April, 1910. Fishes of Chicago — Meek and Hildebrand. 275 



body; peritoneum silvery; dorsal fin well back of ventrals, nearer 

 base of caudal than tip of snout; scales on anterior part of body 

 reduced in size, 26 to 30 in a series in front of dorsal fin; lateral line 

 complete, deeply decurved. 



Color dark purplish blue above, greenish blue below, not silvery; 

 dorsal fin with black spot at its base in front. Breeding males with 

 much red on sides and on lower fins. 



Length about 3 inches. 



This minnow ranges from Wisconsin to Mississippi and Arkansas. 

 It prefers clear running water. 



Des Plaines River, Berwyn, Illinois; Hickory Creek. Marley, Illi- 

 nois; Hickory Creek, New Lenox, Illinois. 



Genus Ericyiiiba Cope. 



Body elongate, little compressed; premaxillary protractile; teeth 

 4-4 or I, 4-4, I, without grinding surface; hooked interorbitals, sub- 

 orbitals, and dentary bones with greatly developed mucous channels; 

 alimentary canal short; peritoneum silvery; lateral line complete. 



Ericymba buccata Cope. Silver-mouthed Minnow. 



Head 3.5 to 3.7; depth 4.1 to 5.2; D. 8; A. 7 or 8; scales 32 to 35. 



Body elongate, fusiform; head long, snout blunt; mouth small. 

 horizontal, subinferior, tip of upper lip on level with lower margin 

 of orbit; maxillary not reaching past anterior nostril, its length 3.5 

 to 4.0 in head; lower jaw the shorter; snout 2.6 to 3.0 in head; diam- 

 eter of eye 3.3 to 3.6; teeth 4-4 or i, 4-4, i ; alimentary canal about 

 as long as the body; peritoneum silvery; bones of lower part of head 

 with well developed mucous channels appearing externally as vitreous 

 streaks, a character peculiar to the genus; dorsal fin over ventrals, 



Fig. 40. Silver-mouthed Minnow. 



Ericymba buccata Cope. (From Forbes and Richardson.) 



