Aquatic JLltt 



147 



the commercial trout industry in the 

 United States became a fact accom- 

 plished. 



Seth Green was not satisfied to keep 

 within one groove, and investigated other 

 fishes. The outcome was the successful 

 propagation of shad, whitefish and pike- 

 perch, and the invention of the jar sys- 

 tem, which now enables the National and 

 State governments to hatch billions of 

 valuable food fishes annually, and all 

 from eggs which would otherwise be ab- 

 solutely wasted. I say wasted advisedly, 

 because the eggs of the whitefish, shad 

 and pike-perch are from fishes taken in 

 the nets for market. 



While fish culture was not discovered 

 in the United States, Americans have 

 given it the greatest attention and made 

 the greatest advances, consequently the 

 United States leads the world in fish 

 culture. 



The Mud Minnows 



Continued from page 140. 

 No. 67,455 of the above list, are also 

 marked like large living specimens taken 

 in the District of Columbia, including 

 those in my aquaria ; larger one 8.8 cms., 

 D. II. 8 (fin imperf.); A. 8., smaller 

 one y.j cms., D. 14; A. 8. Both are 

 mottled on the back, and have the usual 

 whitish or white lateral longitudinal 

 stripe. 



No. 27,481 of above list has a length of 

 ncms., 10 longitudinal stripes, seventh 

 one from belly nearly white and runs 

 over top of percle to the eye ; chin light, 

 snout blunt. D. 14; A. 8. Scales 34. 

 Agrees almost exactly with Jordan and 

 Evermann's description and figure. No. 

 35,971, length 1 cm., striped; chin dark- 

 ish ; middle stripe white. D. II. 14. 

 A. 8. Same species as the last. No. 

 16,896, length 11 cms., striped as in No. 

 27,481 above ( 12 stripes, the usual white 

 one present) ; chin pale. D. I. 13. A. 8. 



This specimen appears to be a typical or 

 nearly typical Umbra pygmaea. 



The longitudinal stripes in U. pygmaea 

 seem to run from 10 to 14 in number, 

 with an included median white or whit- 

 ish one ; the number of rays in the dorsal 

 and anal fins also vary, as above indi- 

 cated. I have yet to find a specimen 

 with a "black chin." As the coloration 

 is alike in the two sexes in this genus of 

 Umbrids, the above differences cannot be 

 attributed to sexual ones as an explana- 

 tion for them. 



From my study of this family of 

 fishes I am inclined to believe that there 

 is, in the eastern range of Umbra 

 pygmaea, another form of these Mud 

 Minnows, which may easily be recog- 

 nized by its external characters. In 

 form, structure and general habits, it 

 doubtless does not depart from its near 

 relative, Umbra pygmaea, while it does 

 do so very markedly in its coloration. 



This form — a sub-specific one — I be- 

 lieve has not been heretofore described, 

 and I find it to present the following 

 characters : General contour as in Umbra 

 pygmaea, D. 14. A. 8. Dorsum olive 

 brown, spotted and mottled with black ; 

 sides somewhat lighter; lower parts very 

 light yellowish-olive ; whitish, broken 

 line extending from eye to base of tail. 

 Running along immediately below this 

 line is another of double the width, and 

 of a deep olive or brown color. Sides 

 more or less spotted with small spots of 

 yellowish white ; fins of a pale yellowish 

 olive, without markings of any kind ; an 

 oblique whitish bar beneath either eye ; 

 chin pale yellowish white ; eye black ; a 

 vertical white area at base of tail, bor- 

 dered both in front and behind by black ; 

 borders of fins rounded. Other charac- 

 ters are those of the genus. 



I propose for this new sub-species the 

 name of Umbra pygmaea bilineata, in 

 reference to the two longitudinal stripes 



