Chap. 5. 



FISHES OF VERMONT. 



145 



THE COMMON BILL FISH. 



THE STRIPED BILL FISH. 



be discovered, and I have no doubt that j 

 they both belong to the same species. I 

 This fish is oltcn called the White Fish 

 by the fisheniion. It is considered a very 

 good fish ibr tiie table, tnit is not taken in 

 lake Champlain very plentifully. 



Genus Lepisosteus.— Lacc/jerZc. 

 Generic Characters.— Both }^.^^'s with rasp- 

 like teeth, having; a row of longer, pointed ones 

 on the nwr^jiji; branchne united on the throat by 

 a comiiKni "mviubvanc, winch has three rays on 

 each side; scales of a stony hardness ; dorsal and 

 anal fins opposite to each other, and far back. 



THE COMMON BILL FISH. 



Lepisostcus oxyJtrMS.— Rafinesi^ue. 

 tchthy. Ohietisis, p 74. Ki._t!and'3 Report, p 1%. 



Boston Jour. Natural History, IV-ll'- . 

 Lepisostcus huronaisis. Fauna Boreali Americana, 

 p 237. 

 Description.— Body long, cylindrical; 

 back slightly arched in a regular curve ; 

 head flattened above and on the sides, en- 

 cased in a bony covering, having distinct 

 strite, grooves and sutures, vvitli the laws, 

 which are thickly set with teeth ol difter- 

 eitt sizes, lengthened out into a slender 

 flattened beak ; upper jaw reaches beyond 

 the lower,with nostrils near its extremity ; 

 tono-ue fleshy, bilobate ; roe green ; eyes 

 iust'behind the angle of the mouth, and 

 near the articulation of the lower jaw. 

 Color above brownish leaden, sometimes 

 with an umber hue, darkest on the head, 

 yellowish pearly white below ; sides spot- 

 ted with blackish towards the tail ; pecto- 

 ral and ventral fins brownish ; dorsal, 

 caudal and anal yellow and ruddy, spot- 

 ted with black ; dorsal fin commences 

 over the posterior part of the anal ; the 

 attachment of the caudal oblique, hn roun- 

 ded, with the outer ijays armed with 

 sharp, spiny scales. Body covered witli 

 thick, stron-s hard, bony scales, of rhom- 

 boidal form, and regularly arranged in ob- 

 li.iue rows. Upon the lateral line, which 

 is straight, but indistinct towards the tail, 

 there are GO scales. Length of the speci- 

 men before me 3 ft. 4 in.; upper jaw to 

 the an.'le of the mouth 7 iri. ; ii'ora the 

 an<rle To the orbit 1.2 in; from the point 

 ofthebillto the middle of the gill.open- 

 ing 12 or just one third of the total length, 

 measured through the middle of the cau- 

 dal fin ; ventrals midway between the 

 point of the bill and extremity of tiie tail. 

 Weight t) pound. 



Pt I. 19 



Rays, P. 11, V. 6, D. 8, A. 9, C. 12. 



IIisroRV.— This singular fish was de- 

 scribed by Samuel Champlain, as an 

 inhabitant of the lake now bearing his 

 name, more than 200 years ago. He 

 called it Ckamtirou, which was probably 

 the Indian name. The Indians assured 

 him they were often seen eight or ten 

 feet long, but the largest he saw was only 

 five feeflong, and about the thickness of 

 a man's thigh. It is considered a very 

 voracious fish, and when any of them are 

 taken, or seen in the water, the fishermen 

 calculate upon little success in taking 

 other kinds. Charlevoix tells us that he 

 preys not only upon other fishes, but upon 

 birds also ; and that he takes them by the 

 following stratagem : Concealing himself 

 amon'J- the reeds growing on the marshy 

 borders of the lake, he thrusts his bill out 

 of the water in an upright position. The 

 bird, wanting rest, takes this for a broken 

 limb, or dry reed, and perches upon it. 

 The fish then opens his mouth and makes 

 such a sudden spring that the bird seldom 

 escapes him. Charlevoix also assures U3 

 that the Indians regarded the teeth of thi3 

 fish as a sovereign remedy for the head- 

 ache, and that pricking with it where the 

 pain was sharpest took it away instantly. 

 The scales with which this fish is covered 

 are so thick and strong, as to form a coat 

 of mail, which is not easily pierced with 

 a spear. They are taken only occasionally 

 in the seine at the present day, but are 

 said to be sometimes seen in considerable 

 numbers lying in the marshy coves. Its 

 flesh is rank and tough, and is not used 

 for food. The usual length of tho.se now 

 taken, is from two and a half to three feet, 

 though they are often much longer. The 

 specimen, from which the preceding fig- 

 ure and description were made, was taken 

 at the mouth of Winooski river. May 11, 

 1841 One of the largest specimens which 

 I have seen was taken at the same place, 

 June 16, 1838, and is now in my posses- 

 sion It is 46 incjies long, and when 

 cau<vht weighed 9^ pounds. This species 

 is fSund in the great western lakes, and 

 in the Ohio river, where this and several 

 other species are known by the name of 

 Gar Fishes. 



THE STRIPED BILL-FISH. 



L'.pisosteus lineal us. 

 Description.— Color above lightolive, 

 with a dark line along the middle of the 

 back, amV dark roundish spots on the up- 



