THE 

 BASSES, CRAPPIES AND SUNFISHES. 



Family XL V. CentrarcJiida 



BODY more or less shortened and compressed, the regions 

 above and below the axis of the body nearly equally developed 

 and corresponding to each other; head compressed; mouth ter- 

 minal, large or small; teeth in villiform bands, the outer slightly 

 enlarged, no canines; teeth present on the premaxillaries, lower 

 jaw, vomer, usually on the palatines, and sometimes on the 

 tongue, pterygoids and hyoid; premaxillaries protractile; maxillary 

 with a supplemental bone in the large-mouthed species, some- 

 times minute or obsolete; preopercle entire or somewhat serrate; 

 opercle ending in 2 flat points or prolonged in a black flap at 

 the angle; gills 4, a slit behind the last; pseudobranchiae small; 

 gill-membranes separate, free from the isthmus; branchiostegals 6, 

 rarely 7; gillrakers variously formed, armed with small teeth; 

 lower pharyngeal bones separate, their teeth conic or sometimes 

 paved; cheek and opercles scaly; body fully scaled, the scales 

 usually not strongly ctenoid, rarely cycloid; lateral line present, 

 usually complete; dorsal fins confluent, the spines 6 to 13, de- 

 pressible in a shallow groove; anal spines 3 to 9; intestine short; 

 pyloric coeca 5 to 10. Colour, usually brilliant, chiefly greenish; 

 sexes similar; changes with age often great. 



This is a family of North American freshwater fishes, with 

 about 12 genera and 30 species, forming one of the most charac- 

 teristic features of our fish-fauna. Most of the species build nests, 

 which they defend with much courage. They all breed in the 

 spring, and are all valued as food, their importance being in 

 direct proportion to the size which they attain. All are carniv- 

 orous, voracious and gamy, "some of them being among the 

 greatest of all game-fishes. 



a. Dorsal fin scarcely longer than the anal. 



b. Dorsal spines 5 to 8; anal spines 6; spinous dorsal shorter 



than soft dorsal; body rather short and greatly compressed; 



Pomoxis, 333 



bb. Dorsal spines 1 1 or 12; anal spines 7 or 8; spinous dorsal 

 longer than soft dorsal; body short, deep and compressed; 



Centrarchus, 337 

 aa. Dorsal much longer than the anal. 



332 



