PERCA RIVER PERCH 277 



Its general distribution is decidedly northerly, except on the 

 Atlantic coast, where it has been found as far south as the Neuse 

 River in North Carolina. It occurs abundantly in the Hudson 

 and in all the Great Lakes, and ranges throughout Quebec and 

 New England to Nova Scotia, westward to Iowa and the 

 Dakotas, and north to the Red River basin. It is unknown 

 from southern Indiana and southern Ohio, as it is from southern 

 Illinois. 



It is essentially a lake fish, but occurs also in running 

 streams, most abundantly in the larger rivers and least so in 

 creeks. Our eighty-three collections have been taken with 

 approximately equal frequency from the glacial lakes, the lakes 

 of the bottom-lands, and the rivers of the largest class. It is 

 wholly carnivorous, but differs greatly in its food according to 

 the situation from which it comes. Eighteen river specimens, 

 for example, had made but 6 per cent, of their food of fishes, 

 about a fifth of it of the smaller thin-shelled mollusks, a fourth 

 of it of insect larvae, and nearly half of it of Crustacea craw- 

 fishes, fresh-water shrimps (Palcemonetes) , amphipods, and 

 isopods while a dozen lake specimens, on the other hand, had 

 eaten nothing but fishes and crawfishes, the former greatly 

 preponderating. The perch is said by Cole to eat the spawn of 

 other fish. There is a notable difference, also, between the 

 lake and river perch in respect to their coloration, the latter 

 being usually much the more brilliant. 



The yellow perch may reach a length of a foot and a weight 

 of more than two pounds, but does not commonly weigh much 

 more than a pound. It spawns in spring, usually during April 

 and May, when the temperature of the water is from 44 to 

 49 F. Ripe males were taken by Craig at Havana on May 3, 

 1899. According to Dr. C. C. Abbott, the sexes go in pairs to 

 the spawning beds, which are selected near shore where there 

 is a sandy or pebbly bottom. The eggs are laid in flat bands, 

 and, after fertilization and " water hardening," they increase 

 greatly in size. A single adult deposited in the aquarium of 

 the Washington station of the United States Fish Commission 

 a string of eggs 88 inches long, which, after fertilization, weighed 

 41 ounces. 



This perch is taken in fykes, gill-nets, and traps, or with 

 seines and hooks. It is one of the very best of our fishes for a 

 pan fry, the flesh being white, firm, and of an excellent flavor, 

 better, however, in northern localities than in southern. 



