O Hi 1,1,1 Lake I'lsUcs 4" 



liiif, contains anion}; tlic reco^nizalilt fra),Miifnts in addition to the earthworm bait, 

 fragments of crawfish {Ciiiiihtints ) apiH-Mulages, and 2 gastroHths. The stomach 

 also contained a Imok and alwiut a foot of fish line, souvenirs of an earlier 

 experience. 



Kendall and (ioldsljoroiigh (08, p. 37; state: "The Mel subsists uinm almost 

 any kind of animal fiMxI. It can and does catch live fish for itself and feeds also 

 upon worms, insect larvae, small mollusks, and not infre(|uently ujjon fish eggs 

 when they are obtainable." Fowler ('13, p. 15) reports that in luiroi>e Kels have 

 been known to capture water birds. Warren ('y". p. 25 » writes that Kels destroy 

 young Clai^K-r kails. Mr. Morris Shell of Hrewerton, an exi>erienced fisherman, 

 informs us that late in May and June, when bullfrog tadixjles arc in the swamps, 

 Mels alxiund there and are .said to feed on them. He says that it is only at this 

 season that the Kels fre<|uent the swamps. 



Dislrihiilioii Records. Previous mention has been made of a large dead Kel, 

 liearing a I^nmprey scar, which we found near Mrewerton. Just |)revious to finding 

 thi- we had iKfen assured by an experienced fisherman that ICels were not attacked 

 ity Lampreys. Our specimens ( Nos. 106. loS. 125. 352. 4S<'i. fx)i » were largely 

 taken by fishermen, but one ( Xo. 488) was taken in a trammel net set in 4 to 5 

 feet of water, near shore. July 3. i<;i<i. Two large Kels ( No. 150) from ( )neida 

 I-nke were on exhibition at the ."^tate Fair in SeptemlK-r. 1915. These, after 

 preservation in formalin, measured 35 'j an<l 3~J(i inches in length res]»ectivcly. 

 The smallest s|)ecinuns which we have ])rocured ( Xo. 601 ) are 185^. i8"v and 

 ( .\o. lofj) io)4 inches long. .\ live I'el was seen in the water at Shaw's Bay 

 cm July 26, \,)\(k in water about three feet decji. 



liiu-iiiies ,111(1 Diuasr .\dult I'"els a]>pear to be well able to take care of 

 themselves. Hallou assures us that a fish is yet to l»e re|Mirte<l that has taken a 

 lull grown I-'el as fiMxl. Young Kels. however, do not fare as well, for he 

 reniarks: "Mr. .Sawyer descrilK-s the operation of the pickerel darting through a 

 long colunui «»f young I-"els oiK-n-moutherl ami devouring vast nmnl)ers of them." 

 Wilson found small l\els in the stomach of a (ireat Mine Heron {.lr,l,;i h,ro,ii,is). 

 lM(wler ('13. p. 10) records an I'a-I 10 inches long from the stom.nch of the 

 .\merican .Merganser {.\frri)iis tinieriiinius). The Kel is recorded also from the 

 stom.ich of tlu- llald I'agle ( ll,ili(Cclits: Ituaui-fluilus ) ( l'"isher. \j7,. y. loi ) : it has 

 k-en taken from the stomach of a Double-crested Cormorant (PluiUurocorox 

 iiurihis), acconling to Taverner ("15, pp. 11. 15); and Hartsch ("03, p. 107 1 

 records "several small I*"els" among the f<KH| of the Hlack-crowiUMJ Night Heron 

 (.Xyrtiiora.v nyrtitontx iiiiiTitix ) . Khitads ('H3. p. 15S) lists the Kel in the fo«Kl 

 of the ( )lter, /.ii/rn unuutriixis ( .Schrelter). anil Warren ( ■«)7, p. 311 ) gives cir- 

 cumstantial evidence that an l-.el was taken from a spring by a Mink {Pulorius 

 •,isnn). I*"vern>aiu) and ("lark ('20. \"ol. 1. p. 5841 foun«l Kels in the stomach of 

 the water snake ( .Vo/ri.r sif;;ion). 



Many anim.il parasites of the Kel are known, including the fol|r»wing: 



Ihi M \To1>KS or Ft.lKKS 



nislnma lnhohs M.iclalluni MacCallum. V^. 

 nistnmiiHi iiodulosiim Knelich. Maclallnm (I.e.). 



