30 



APPENDIX TO THOMPSON'S VERMONT. 



SOFT-SHELLED TORTOISE. 



FISHES OF VERMONT. 



GROUND PIKE-PERCH. 



Dimensions: — Length of the shell, 13 

 inches ; breadth, 10| ; height, 3^ ; head, 2^ ; 

 head and neck, 7. 



History. — The existence of this species 

 of Tortoise in our waters, was not even sus- 

 pected by me at the time of the publication 

 of my History of Vermont, in 184"2. My 

 first specimen of it, I obtained on the lOth 

 of August, 1844. It was caught on a fish- 

 hook, in the river Lamoille, in IMilton, by 

 Mr. Joseph Dupau, to whom I have been 

 indebted for many interesting specimens of 

 reptiles and fishes. Since that time I have 

 obtained several other specimens, which 

 were taken in or near the mouth of Winoo- 

 ski river, in Burlington. Most of these I 

 kept alive for some weeks, but I could 

 induce none of them to take any food; and, 

 although it might be infei'red, from the 

 name, ferox, that they were of a ferocious 

 disposition, I jcould never cause either of 

 them to bite at a stick, notwithstanding 

 I frequently provoked them for that pur- 

 pose. 



The specimen, Avhich furnished the ma- 

 terials for the preceding description, was 

 taken in a seine, at the mouth of AVinooski 

 river, on the 6th of May, 1848. I kept it 

 alive till about the middle of June, when I 

 killed and skinned it. It was a female, 

 and her ovary contained 29 eggs, enlarged 

 to near the size of a musket ball, besides 

 innumerable minute eggs. 



The Trionyx ferox, though common in 

 the western waters, has not, to my know- 

 ledge, been found .any where in New Eng- 

 land, excepting the western parts of Vei"- 

 mont, along the margin of Lake Champlain ; 

 but it would seem, from the dimensions 

 given by naturalists, that it attains a lar- 

 ger size here than at the west, where it is 

 more common. The shells of three speci- 

 mens, taken in this viciaity, measured as 

 follows, viz : 



Length. Breadth. Height. 



1. 11 inches; 9.5 inches. 2.2 inches. 



2. 13 " 10.75 " 8.2 " 



3. 13.5 " 11 " .3.5 " 

 The dimension of the shell of this species, 



given by Dr. DeKay, Zoology of New York, 

 Part III, p. 6, ai-e : length, 5.3 in. ; breadth, 

 5 in.; height, 1.4, 



This species resembles the sea-turtle, in 

 its structure and habits, much more than 

 our other tortoises. It leads a more aquatic 

 life, and, probably seldom, if ever, crawls 

 out upon the land, except for the purpose 

 of depositing its eggs. On account of the 

 shortness of its legs, and the great width of 

 the shell, it travels upon land with much 

 difiBculty, especially where the surface is 

 uneven , or covered with vegetation. Its flesh 

 is esteemed a wholesome and nutritious 

 article of food. 



FISHES OF VERMONT. 



Additional to Part I, Chapter v. 



To our list of Vermont Fishes, given in 

 Part I, page 128, we now add the following 

 species : 



Lvcio-perca canadeiisis, Ground Pike Perch. 



Boleosoma tasseUatujn, Iiarter. 



Cottus gobioides, Little Stargazer. 

 Lruciscus atromaculatus, Small scak-d Dace. 



Esox nobilior, Masquallonge. 



Satmoperca pellucida. Trout Percli. 



Cnre^onus clupeiformis, Herring Salmon. 



Amia oce/licauda, Bowfln. 



THE GROUND PIKE-PERCH. 



Lucio-jierca canadensis. — Smith. 



L. S'risca, DeKat, Zoology of New York, Part IV., 



page I'J. 



Description. — General form elongated, 

 cylindrical, and proportionally more slen- 

 der along the abdomen than in the common 

 Pike-Perch, but the head and opercules 

 resemble that species very closely. The 

 preoperculum is finely serrated on the pos- 

 terior margin, and more coarsely below. 

 There are also fine serratures on the lower 

 mai'gins of the preoperculum and suboper- 

 culum, near their junction. Instead of a 

 single ridge proceeding from the upper 

 anterior angle of the operculum, and ter- 

 minating backward in a single spine, there 

 are usually several ridges radiating thence, 

 and often terminating in the opposite mar- 

 gin in very acute spines. Humeral bones 

 armed posteriorly with several spines. 

 Vent midway between the ventrals and the 

 caudal fin. The anal fin commences under 

 the fourth ray of the second dorsal. The 

 first dorsal begins in a vei'tical line, pass- 

 ing through the base of the ventrals. Cau- 

 dal forked. 



Genei'al color gi'ayish or brownish yel- 

 low, or orange, lightest beneath. First 

 dorsal sprinkled with roundish black spots 

 of the size of a small pea, usually arranged 

 in two or three rows, nearly parallel to the 

 line of the back, but without the black 

 patch on the posterior part, which forms a 

 conspicuous mai'k in the L. americana. 

 Second dorsal, and the caudal, barred with 

 black, or brown. Usual length, 13 inches. 



Rays, B. 7, D. 13-1|18, P. 13, V. 115, 

 A. 12, C. 17|. 



History. — When the Natural, Civil and 

 Statistical History of Vermont was publish- 

 ed, I was well satisfied that the species 

 here described Avas distinct from tlie L. 

 americana, but was not so clear whether 

 it was a species already described, or not. 

 The difi"erence between this species and the 

 L. americana is so obvious, that they are 

 instantly distinguished, even when there is 

 no difference in size ; but while the latter 



