BRIEF NOTES ON FISHES. 385 



larvae ; a few fragments of insects ; many Cyclops ; a few 

 very small univalve rnollusks, and a single water-mite. 



Here we have evidence that this species of sunfish is 

 a bottom feeder, and resorts to the mud rather than else- 

 where for its main food-supply ; but not always, for, 

 during a recent ramble along Watson's Creek, I no- 

 ticed quite a commotion in the shallow water near shore, 

 and, on approaching the spot, I discovered that three 

 of these spotted sunfish had attacked a crayfish which 

 had just cast its shell. The battle lasted but for a mo- 

 ment after I became a spectator. One by one the 

 limbs of the crustacean were torn off, and portions of 

 them devoured by the fish in full view of their tortured 

 victim. 



"When I see such sights as these and they are by no 

 means uncommon I can not but think that there is a 

 screw loose in nature ; that nothing is perfect, and ani- 

 mal life is only reaching out toward perfection. 



In 1873 I happened to catch a fine specimen of the 

 " goggle-eyed perch," and found, on inquiry, that it was 

 a new fish in the Delaware, according to the systeina- 

 tists; and "oncornmon," according to the experienced 

 fishermen of the neighborhood. I showed it to several 

 old " shad-men," and they all told me that occasionally 

 they had seen them. Since then I have seen perhaps a 

 dozen specimens, all from the river, and hence I conclude 

 that they have a claim to a place in the fauna of the 

 river valley. That they were not here formerly is prob- 

 able ; but now, and for many years, there has been a prac- 

 ticable route open to them, through our canal system, to 

 reach the Delaware from either northwestern or south- 

 ern waters. In this way, most likely, they have managed 

 to come. All the specimens seen were adult, and this 

 leads me to expect that ultimately they will become quite 



