Jordan and Evermann. Fishes of North America. 1003 



its development subject to great variation. Color, brilliant blue and 

 orange ; the back chiefly blue ; the belly entirely orange, the orange on 

 the sides in spots, the blue in wavy, vertical streaks ; lips blue ; cheeks 

 orange, with bright blue stripes; blue stripes before eye; iris red; soft 

 parts of vertical fins with the rays blue and the membranes orange ; ven- 

 trals dusky. Length 8 inches. Michigan to Minnesota, South Carolina, 

 and southwest to the Rio Grande; very abundant in most streams, 

 especially in clear brooks. One of our most brightly colored fishes. 

 Extremely variable; the young are often elliptical in form, and the size 

 at which the characteristic ear flap is developed varies greatly with dif- 

 ferent individuals. We have thus far failed to distinguish any tangible 

 varieties. Some southern specimens have the ear flap longer (fallax}} 

 some northern ones have the scales rather larger (inscriptus), or the margin 

 of the ear flap broader than usual (peltastes), or wanting altogether 

 (lythrochloris) ; others (aureolus) are bright golden with the flap short; 

 some southern specimens (breviceps) have a dusky spot on the last rays of 

 dorsal ; still others (marglnatus) have the ear flap bordered with green. 

 These characters gradually disappear on examination of a large series. 

 great ; ov<; , ear. ) 



Ichthelis megalotis, RAFINESQUE, Ichth. Oh., 29, 1820, Ohio River. 

 Pomotis nitida, KIRTLAND, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist., 472, 1842, Ohio. 

 Pomotis breviceps, BAIRD & GIRARD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1853, 309, Otter Creek, Arkan- 



sas. (Coll. Capt. Geo. B. McClellan.) 

 Pomotis fallax, BAIBD & GIRARD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1854, 24, Elm Creek, Texas. 



(Coll. John H. Clark.) 

 Pomotis convexifrons, BAIRD & GIRARD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1854, 24, Rio Cibolo, Texas. 



(Coll. Clark.) 

 Pomotis nefaslus, BAIRD & GIRARD, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1854, 24, Rio Cibolo and Salado 



Creek, Texas. (Coll. Clark.) 



Pomotis sangmnolentus, AGASSIZ, Amer. Jour. Sci. and Arts, 1854, 302, Huntsville, Alabama. 

 Pomolis inscriptus, AGASSIZ, Amer. Jour. Sci. and Arts, 1854, 302, Huntsville, Alabama. 

 Pomotis bombifrons,* AGASSIZ, Araer. Jour. Sci. and Arts, 1854, 303, Huntsville, Alabama. 

 Pomotis marginatus, Holbrook,f Jour. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1855,49, St. Johns River, Florida. 

 Pomotis popeii, GIRARD, Pacific R. R. Survey, x, 26, 1858, headwaters of Colorado River, 



Texas. (Coll. Capt. Pope.) 

 Lepomis peltastes, COPE, Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc., 1870, 453, Huron River, Michigan. (Coll. 



Prof. A. Winchell.) 



Xenotis lythrochloris, JORDAN, Ann. N. Y. Lye. Nat. Hist., 376, 1877, Wabash River. 

 Xenotis aureolux, JORDAN, Ann. N. Y. Lye. Nat. Hist., 376, 1877, Wabash River. 

 Lepomis megalotis, JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 477, 1883; BOULENGER, Cat., i, 26. 



* Lepomis bombifrons (Agassiz): Head 2%; depth 2%. D. X, ; A. Ill, ; scales 5-?-ll. 

 Body rather short and deep, with the profile very steep and the back very much arched, the 

 greatest depth of the body being over the opercles; opercular flap very small, unmargined. 

 Eye large ; a slight angle in front of the eye. Gill rakers unknown. Mouth moderate, placed 

 very low; the premaxillaries entirely below the eye; maxillary extending hack to the middle of 

 the pupil. Dorsal spines moderate, the last ones somewhat shortened. Anal fin large, pectorals 

 and ventrals reaching anal. Scales of cheek in 5 rows. Light brown; fins pale, unspotted. 

 Scales of belly and sides dotted with golden orange. Length 4 inches. Tennessee River; this 

 account taken from the original description and from a tracing of a drawing received from 

 Richard Bliss. Agassiz. 



f Lepomis .naryinatxs (Holhrook): Head 3; depth 2. D. IX or X, 12; A. Ill, 10. Body short 

 and deep; snout shorter than diameter of eye; maxillary reaching orbit; paired fins rather 

 long. Color dark olive with darker vertical bars; head and body with numerous bluish-green 

 spots; opercular flap bordered with green. St. Johns River, Florida. Holbrook. 



