302 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



to 19. A color variety is occasionally met with having the body 

 unifonnly dark gray, unspotted. 



151 Lucius masquinongy (^litchill) 

 Mascalonge; Spotted Mascalonge 



Esox masquinonoil Mitchill, Mirror, 297, 1824, Lake Erie. 



Efiox inasquinongy (Mitchill) Kirtland, Fislies of Ohio, 194, 1838. Lake 



Erie. 

 Esox nohiUor Thompson, Proc. Bost. See. Nat. Hist. Ill, 16.3, 1850, Lake 



Champlaiu; Jordan & Gu^bert, Bull. 16, V. S. Nat. Mus. 353, 1883; 



Bean, Fislies Penna. 93, pi. 29, fig. 57, 1893. 

 Lucius ])iasqui)io)iffij Jordan & Etermann, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 629, 



1896, pi. C, fig. 270, 1900; Evermann & Kendall, Kept, U. S. Commr. 



Fish & Fisheries for 1894. 598. 1896. 



The mascalonge has a stout and moderately elongate body, its 

 greatest depth, midway between the pectoral and ventral fins, 

 one fifth to one sixth of the total length to the end of the scales. 

 The caudal peduncle is short and slender, its depth one third of 

 greatest depth. The length of the head is two sevenths of the 

 total Avithout the caudal, and the small eye equals less than one 

 fourth the length of 'snout. The eye is nearly in the middle of 

 the length of the head. The mouth is very large; the maxilla 

 f'xtends to below the hind margin of the eye. The teeth are as 

 in the pike, but even more formidable. Dorsal and anal far 

 back, the origin of the former a little in advance of the anal 

 origin; the length of dorsal base about two fifths of head, longest 

 dorsal ray one third of head, caudal deeply forked ; ventral mid- 

 way between end of head and end of anal, its length equal to 

 one half the depth of body; pectoral nearly equal to postorbital 

 I)art of head. B. 17-10;. D. 17; A. 16; V. 12. Scales in lateral 

 line 150. 



Tlie color is usually dark gray, sometimes immaculate as in 

 I lie color variety i m m a c u 1 a t u s, but generally with numer- 

 ous distinct, roundish, black spots about as large as buckshot. 

 'I'll.- (link spots are present only on the basal parts of the dorsal, 

 aii.il and caudal fins. The lower parts are pale, the belly white. 



Tlir nainc of this giant pike is apparently derived from the 

 laii},Mia^r(> of iiie Ojibwa or the Cree Indians; it is variously spelled 



