340 - Fishes of the Ohio 
oval and larger, posterior lunate, on a level with the upper 
edge of the pupil. 
Lower jaw longer than the upper; teeth, on the anterior 
margin, numerous, inflected, and smaller than those on the 
sides. 
Dorsal and anal fins sub-conical, former the larger. 
Caudal fin bilobed ; divisions acute. 
Pectoral and Ventral fins small, falcate. 
Color. Pupils black ; irides golden. Upper surface of the 
head and back, greenish-slate, with the centre of each scale of 
a little lighter hue, throwing off a beautiful green and golden 
iridescence ; sides of the head and gill covers, slate and 
silvery, blending. Sides of the body, with a golden and 
silvery groundwork, maculated with irregular, perpendicular 
rows of brownish oblong or round spots ; fins yellowish, macu- 
lated in a similar manner, only more faintly ; under surface of 
the body and head, white. 
P.16; V. 12; A. 20; D. 21; C. 20; B. 16. 
Hab. Lake Erie. 
Observations. Lesueur’s description is indefinite and er- - 
roneous, and we can form no other conclusion, after much 
investigation of the matter, than that he must have had before 
him a specimen of the E. reticulatus, instead of the E. estor, 
while he was engaged in writing it. The two species, at first 
view, resemble each other so much, that their specific distinc" 
tions might be easily overlooked by one not familiar with them. 
These distinctions are, however, so permanent and invariable, 
that they are recognized by every experienced fisherman, 35 
well as by men of science who have closely examined their 
characters, ; 
Sex has been supposed, by some persons, to give origin to 
these differences; but we have repeatedly found them to be 
equally evident in both sexes of the two species. 
The contour of the E. estor is more oval and graceful, that 
of E. reticulatus is more oblong. The lobes of the caudal 
fin are pointed and acute in the former, and rounded in 
