OiiiiJii Lake Fislus 375 



I'.ciisky 115. p. 14 J, spcakinj,' of the Georgian Bay rt-fjion of I^ke Huron, 

 states : "The tish is extremely common in all shore swamjjs and larger inland lakes 

 of a s\vani|)y character, but is taken as a rule only at night." Fowler ("06, pp. 

 170-171 ) remarks that it is common in large rivers, large creeks, and small streams 

 in New Jersey. He also states: "Though a giK)d food-tish, it is frequently held 

 in low esteem on account of its habits as a scavenger. It is to be found in either 

 clear or muddy water if still, either in tide-water or above, ami frequently numerous 

 about the mouths of sewers. Those found in the smaller streams, brooks and 

 poiuls are often smaller, and in the latter, one may find them sometimes very 

 abundant, or in large schools moving slowly along the bottom all closely herded 

 together. They rest in the concavities of deep |)ools in this fashion, and it is 

 seldom that a net fails to di.slodge a number of them." Wright ('iS, p. 540) says 

 of the Common Hullhead : "This form is the most widespread in its distribution 

 and most versatile in its adajjtation of any of the three species of .hiniiiriis we 

 have." 



I'uoii. The Common Hullhead feeds u|M>n a large variety of foMil. Forbes 

 ( "SS, pj). 4(10-401) examined the stomachs of ^U si)ecimens; fishes comi)rised 

 alniut 1 5 of their food, including a bellow Perch and Sunfish. Mollusks, largely 

 the mud inhabiting Sf'hiuriiiDi. included an eciual amount. .Mmut '4 of the foo<l 

 consisted of insects, largely a<|uatic: considerable vegetable ftKxl was taken, and 

 many crustaceans. Haker ('i<). i)p. 176-177) examined the stomachs of 7 ( )neida 

 l-ike si)ecimens and founil that they had eaten plant material, crustaceans and 

 insects. Hankinson ( 'oR, ]). jd8 ) e.xamine<l the food of 10 s|)ecimens. which 

 consisted of small fish, crawfish, mollusks. entomostmcans, leeches, midge larvae. 

 iK-etles and the nymphs of May-tlies and dragon-flies. Dean ('91, p. 303) states 

 that "The stoni.ich contents show its destructiveness t<i fish-eggs and to young 

 fish." ••"orlies and Richardson {\n), p. iSt;) state: "The charge of spawn-eating 

 has fre<|uently lieen preferred against this fish, .-J. tiihiilosiis. as well as its near 

 relatives. es|>ecially by the whitefish and sha<l culturists. The evidence for such 

 a view is. however, scanty." Mearns ( "t^S. p. 312) states on the authority of 

 (i. .S. Miller. Jr.. that this Itullhead "commonly feeds u]>on seeds ni the yellow 

 water lily { .\\iiif<liiiiti mliuiui) in |M>nds on ( )neida (.reek, central New Nork." 

 Wilson ('jo. ]). j_'f>) found adults eating dragon-fly nym|)hs. I'.vermaim ami 

 ("lark ( '-'o, \'ol. I, |). j<;4) found water-lily seeds, fish, and other undetennined 

 nnim.d matter in twenty specimens examined from the Like .Maxinkuckee region. 

 Later (p. 325) the atithi>rs n<ite that this s|K'cies feeds ui«>n crawfish and .soft- 

 shelled mollusks, and in one case it had eaten a In-ach flea; and they also mention 

 its reputation for feeding on eggs of other fishes. .\n .hiiiiiirus lu-hiiiosus taken 

 in Hig Hay Creek disgorged a small Perch ( \o. 1171. Hensley ('15, p. 14) 

 remarks for ( ieorgian Hay: "Throughout the summer the finxl consists almost 

 wholly of Mayfly larvae, for which the fish burrows in the nnid of the iMittom," 

 .^inallwofMl ( "iS, |). T^.^ji) fouml this s|)eiies at I.ake Clear in the .\diromlacks eating 

 crawfisi). clams, snails. /Vkiikj/i/Ai, and Ihifhiiin. ( Ireeley ('2~. p. 57) records 

 fiMid of 17 of these catfish from Silver I-ike of the Cienesee System, N. Y. The 

 fiMxl wa-s entirely midge larvae. (Iiiroiii'iiius f-liiiiintiis. 



