Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 523 



792. OSMERUS ATTENUATUS, Lockington. 



Head 4i; depth 6; eye large, 4 in head. D. 10; A. 15-17; P. 11; 

 scales 65. Body elongate, compressed. Head rather long, somewhat 

 pointed; maxillary extending past pupil; lower jaw projecting; maxil- 

 lary rather narrow, little convex. Outline of both jaws nearly straight, 

 less curved than in 0. tltaleiclttliys. Teeth on tongue strong, but much 

 smaller than in 0. mordax] teeth on maxillary conspicuous; front of both 

 jaws with rather strong teeth ; palatine teeth variable, usually strong. 

 Fins low. Pectorals not reaching ventrals, nor ventrals anal, nor anal to 

 caudal. Greenish, sides silvery. Length 10 inches. Coast of California 

 about San Francisco. Very close to 0. thaleichthys, and doubtfully dis- 

 tinct; perhaps founded on very slender or feeble specimens of the latter. 

 (attenuatus, drawn out slender.) 



Osmerus attenuatus, LOCKINGTON, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1880, 66, San Francisco ; JORDAN & 

 GILBERT, Synopsis, 293, 1883. 



Subgenus OSMERUS. 



793. OSMERUS MORDAX (Mitchill). 



(AMERICAN SMELT.) 



Head 4; depth 6-. D. 10; A. 15; P. 13; scales 68. "Body rather 

 long and slender. Head large, with large mouth, and stronger teeth 

 than in the other species of the genus. Small teeth along the edge of 

 the maxillary; strong fang-like teeth on tongue and front of vomer- 

 cardiform teeth on palatines, pterygoids, and hyoid bone; mandible with 

 moderate teeth, its tip projecting. Maxillary extending to or a little 

 beyond middle of eye. Scales deciduous. Dorsal fin rather posterior, 

 the ventrals under its front; lower fins moderate, none reaching the 

 next behind it. Gill rakers diameter of eye. Transparent greenish 

 above, silvery on sides ; body and fins with some dark punctulations. 

 Length 12 inches. Atlantic Coast of the United States from Virginia 

 northward to Gulf of St. Lawrence, entering streams and often land- 

 locked ; abundant in Lakes Champlain and Memphremagog. Very close 

 to the European Osmerus eperlanus, but the latter has larger scales (60), 

 shorter gill rakers, and rather weaker teeth, (mordax, biting.) 



Atherina mordax, MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y., i, 1815, 446, New York. 



Osmerus mridescem, LE SUEUR, Journ. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., i, 1818, 230, Coast of Maine; GOw- 



THER, Cat., vi, 167, 1866. 

 Osmerus mordax, JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 293, 1883. 



Represented in lakes of Maine by landlocked forms, as follows: 



793a. OSMERUS MORDAX SPECTRUM (Cope). 



( WILTON SMELT.) 



Head 4 ; depth 81. D. 10 ; A. 15 ; scales 66-10. Eye 3 in head. Slen- 

 der. Head short, with very large eye, and short mouth and maxillary. 

 Maxillary not extending beyond middle of pupil. Small. Wilton Pond, 

 Kennebec County, Maine; landlocked in fresh water. (Cope.) (spec- 

 trum, an image.) 



Osmerus spectrum, COPE, Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc. Phila., 1870, 490, Wilton Pond, Kennebec 



County, Maine. (Coll. Atkins.) 

 Osmerus mordax spectrum, JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 294, 1883. 



