20 THE FISHES OF OHIO. 



HOLOSTEI (The Bony Ganoids). 

 Order : RHOMBOGANOIDEA. 



Family : LepiSOSTEID^E. 



Genus : LEPISOSTEUS. 



Key to Species. 



A. Large teeth of upper jaw in i row on each side. 



B. Beak long and slender, snout more than twice the length of head. — osseus. 



BB. Beak shorter and broader, little longer than the rest of the head.— platoslomus. 

 AA. Large teeth of upper jaw in 2 rows on each side ; beak short and broad, not longer 

 than rest of head. — 1 tristcechus. 



Lepisosteus osseus (Linnaeus). Common Gar Pike ; 

 Billfish ; Gar. 



Snout at least twice as long as the rest of the head, and quite slender, 

 its least width being contained 15 or 20 times in its length. Color olivaceous 

 above, paler below. Young with round, black spots on vertical fins and 

 posterior part of body, these becoming less distinct with age. Very young 

 with black, lateral band. Length 5 feet. 



A voracious, good-for-nothing fish, but interesting to the 

 naturalist on account of its structure and habits. A common 

 and widely distributed species, being found in Lake Brie and 

 Ohio river, and in 'all the larger streams of the state. They are 

 very common in the Scioto river below Columbus, where the river 

 in summer is rotten with filth from the sewers of the city. They 

 have a peculiar habit of lying motionless in schools at the top of 

 the water. Dr. Kirtland records the species for the state as 

 " found in most of the larger tributaries of the Ohio;" Lorain 

 County, Laks and lower part of larger streams," McCormick, 

 1892 ; Ohio river and Lake Erie, Henshall, 1889 ; Maumee river, 

 Blanchard river, Auglaize river, Hoaglin creek and Beaver creek, 

 Kirsch, 1893 5 Scioto river at Columbus, Williamson and Osburn, 

 1897; Ohio river at Ironton, John's Creek at Waterloo, Huron 

 river at Milan, and Sandusky Bay, R. C. Osburn, 1899 ; Ohio 

 River at Bellaire, R. C. Osburn, 1900. 



Lepisosteus platostomus Rafinesque. Short-nosed Gar. 



Distinguished from L. osseus chiefly by the snout, which is only a little 

 longer than the rest of the head — never more than 1% times the length of 



