SOUTHERN INLAND FISHES. 385 



of the same structure as the covering of the head, but of a lighter 

 color. The largest plates form the dorsal ridge. Head flattened ; 

 eyes small ; lips fleshy, bilobed mouth on under side of head ; be- 

 tween the snout and mouth are four barbels. Color, greyish- 

 brown above, silvery upon the inferior body of sides. Upper lobe 

 of caudal fin twice as long as the lower. Length two to eight feet. 

 Inhabits the James, Potomac, Rappahannock and Susquehanna 

 Rivers, Much esteemed as food in Virginia. 



Short-nosed Sturgeon. — A brevirostris. Le Sueur. 



Head broad and convex ; short snout ; four flat barbels under 

 the snout. Dorsal series of tubercles nine to twelve ; lateral series 

 twenty-three to twenty-nine ; abdominal series five to seven. Tail 

 covered with lozenge-shaped plates. Dusky above, with faint 

 traces of oblique bands : whitish beneath. Length two to five 

 feet. Inhabits Potomac River. 



SILURID^. 



The family of Catfish is represented by the Channel Cat or 

 Blue Cat, the Yellow Cat, the White Cat, and the Mud Cat, all 

 described elsewhere, and the Shovel-billed Cat of Louisiana and 

 Mississippi. All the cats are much angled for by the negroes, and 

 eagerly eaten by the poorer classes, but the Channel Cat is really 

 an estimable food fish, and affords good sport for the angler. 



The salt water catfish, Ariopsis milberti, of Gill's catalogue, 

 carries its peculiar eggs and its young in its gills. The Halifax 

 River in Florida, swarms with this species in warm weather, so 

 that they become a nuisance, taking the bait intended for better 

 fish. They grow to the weight of ten pounds or more, and fight 

 vigorously when hooked, but they are seldom eaten, and are cov- 

 ered with a disgusting slime, which makes the handling of them 

 very unpleasant ; besides which the long bony rays of the pec- 

 torals are armed with a serrated bone, exactly like that of the 

 stingray's tail, which inflicts very painful wounds. 



The eggs are as large as marbles, and occur in bunches re- 

 sembling grapes in form and color. We have never been in 

 Florida at the season when these catfish carry their young in the 

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