FISHES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 255 



Rafinesque described several more, which, however, can scarcely be 

 identified, as his descriptions are so very short and imperfect as to 

 give little information upon their structure. In his Animal Kingdom, 

 Cuvier characterized the genus Lepidosteus more correctly than his 

 predecessors, without, however, noticing the great difference which 

 exists between this genus and the common Ahdominales among which 

 he places it. 



It was my good fortune early in the course of my scientific studies 

 to perceive the striking differences which exist between these Lepidos- 

 tei and all the other fishes now living upon our globe ; and at the 

 same time to call the attention of naturalists to the close relationship 

 which exists between them and the fossil fishes of the earlier geologi- 

 cal ages. So that, after an extensive study of the remains of these 

 ancient inhabitants of olden time, Lepidosteus has become notable as 

 the only living representative of the large group of fishes which peo- 

 pled, almost exclusively, the waters during the early ages of the 

 earth's history, and which has gradually decreased in number, until, 

 at last, he- was left almost alone to remind the observers of the present 

 age, of a once powerful and widely spread dynasty among the watery 

 tribes. 



These facts call for a close examination of this singular fish. In 

 the first place, let me say, that all the species of Lepidosteus, of 

 which I now know ten distinct species, inhabit exclusively the fresh 

 waters of North America. This is, in itself, a remarkable fact, 

 most important in the history of nature, as it shows that far from de- 

 riving its inhabitants from other parts of the world, America has 

 had, and has now, animals which are entirely pectiliar to it, and 

 which have nowhere any near relatives. 



I am well aware that the Bichir of the Nile is remotely allied to 

 the gar-pikes, and that another species of Polypterus occurs also in 

 the Senegal; but this genus constitutes also by itself a peculiar 

 group, and can only be considered as distantly related to the Lepi- 

 dostei. 



Another remarkable peculiarity in the geographical distribution of 

 these fishes consists in the fact that different species are limited to 

 different water basins, as the species of the Middle and Southern 

 Atlantic States are as different from those of the Western waters as 



