316 LAKE SUPERIOR. 



the types of distinct families for themselves, as Lepiclosteus and 

 Polypterus. 



No species of Scomberesox are found in Lake Superior, nor in 

 any of the lower lakes, although they occur in the Atlantic rivers of 

 these latitudes, where Belone truncata is not uncommon, and with it 

 Scomberesox Storeri. Without discussing for the present the natu- 

 ral relations of the Esoces and Scomberesoces, I cannot but think 

 that the Scomberesoces are an aberrant type of the great family of 

 Scombridae, with abdominal ventrals and some other peculiarites. 



The true Esoces, as circumscribed by Joh. Miiller, are very few ; 

 indeed his family contains little else than the true genus Esox, fishes 

 which are all inhabitants of the fresh waters, and occur chiefly in the 

 temperate zone ; their structural peculiarities are such that it is diffi- 

 cult to understand their true affinities ; their cylindrical, elongated 

 form indicates a low position among abdominales, as does also the 

 composition of their mouth, the maxillary being entirely deprived of 

 teeth, while the palatal bones contain a powerful armature ; the 

 connection of the intermaxillaries and maxillaries in one arch places 

 them however in the vicinity of the Salmonidce. The skeleton, and 

 especially the skull, is remarkably soft in these fishes. 



North America seems to be the proper fatherland of the genus 

 Esox, its species being numerous all over this continent, from the 

 great northern lakes, through all the rivers and lakes of the east and 

 west, and as far south even as Florida. In North America, there- 

 fore, a deeper study of this family becomes alone possible, in relation 

 both to the knowledge of species and their affinities with the other 

 families of the class. 



The species are certainly more numerous than the American au- 

 thors who have written on the pickerels have recognized ; and if we 

 had for examination specimens from all localities of this continent, we 

 might now publish the result of our observations on this family. But, 

 unwilling to introduce in our science unconnected observations, espe- 

 cially on a difficult and controverted subject, we prefer to recur at a 

 future time to this family. We shall limit ourselves here to a de- 

 scription of the species collected from Lake Superior. But its bare 

 description would be without interest, did we not compare it with the 

 species already described from the region of the lakes. Two species 



