54 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. xxxni 



ful form I have in mind is Lucius reticulatus, the 

 Greer Pike of Eastern North America or some var- 

 iety of that species I cannot say. My suspicions 

 of two species is based on the shape of the head. 

 The head of the Common Pike, Lucius lucius should, 

 according to my views, show a protuberance or 

 bulge over the eyes, while the other species or form 

 has a head curving gradually from the tip of the 

 snout to the dorsum. The latter fish is the poorer 

 fighter. 



Gadidae. 

 286. Loia maculosa Le Sueur. Fresh-water Ling: 

 Burbot. 



The Fresh-water Ling or Burbot belongs to the 

 Cod group of fishes, including the Cods, Sea Ling 

 and Haddock, and it is the only member of its 

 family inhabiting fresh water. The belly is much 

 distended by the abnormally large liver — a charac- 

 teristic of the cods. 



This very interesting, though somewhat objection- 

 able-looking fish, is common in sluggish rivers and 

 lakes in Alberta: Sylvan lake. Red Deer river. 

 Peace river, etc. It attains considerable size, some- 

 times I am told up to 40 pounds. The flesh is 

 white, it is comparatively free from bones, and it 

 is a clean feeder, living, so far as I can discover 

 on small fish. In spite of these facts, however, very 

 few ling ever find their way to the table, for most 

 fishermen, who catch them by chance, seem fright- 

 ened of them. The liver and roe were esteemed 

 as delicacies by the voyageurs, a statement I make 

 on the authority of the Ontario Game and Fish 

 Committee's Report of 1892. 



Under normal water conditions this fish is ex- 

 tremely sluggish, and will lie on the bottom im- 

 mobile for hours. As eels are affected by thunder- 

 storms to unusual activity in search of food, so the 

 fresh water ling in times of flood and muddy water, 

 becomes a thing of action. The mouths of creeks 

 are full of them seeking their prey — minnows and 

 small fry. They hunt close to the bank and right 

 on the surface, the locality always chosen by terror- 

 stricken minnows seeking sanctuary up the creek. 

 The gulps of the ling, sucking their prey into their 

 spacious maws, is an unnatural and somewhat un- 

 canny sound. My idea of the feeding habits arc 

 as follows: The fish, a strong but slow swimmer, 

 is incapable of catching its prey by the chase. In 

 clear water, therefore, it lies like a log, entices 

 the small fry by means of the artificial "worm" pro- 

 vided by nature as an attachment to its chin, and 

 without movement of body sucks in the intruder. 

 In time of flood the muddy water provides con- 

 cealment and "angling" is put aside in favor of the 

 chase as explained above. 



Percidae. 



315. Stizosledion vitreum Mitchell. Pike-perch 



(0!d English), Pickerel (Canadian); Dore 

 (French Canadian) ; Wall-eyed Pike 

 (United States.) 

 While the Government Check List gives Sas- 

 katchewan as the western limit, probably most fish- 

 ermen in Alberta know that this fish is common in 

 some rivers in the province, and also in some of the 

 lakes. The largest specimen fish taken by me 

 (mouth Waskasoo creek. Red Deer river) weighed 

 8'/2 pounds, but some years ago at the mouth of 

 the Blindman river, at Blackfalds, Mr. D. Gregson 

 took a pair each of which weighed 12 pounds. In 

 1918, a Red Deer man caught a twelve-pounder at 

 the mouth of the Medicine river, the weight of 

 which I verified. The fish is not a great fighter, 

 but fishermen esteem it because of its excellence for 

 the table. The pickerel, when of mature age, is 

 a shy fish and cunning. It has white eyes, like a 

 wall-eyed horse, but excellent sight nevertheless. 

 It will take a live or artificial minnow, a spoon, and 

 a number of different natural baits, such as worms, 

 frogs, mice, etc. 



316. Slizostedion canadense C. H. Smith. The 



Sanger. 

 The name Sanger probably sounds strange, and 

 I fancy that even to many fishermen the very ex- 

 istence of the fish is unknown. According to the 

 text books it is similar to the pickerel, but seldom 

 exceeds fifteen inches in length and has a rounder 

 body. It has a black blotch at the base of 

 the pectoral fins, and lacks the black blotch 

 at the hinder part of the dorsal fin of the 

 pickerel. The western range of this fish has 

 not been clearly defined, and it will be inter- 

 esting to determine definitely whether or not 

 some of the small sized "pickerel" of the Red Deer 

 river are not properly the Sanger. To date I have 

 not been able to satisfy myself upon the point, as 

 the pcsition of black blotches is a very unsatis- 

 factory characteristic upon which to separate two 

 fish. Mr. Gregson, who has lived for many years 

 at the mouth of the Blindman river, Blackfalds, 

 claims that he can always tell what he calls a 

 "Red Deer river pickerel" from the smaller fish 

 taken between the mouth and the dam. In the 

 former the black "perch bars" are more clearly 

 defined. On the other hand these may. simply be 

 more mature fish, and I must leave the matter un- 

 dec.ded. 



317. Pcrca flavesccns Mitchell. Yellow Perch: 



American Perch. 

 The Government Check List mentions Saskatch- 

 ewan as the western limit of the perch in Canada. 



