Oiiii,lo Lake l-islus 359 



Exoglossum maxillingua ( I.cSiieur). Ct t-uip Mixxow. Cit-i.ips. The 

 Cut-lips was foiiiiil ill stnams connctted with Oncitla I^kc. and in small niinilKjrs 

 in the lake itself near tiie creek mouths. It is easily distinguishable from other fish 

 hy its peculiar lower jaw, which is divided into three distinct lolies. with the two 

 dentary lK)nes lyinjj parallel, united, and stitTening the central IoIk;. making it 

 apiwirently an etTective instrument fur dislo<ljifin>j snails and other edil)le objects 

 from surfaces of stones. 



Hrri-iliiii/. llankinson { '_'i, i)p. 1-3) found this fish Imildiiifj its nest in Buttcr- 

 mit Creek, near jamesville. New York. The creek is a tril>utary of Chittenango 

 L'reck and hence lies in the Oneida I-ake drainage basin. A large and unusually 

 dark colore<l male was carrying small stones and ])iling them just as the I-'allfish 

 and some other minnows dr). This was on May 8, ig.21. and the nest was evi- 

 dently com|)leted the next day. It was then a flat ])ile about eighteen inches in 

 cliameter and built of angular iind rough stones (a feature that enabled the fish to 

 grasp them with its small mouth), much smaller in size than stones in any of the 

 i-'allfish nests he had ever seen. Their longest diameter was usually about a half 

 inch. I'.ggs could not be found and spawning was not noted, but an ai)])arent 

 attempt was made by the working male to heril females at the stone pile, (ireeley 

 ( '27, J), fo) found a nest of Cut-Ii])s on June J3, iy)2Ci. in the (ienesee River. His 

 observations on construction of the nest were similar to those of Hankinson. but 

 he found eggs in the nest, adhering to the gravel. 



Ilohiliit. This fish seems to be distinctly one of clear running streams ( Hean. 

 03, p. 164; Fowler, "09, p. 52), and Hankinson and others (Reed and Wright, 

 "9. P- .V:^*: 'Tid Hean, 03, p. i<>4) have found them common in creeks at Ithaca, 

 N. v., where favorable conditions |)revailed. Jordan ('S2, ji. 841 ) notes that it 

 prefers clear rock j>ools but does not haunt rapids. Cojie ( Tk), p. 360) says t>f the 

 (nt-Iips: "In its movements it is sluggish: it keejjs near the Imttom in jkhiIs and 

 channels of our clear rocky streams, not jireferring rapids." 



.\t ( )neida I-ike they were found numerous ( Xos. 75, 7O. 142) only in Scrilia 

 and I-'rederick (.reeks, .\ugust 31. ii>i5, in places where the iMittom was rocky 

 and the water clear and rapid. In Hlack Creek and Douglas Creek, where we made 

 large c<illections of other fish from riKky iMittoms and swift water, none was taken, 

 which may have \\Qcn <\\\v to roily water at the times we worketl. That these fish 

 are driven to the lake by such conditions is indicated bv the fact that the few 

 Cut-lips caught in the lake in |i)l*> were taken in June, when the tributary streams 

 were turbid. lUit much more information is needed liefore such a change of habi- 

 tat can Ik" ascrilied to then» with certainty. 



food. Hean ( "i^J, ]>. 37; '03. |). If»4 ) s.iys thai the singular ntouth structure 

 is thought to enable the fish to scrai>e niolhisks from their hold on nuks. as its 

 stomach usually contains small shellfish; he also mentions that it takes the Irnok 

 rea«lily. Gill ("07, p. 312) .says that molhisks fonti the princi|Kil fiKxl of tliis fish, 

 and that onlinarily crushe<l shells may Ik- found in its stomach. 



Jordan ("82. p. 841 ) tjiiotes I'n>fessor Co]k> a>> saying: "Its stom.ich iisiuilly 

 contains abinidant remains of I'liy.ui. I'lsiiliii and other small MoIIumm, which 

 form its fiMxl." 



Hreder an<l Crawford ('ij. p. 306: 307') give re.onlts of the examination of 

 the fo<Kl of 50 of these minn«»ws. Insects (Colcoptcra ami tmidrnlifiahle |virts) 



