86 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



THE WHITE-BASS 



(Roccus chrysops) 



Roccus chrysops. The White-bass. Body oblong, deep, and com- 

 pressed ; head 3!; depth 2^; eye 5; D. IX-I, 14; A. Ill, 

 12; scales 10-60-15; mouth moderate, maxillary reaching 

 middle of pupil ; a patch of teeth at base of tongue, and a 

 patch on each side ; preopercle serrate ; subopercle with a 

 deep notch ; lower jaw somewhat projecting ; dorsal fins sepa- 

 rate ; gill-rakers long and slender, x + 14. 



Morone inter rupta. The Yellow-bass. Body oblong, ovate, the 

 back arched; head 3; depth 2|; eye 41 ; D. IX-I, 12; A. Ill, 

 9; scales 7-50-11 ; dorsal fins slightly joined ; jaws subequal ; 

 no teeth on base of tongue ; gill-rakers moderate, x + 13 to 16 ; 

 preorbital and suprascapula serrate. 



The white-bass was first described by Rafi- 

 nesque in 1820 from the falls of the Ohio River, 

 near Louisville, Kentucky. He named it chrys- 

 ops, or "gold eye," owing to the golden hue of 

 the iris. It is known also as white lake-bass 

 and fresh- water striped-bass. It is abundant in 

 Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, and upper Mississippi 

 River, especially in Lake Pepin, and in Lake 

 Winnebago, Wisconsin. It was formerly not 

 uncommon in the Ohio River, but is now rare. 

 Its body is compressed and rather deep, with 

 the back arched ; its head is rather small, but 

 the mouth is large, with the lower jaw protrud- 

 ing ; the eye is large ; teeth brushlike, without 



