265 



scales moderate, cycloid; lower jaw longest; dorsal far 

 back; caudal fin rounded; gill openings wide; teeth 

 villifonn, on jaws, vomer and palatines. Genus one (or 

 two); ( Melanura has never been properly distinguished 

 from Umbra); species two, Umbra crameri of Austria 

 and the following. Both are found in sluggish brooks 

 in mud or among weeds. " A locality which, with the 

 water perfectly clear, will appear destitute of fish, will 

 perhaps yield a number of mud fish on stirring up the 

 mud at the bottom and drawing a seine through it. 

 Ditches in the prairies of Wisconsin, or mere bog-holes, 

 apparently affording lodgment to nothing beyond tad- 

 poles, may thus be found filled with Meltumras" 

 (Baird.) 



1. MELANURA, Agassiz. MUD MINNOWS. 

 < Umbra ) Griinther. 



1. M. limi, (Kirtland) Agassiz. MUD MINNOW. MUD 

 DACE. DOG FISH. Depth about 4 in length; head 3^; 

 head rather large, flattish above; greenish or dark olive; 

 sides with narrow pale bars, often obscure; a distinct 

 black bar at base of caudal; D. 14; A. 9; V. 6; lat. 1. 

 35; length 2 to 4 inches. Lake Champlain to Minne- 

 sota, chiefly northward and westward; most abundant in 

 Wisconsin; rare in Ohio Valley; usually associated with 

 E i./<:</ 7 i" inconstans, 



'2. M. pygm&a, (DeK.) Baird. EASTERN MUD MIX- 

 NOW. Dark brown with whitish longitudinal streaks and 

 no trace of cross bars; body less compressed than in M. 

 limi; head broader, less depressed, with larger eye; 

 snout shorter; profile more gibbous; D. 13; A. 7; lat. 1. 

 35. Xew York to S. C., only in Atlantic streams. 

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