146 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The redfin when young has the body moderately elongate, but 

 it becomes deeper with age and much compressed. The caudal 

 peduncle is short, and its depth equals length of postorbiral 

 part of head. The depth of the body at the ventral is contained 

 three and one third to four times in the total length without 

 the caudal. The head is short, deep and thin, its length cue 

 fourth of the total without caudal, its width about one half its 

 length. The eye is as long as the snout and two sevenths as 

 long as the head. Mouth moderate, terminal, oblique, the max- 

 illa reaching about to vertical through front of eye. The dorsal 

 origin is over, and the ventral origin under, the 12th scale of 

 the lateral line. The length of the dorsal base equals one sev- 

 enth of the total without the caudal, and its longest ray one 

 fifth of the same length. The ventral reaches nearly or quite 

 to vent. The anal origin is under the 23d scale of the lateral 

 line. The anal base is one half, and the longest ray two thirds 

 as long as the head. The caudal is large and deeply forked. 

 The lateral line descends in a long curve, becoming straight and 

 median over the anal origin. D. 8; A. 9; V. 8; P. 15. Scales 

 7-40 to 41-4; teeth 2, 4-4, 2, with narrow grinding surface. 

 Length of specimens described, from 4 to 4-^ inches. 



The upper parts of this fish are steel blue and the scales are 

 dusky at the edge and base. The sides are silvery, overlaid 

 with a gilt line; there is another gilt band along the back. The 

 belly is silvery except in spring males, in which it is a bright 

 rosy color. The male in the breeding season has the lower jaw 

 and the top of the head and nape covered with small tubercles. 

 In the breeding condition this is a very handsome species, though 

 the females and young lack the bright colors of the adult male. 



The redfin is known also as the common shiner, dace, rough- 

 head, and banded dace. It is a very widely distributed species, 

 is extremely variable, and, as a consequence, some geographic 

 races have received distinct names. It extends from Maine to 

 the Kocky mountains, but is absent from the Carolinas and 

 Texas. It grows to a length of 8 inches. In Pennsylvania the 

 species is common everywhere and is best known under the name 

 of i< (ifm. It reaches a very large size in Lake Erie. 



