40 TELEOSTEI: NEMATOGNATHI. XI. 



32. Ontario to Florida and Texas, abundant in lakes and large 

 rivers, reaching 100 pounds or more. 



(A. ponderosus Bean, from St. Louis, described from a specimen 

 5 feet long, weighing 150 pounds, is probably a giant example of 

 this species, differing only in having 35 anal rays. I find 25, 27, 

 28, and 32 in four specimens of A. nigricans.) (Lat., blackish.) 



bb. Anal rays 20 to 23 ; humeral process very rough, more than half length 

 of pectoral spine. 



53. A. albidus (Le Sueur). WHITE CAT. CHANNEL CAT OF 

 THE POTOMAC. Olive-bluish, silvery below ; body stout ; head 

 broad, becoming with age very broad, the mouth in old specimens 

 wider than in any other species ; C. shallow-forked. L. 24. Penn. 

 to N". C., very abundant in Potomac R. Varies much with age. 

 (Lat., whitish.) 



aa. Caudal fin entire or very slightly emarginate. (AMEIURUS.) 



d. Anal fin long, of 24 to 27 rays (counting rudiments), its base more than 

 length of body. 



54. A. natalis (Le Sueur). YELLOW CAT. Yellowish, green- 

 ish, or blackish ; body stout, the head short and broad, with wide 

 mouth. Great Lakes to Va. and Texas, common in sluggish 

 streams. L. 15. Excessively variable. (Lat., having large nates, 

 i. e. adipose fin.) 



dd. Anal fin moderate, of 18 to 22 rays, its base 4 to 5 in body. 

 e. Lower jaw projecting. 



55. A. vulgaris (Thompson). Blackish; head 3^ to 4 ; A. 20; 

 P. spine 2^ in head. Great Lakes to Manitoba, essentially as in 

 A . nebulosus, except for the form of the mouth ; very likely a 

 variety. (Lat., common.) 



ee. Lower jaw not projecting. 

 f. Pectoral spines long, 2 to 2| in head; anal rays more than 20. 



56. A. nebulosus l (Le Sueur). COMMON BULLHEAD. HORNED 

 POUT. Dark yellowish brown, varying from yellowish to black 

 sometimes (var. marmoratus Holbrook), sharply mottled with 

 dark green and whitish; A. rays usually 21 or 22; its base 4 in 

 body ; pectoral spines long. L. 18. New England to Wis., Va., 



1 The Horned Pout are " dull and blundering fellows," fond of the mud, and grow- 

 ing best in weedy ponds and rivers without current. They stay near the bottom, 

 moving slowly about with their barbels widely spread, watching for anything eat- 

 able. They will take any kind of bait, from an angle-worm to a piece of a tin tomato- 

 can, without coquetry, and they seldom fail to swallow the hook. They are very 

 tenacious of life, " opening and shutting their mouths for half an hour after their 

 heads have been cut off." They spawn in spring, and the old fishes lead the young in 

 great schools near the shore, seemingly caring for them as the hen for her chickens. 

 " A bloodthirsty and bullying set of rangers, with ever a lance in rest, and ready to 

 do battle with their nearest neighbor." (Thoreau.) 



