IOO THE FISHE.S OF OHIO. 



or nearly so, opercles scaled, neck and breast usually naked. Color, oliva- 

 ceous, tessellated above; sides with a varying number (about 12) of vertical, 

 indigo-blue bars, separated by orange interspaces; throat, breast and sides 

 of belly orange; cheeks blue-green; first dorsal crimson at base, above this 

 an orange bar, margined with blue; other vertical fins chiefly orange, tipped 

 with blue. Females much plainer, with very little blue or red. Length 2j^ 

 inches. 



This elegant little fish is widely distributed over the state, 

 and is generally abundant. It is most common in the smaller 

 streams, and is always found in running water, usually on ripples, 

 and does not occur in lakes. Kirtland reported it in 1854 from 

 near Cleveland, under the name Poecilosoma erythrogastrum. 

 Jordan gives it as " the most abundant member of the family." 

 Hamilton County, " very common in East Mill creek," Henshall, 

 1888; Lorain County, "one of the most common darters," 

 McCormick, 1892; Maumee river system, "not taken in the 

 Maumee, St. Mary's and St. Joseph rivers, common in all the 

 other larger streams and nearly all the small ones," Kirsch, 1893 '> 

 Franklin County, abundant, of general distribution, Williamson 

 and Osburn, 1897; Big Jelloway creek, " very common," Parker, 

 Williamson and Osburn, 1898 ; John's creek at Ironton, Huron 

 river at Milan, Ashtabula creek, Wabash river at Celina, Still- 

 water and Wolf creeks at Dayton, North Fork of Licking river 

 at Newark, R. C. Osburn, 1899 ; Mahoning river, E. B. William- 

 son, 1900 ; Cuyahoga river, at Hawkins, Grand river at Paines- 

 ville, Chagrin river at Willoughby, Wheeling creek at Bridge- 

 port, McMahon creek at Bellaire, R. C. Osburn, 1900. 



The following variety of this species is also taken in Ohio : 



Etheostoma cceruleum spectabile (Agassiz). 



It is known from the typical species by the ' ' faded out ' ' appearance of 

 the ground color of the back, and by the arrangement of the olivaceous into 

 distinct longitudinal lines. It is also rather more slender than the typical 

 cceruleum, into which, both in color and in measurement it insensibly grades. 



This variety is found in brooks and smaller streams, replac- 

 ing to some extent the typical form in central and western Ohio. 

 Specimens from Ohio streams show many intermediate stages. 

 Recorded by Kirsch from Sugar creek, near Lima ; Franklin 

 County, taken only in the small streams, " grading insensibly into 



