second ray ; outer rays of the 

 caudal also very short. Lengtii of i,he 

 longest of 12 specimens before me 4.\ in- 

 ches ; greatest d(,'])t]i ,S ; tliickness .5. 



rvay.s, Br. 4, P. l.j, V. (J, D. J4, A. 10, 

 C. 16. 



History. — These fishes exist in con- 

 siderable numbers in the marshes and 

 coves along the margin of lake Cham- 

 plain, and of the rivers wliich fall into it. 

 They are very tenacious of life, and live 

 longer than most fishes without water. 

 During droughts, as the waters subside 

 Pt. I. 18 



and recede from the coves, they have the 

 power, by a springing motion, of trans- 

 porting themselves from one little puddle 

 to another. They also have tlie power of 

 partially burying thciuselves and living 

 in the mud and among the moist grass- 

 roots, after the other small fislies associa- 

 ted with them are all dead for the want of 

 water. lu these situations vast numbers 

 of them are devoured by birds, muskrats, 

 and foxes. In severe droughts, like that 

 of lti41,the quantity of small fishes which 

 die in consequence of the drying up of 

 the coves, is exceedingly great. In one 

 small cove, which I visited on the 24th of 

 September, 1841, I found Ahid Fishes and 

 otlier small fishes dead in piles, in the low 

 places which had become dry. One small 

 portion of the cove, still covered with wa- 

 ter and leaves to the depth of 4 or -5 in- 

 ches, was literally filled with fislies strug- 

 gling together for existence. This por- 

 tion amounted to about one square rod, 

 and in this space there could not have 

 been much less than a barrel of fishes. 

 They consisted of pickerel, yellow perch, 

 shiners, bull pouts and mud fislies, but 

 mostly of the two last. My feelings were 

 really pained at the siglit, and moved by 

 compassion for the poor fishes, 1 heartily 

 wished for rain, which, on the next day, 

 came in abundance, to the joy, not only 

 of the fishes and their sympathizers, but 

 of the whole country. 



II.— ESOCES, OR PIKE FAMILY. 

 Gexus Esox. — Linnoius. 

 Generic Characters. — Snout elongated, 

 broad, depres.sed, and obuise ; sides of the lower 

 jaw wiih long acute teetli ; inlerniaxillaries, pal- 

 ate, vomer and luiigue sliiflded with small tcelh ; 

 a single dorsal (in, silualed far back and over llie 

 anal fin. 



THE COMMON PIKE. 



Esox cstor. — Le Sueur. 



.lounial Aca.i. Nat Sci., fliil., I -110. 

 Esox lucius, Ricli. Fainia Bureali, ]> 124. 



Description. — Body thick, somewhat 

 four-sided ; back nearly straight from the 

 head to the dorsal fin, and parallel to the 

 abdomen. Color of the back blackish 

 green ; sides lighter, with violet and sil- 

 very reflections and several longitudinal 

 rows of rounded and oblong yellowish 

 spots; belly pearly white. Head one 



