24 Aquatic Lite 
length, even if he cannot completely 
swallow it at once; often the tail of the 
wiggler projects from the mouth of the 
fish for several seconds. Again, if the 
fish are disturbed by removing them 
with a dipnet to another jar which 
affords no means of concealment, their 
high nervous tension is evident, as they 
dart about with surprising rapidity, all 
the fins literally quivering. 
Possibly the pigmy sunfish may prove 
to be effective agents in the destruction 
of mosquito larvae, but it remains to be 
learned if they are adapted to a suffi- 
cient variety of habitats. A character 
peculiarly favorable to efficiency against 
mosquitoes is their habit of lurking 
amidst the vegetation and debris, where 
the mosquito larvae are usually safest 
from top minnows and other species. 
What we know of the pigmy sunfishes 
can be briefly stated. They are southern 
in distribution, extending from the Caro- 
linas to ‘Texas and north to southern II- 
linois at least, being addicted to sluggish 
waters, and not often found or recog- 
nized. Somewhat in the nature of tiny 
pikes they lurk quietly amidst vegetation 
or debris, but in the search of food, or 
when disturbed, they display a high de- 
gree of activity and vigor. They are 
distinctly predaceous, so far as entomo- 
straca, mosquito larvae, and other ant- 
mals of small size are concerned. I have 
not with certainty observed them take 
lifeless foods. 
Those who may have the opportunity 
to collect the pigmy sunfishes and further 
to observe their habits would be inter- 
ested in the following description of the 
one habitat in the vicinity of Mound, 
Louisiana, in which they found: 
“’Cypress Bayou’: Seepage and sur- 
face water; motion varying according to 
season, none when these collections were 
made; clear and blackish; depth 1 to 
3 feet in dry seasons; bottom exceed- 
ingly soft; 30 to 40 feet wide. Aquatic 
vegetation exceedingly abundant; Lem- 
na jessiae diffusa and Ceratophyllum 
forming a dense mat; also some Echi- 
nochloa colona and Zizarniopsis miliceae 
present. No scum. Some shade from 
few overhanging bushes and trees. Some 
large debris.”” (See photograph. ) 
The striking characters of the fish are 
its usually conspicuous bands, a more 
intense spot on one band (or a short 
stripe) on the side and under the begin- 
ning of the dorsal, and the two circular 
or semilunar clear spots at the base of 
the tail. While the eyes are very large, 
they are not so conspicuous in the living 
fish as would be imagined from the 
drawing. 
The body varies from clear trans- 
lucent to a thin yellow green color, over- 
laid by black stippling and bands. Even 
in an indidivual fish the color is variable, 
as the black markings may fade slowly 
or suddenly. The fading of the black 
appears to be accompanied by the as- 
sumption of the yellowish color. The i!- 
lustration herewith is the first published 
drawing of Elassoma zonatum. 
pitts I 
Tadpoles when first placed in an 
aquarium are good scavengers, but just 
so soon as they learn to eat fish food 
their value ends, and they become little 
more than pests to stir up the sediment 
and roil the water. They may occasion- 
ally be introduced for a brief period and 
will work industriously, especially if 
they have been previously placed for 
about a week in a bucket of clear water 
without food. 
Sh ceils ashes 
Tue Fisn Norepoox is the title of a 
splendid little guide to the study of the 
native fishes. It contains 108 pages, II 
explanatory figures, and illustrations of 
50 species of fishes. Sent postpaid by 
Aquatic Life Book Department for 
thirty-five cents. 
