FISHES OF PENNSYLVANIA. 89 


atine bones. The gill-openings are very wide, the rakers short and rather numerous. 
Jaws short, gape of mouth rather wide. The body is covered with rather large 
eycloid scales and the head is almost entirely scaled. 
D. 14; A. 8 Scales 8 or 9 in a traverse series ; 35 from head to tail. 
Color dark green, more or Jess mottled (in spirits brownish); sides with a dozen 
pale, longitudinal streaks, regularly arranged; a darker stripe through eye. A 
black bar at base of tail, which is present in very young examples as well as in the 
adult. 
The eastern mud-minnow is found from New York to South Carolina 
in Atlantic streams. According to Professor Cope, it 1s very common 
near Philadelphia. It grows to a length of about five inches and is well 
adapted for aquarium life, but has no other value except as food for 
larger fishes. Its habits are similar to those of the species last described. 
The body is stouter than in Umbra limi ; the head is broader, less 
flattened on top, with a larger eye, shorter snout and the profile more 
convex. 
Famity ESOCIDZ (Tue Pixes). 
Genus ESOX (Arrepr) Linn2vs. 
Suscenus PICORELLUS. 
The genus Esozx is readily sub-divided into three groups distinguished 
by their size, scaling and coloration. In the first group are three spe- 
cies of true pickerels, in which the cheeks and opercles are entirely 
sealy, the color greenish, usually with dark reticulations and the 
largest species reaches a length of about two feet. To this group the 
subgeneric name Picorellus was formerly applied; it includes the banded 
pickerel, the little pickerel and the chain pickerel, all of which occur in 
Pennsylvania. 
103. Esox americanus GMELIN. 
The Banded Pickerel. (Figure 53.) 
The banded pickerel has an elongate body ; its depth contained about five times 
in the total length without caudal ; the length of the head three and one-fourth times 
in the standard length. The snout is contained two and two-thirds times in the 
length of the head and the eye five and one-half times in the same length. The 
maxillary extends to vertical through middle of eye; the lower jaw projects consid- 
erably beyond the upper. Teeth in the jaws strong, directed backward. The ven- 
tral is placed in middle of body, the dorsal and anal fins far back, opposite each 
other; their longest rays of about the same length, much longer than the bases of 
the fins. Caudal deeply emarginate. 
B. 11-13; D. 11-14; A. 11-12; scales in lateral line 105. The body is usually dark 
green, sometimes brownish black, above; the sides greenish yellow with about 
twenty dark curved bars, which are generally very distinct. Dorsal and caudal fins 
dark brown ; the other fins lighter, sometimes reddish. A dark bar from the eye to 
angle of jaw; another from the snout through the eye to the upper edge of opercle. 
The banded pickerel is probably identical with the “mackerel pike” 
of Mitchill. It is a small fish, seldom exceeding twelve inches in length 
and will not average more than one-half pound in weight. It occurs 
