Chap. 5. 



FISHES OF VERMONT. 



139 



THE HORNED POUT. 



THE CAT FISH. 



ing taken from the water; belly dirty 

 white, often tinged with red ; fins dark, 

 often purplish; mouth broad ; under jaw 

 longest, and a broad band of small conical 

 teeth in each ; cirri 8, 4 in a row upon 

 the under lip, tlie two outer ones nearly 

 twice as large as the middle ones, one 

 still larger at each angle of the mouth, 

 and a small one at each nostril ; the first 

 dorsal ra}^ and the first ray in each pecto- 

 ral fin a strong spine, with the point free 

 and sharp. A bony process projects back- 

 ward over the base of the pectoral fin. 

 Tail slightly rounded. Length of the 

 specimen before me 12^ inches, width of 

 the head 2.3, depth of the body 1.8, 

 thickness 1.6. 



Rays, B. 7, P. 117, V. 8, D 116—0, A. 

 20, C. 17. 



History. — This fish, which is quite 

 plentiful in lake Champlain, is here gen- 

 erally known by the name of Bull Pout. 

 Those taken from tiie lake are usually 

 from 9 to l:> inches in length. For the 

 table they require skinning like the Eel ; 

 but, though their flesh is tender and well 

 flavored, there is so much waste in dress- 

 ing, because of the great size of the head, 

 that very little account is made of them 

 as an article of food. This fish I suppose 

 to be the species described by Dr. Mitch- 

 ell under the name of Si/urus cafiis, but 

 whether it is the Pitnrloilus cilvs of Le 

 Sueur, I have no means of judging-, nev- 

 •er having seen his description. 



THE HORNED POUT. 



Pimcioflux nroidosiis. — Le Scieur? 



Memcires du Mii?. (i'llist Nat., V— 149. Storer's 

 Jl"lioit, page [02. 



Description. — Color dark olive, or fu- 

 liginous, darkest on the head and back, 

 yellowish or cupreous on the sides, ap- 

 proaching to ruddy white on the belly ; 

 fins mostly ruddy at the base and brown- 

 ish towards the extremity ; head flattened 

 above ; upper jaw rather longest ; both 

 jaws furnished with numerous small coni- 

 cal teeth ; 8 cirri about the head, 2 short 

 ones at the nosirils, 4 longer ones on the 

 chin, and 2 much longer, being 1.1 inch, 

 extend backward from the angles of the 

 mouth, and terminate in a fine filament. 

 Spine of the 1st dorsal articulated, and 

 free at the point; spines of the pectorals 

 also free at the point, and strongly serra- 

 ted interiorly; adipose fin over the poste- 

 rior part of the anal. Tail nearly even. 

 Length of the specimen before me 4^ 

 inches, width of the head .8. Body much 

 flattened vertically towards the tail. 



Rays, B. 7, P. 1 17, V. 8, D. 115, A. 20, 

 C. 17. 



History. — This fish is common in Con- 

 necticut river, and in many of its larger 

 tributaries. The specimen from which 

 my description was drawn was taken in 

 Connecticut river at Barnet It is there 

 called the Pout, or Horned Pout. Hav- 

 ing had an opportunity to compare only 

 this one small specimen from Connecticut 

 river with the Bull Pout found in lake 

 Champlain, I am not prepared to say 

 with confidence that they do not both be- 

 long to the same species ; but as this spe- 

 cimen diflers from the lake fish in having 

 its body more flattened towards the tail, 

 in having its upper jaw longest instead 

 of shortest, in having the cirri at the 

 angles of the mouth proportionally longer 

 and the adipose fin more distant from the 

 tail, I have introduced them as distinct 

 species. 



THE CAT FISH. 



Punrlodus **•*«*. 

 DESCRiPTioN.-Color dark smoky browa 

 approaching to black above ; cupreous or 

 fuliginous on the sides; belly dull ruddy 

 white ; skin scaleless and suiooth ; fins 

 dull smoky brown, more or less ruddy 

 below. Head slopes gradually from the 

 nape of the neck to the snout, which, as 

 well as the head, is narrower and more 

 pointed than the preceding species; the 

 body also is more elongated ; 8 cirri in 

 the usual situations, all blackish e.\cepting 

 the two middle ones on the under lip 

 which are flesh-colored, and not more 

 than half as large as the two outer ones ; 

 those at the angle of the mouth very long, 

 reaching beyond the pectorals half way 

 to the ventral fins ; those at the nostrils 

 smallest. Moutli narrow, with the upper 

 jaw overlapping the lower : teeth small, 

 conical and numerous. Bony spine in 

 the pectoral fin very strong, with about 

 20 sharp teeth on the posterior edge, and 

 a strong bony process lying over the base 

 of the tin ; first dorsal mid-way between 

 the pectorals and ventrals, twice as high 

 as long, spine more slender than in 

 the pectorals ; height of the adipose fin 

 1 inch, situated over the posterior half of 

 the anal, which is long and slightly 

 rounded ; tail rather deeply forked with 

 spreading, pointed lobes ; lateral line in- 

 distinct. Length of the specimen before 

 me, which wascaught in Winooski river, 



