430 EXPLORATIONS ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN OF UTAH. 



ence is not mentioned; Dr. Kirtland would, of course, have noticed the characters 

 mentioned by liafinesque, if they were more than imaginary. 



As no other species of Irfuluroid, except the Ilophtdclus oliruris and Xoturus, with 

 fifteen anal rays or thereabouts, has been discovered in the Ohio River by the researches 

 of Dr. Kirtland, we must, for the present at least, regard Rafinesque's descriptions of 

 Pimelodus riscosus as well as of Pimelodus nehuhsus having been based on one of them ; 

 they agree best with the Hopladdus. 



The Pylodietis limosus, named by R 

 to be also founded on this species. It a< 

 in the absence of the lateral line, the pos 

 and the rayed second dorsal. Audubon 



last rays of the\lorsal being nearly over 

 sideling the author of it, sufficiently appi 





que from a drawing of Audubon, appears 



pees 



tolerably well with the Ilopladelus, except 





of the dorsal over the abdominal fins, 



>rob; 



ibly omitted the lateral line, or did not 



inly 



no American Siluroid without it. The 





ases of the ventrals, the statement, coll- 



)xim 



ates to the fact. The edge of the adipose 



rn, 8 



md, being so represented by Audubon, 



s sta 



ted that the species " sometimes reaches 





he names of Mud Cat, Mud Fish, Mud 



tvas, 



B the evidence in favor of the identity of 



e'in' 



his Monograph of the Siluri of the Ohio 



In the twelfth volume of the "Histoire Naturelle des Poissons", Valenciennes 

 describes a species as Pimelodus punetuhdus, which appears to be also identical with the 

 Ilopladdns. Specimens had been sent from New Harmony and from New Orleans 

 by Lesueur. It is said to have the form of the Pimelodus catus, but with a shorter 

 anal; the lower jaw is the longer; the head very much depressed, and forming a 

 quarter of the entire length, and a fifth longer than wide ; the maxillary barbels reach 

 the middle of the operculum ; the ossified part of the pectoral spine is half the length 



articulated point. There are twelve branchiostegal rays and sixteen anal. The color 

 is brown, dotted with black and with irregular black blotches. 



The description of Valenciennes answers in every respect to the Ilopladelus, except 

 as to the number of ventral rays, which is said to be eight. As in every other feature 

 it is applicable to our species, there may have been some mistake in the enumeration, 

 or perhaps even an abnormal variety. It appears to be at least proper to consider the 

 Pimelodus punetuhdus for the present as identical with the Ilopladelus. 



The description of Pimehdus aneus of Lesueur is next abstracted, and Valenci- 

 ennes remarks that, except as to form and the number of rays, it agrees with his 

 Pimelodus punctulatus ; he himself remarks that the difference in the number of rays 

 might be explained by the difficulty which the thick membrane in which the rays are 

 enveloped would present to an exact computation. As to form, he objects that the 

 phrase applied to the Pimelodus anem,— 11 ale corps tresdong",— is not applicable to the 

 Pimelodus punctulatus, of which the head enters only four times in the length. To this 

 we would answer that the head of Ilopladelus is certainly only a fourth of the length, 



