Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and. Biological Survey 431 



worthy, save his courage, his fondness for angleworms, and a 

 possible disposition to bury himself in the sand. There is some- 

 thing in the expression of his face, as he rests on his 'hands and 

 feet' on a stone, that is remarkably lizard-like, suggesting the 

 Blue-tailed Skink (Eumeces fasciatus) ." — Jordan and Copeland, 

 1876. 



Head 4 to 4,25 in length ; depth 6.5 to 7 ; eye 4,3 in head ; snout 

 3; maxillary 3.75; D. XV-14; A. II, 10; scales 9-90-9, the nape 

 naked, the middle cf the belly with a row of enlarged stellate scales 

 which are finally shed leaving a naked strip ; body elongate, com- 

 pressed ; head long and pointed, depressed and sloping above, the 

 interorbital space rather broad and concave; mouth small, quite 

 inferior, maxillary not reaching to the front of the eye; cheeks 

 naked or with a few rudimentary scales ; nape naked ; opercles 

 scaly ; chest naked ; fins rather low, pectoral somewhat shorter 

 than head; caudal truncate. 



Ground color yellowish, with about fifteen transverse dark 

 bands from the back to about the lateral line, these usually alter- 

 nating with shorter and fainter ones; a black spot at base of 

 caudal ; fins barred. Length 6 to 8 inches. 



56. BLACK-SIDED DARTER 



HADROPTERUS ASPRO (Cope & Jordan) 



(Plate 33) 



The Black-sided Darter is found from the Great Lakes region 

 to the middle Missouri, northward to Minnesota and southward 

 through Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky to Arkansas, and is es- 

 pecially common in the Ohio Valley, and is usually abundant in 

 clear gravelly streams. It has not so far been found in Lake Max- 

 inkuckee or any of its inlets ; several specimens have, however, been 

 taken from the Outlet of Lost Lake. 



In the summer of 1906, one of the fishermen residing near the 

 lake spoke of some queer fishes he had seen on several occasions 

 while seining in the Outlet, and which he regarded as of no value 

 for bait. It was thought from his brief description that the fishes 

 mentioned were probably the blob (Cottus ictalojjs) no specimens 

 of which had been obtained in the region. 



The fisherman was therefore accompanied on his next seining 

 trip (September 11, 1906) and a number of the fishes were se- 

 cured. They proved to be darters of various species ; among them 

 were 11 which proved to be the Black-sided Darter. Associated 

 with these 11 Black-sided Darters were 7 of its near relative, H. 



28^17618 



