5o8 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



HORNPOUT (Ameiurus nehulosus). 



The hompout is a member of the catfish family (Siluridae), the membership of 

 which is large and the natural distribution of which is very wide. The general geo- 

 graphical range of the hompout, according to authorities, is the Great Lakes, the Ohio 

 Valley, and eastward to Maine, southwestward to Texas, and southeastward to Florida; 

 and its distribution has been extended even to the Pacific coast. This species is com- 

 mon in coastwise streams and lakes of Maine, and in certain river basins it is found in 

 some of their most northern sources. It is not native to the Rangeley Lakes, although 

 it occurs naturally in more southern waters of the Androscoggin Basin. Impassable 

 natural barriers prevented its access to those lakes. The writer has been unable to 

 learn the definite history of its introduction there. It was stated by a resident of 

 Rangeley that a number of years ago some one brought a few to the region and planted 

 them in a private pond, from which they escaped into the lake. Another introduction 

 is said to have been purposely made in Umbagog Lake a number of years ago. 



The hompout thrives best in ponds and lakes with muddy bottom and profuse 

 vegetation. It is an omniverous and indiscriminate feeder, but to a great extent sub- 



FiG. I. — Hompout {AmeiuTus nebulosus) . 



sists upon vegetable and anunal life that it finds upon the bottom. It is also a scav- 

 enger when opportunities present. It is mainly a nocturnal feeder, but will eat by 

 day or night. Moonlight nights are the most favorable for hompout hook-and-line 

 fishing. It is reputed to eat the spawn and young of other fishes. In Forest and 

 Stream, January 30, 1904, E. A. Samuels wrote that he once caught a hompout the 

 stomach of which contained a small yellow perch, two or three snails, and a young 

 trout of about 3 inches in length. 



It is said that the hompouts hibernate. If the hibernation begins early enough, 

 it removes one serious objection to its presence in Rangeley waters by minimizing the 

 danger of its devouring trout and salmon spawn. However, it is doubtful if the horn- 

 pout reaches the spawning grounds of those species to an alarming extent even if it 

 does not hibernate early, as they spawn in quick water, as a rule, and the hompout 

 affects quiet water. In this connection it may be mentioned that on October 21, 

 1904, the writer caught a large number of small hompouts in a wire minnow trap set 

 off the landing at the Mountain View House, Rangeley Lake. A peculiarity of these 

 little hompouts was their color, which was a beautiful purplish, iridescent bronze. 



