'302 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



to 19. A color variety is occasionally met with having the body 

 uniformly dark gray, unspotted. 



151 Lucius masquinongy (Mitchill) 



Mas'calonge; Spotted Mascalonge 



Esox masquinongy Mitchill, Mirror, 297, 1824, Lake Erie. 



Esox masquinongy (Mitchill) Kirtland, Fishes of Ohio, 194, 1838, Lake 



Erie. 

 .Esox noUlior Thompson, Proc. Bost Soc. Nat. Hist. Ill, 163, 1850, Lake 



Champlain; Jordan & Gilbert, Bull. 16, U. S. Nat. Mus. 353, 1883; 



Bean, Fishes Penna. 93, pi. 29, fig. 57, 1893. 

 Lucius masquinongy Jordan & Etermann, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. 629, 



1896, pi. C, fig. 270, 1900; Evermann & Kendall, Kept. U. S. Commr. 



Fish & Fisheries for 1894, 598. 1890. 



The mascalonge has a stout and moderately elongate body, its 

 greatest depth, midway between the pectoral and ventral fins, 

 one fifth to one sixth of the total length to the end of the scales. 

 The caudal peduncle is short and slender, its depth one third of 

 greatest depth. The length of the head is two sevenths of the 

 total without the caudal, and the small eye equals less than one 

 fourth the length of snout. The eye is nearly in the middle of 

 the length of the head. The mouth is very large; the maxilla 

 extends to below the hind margin of the eye. The teeth are as 

 in the pike, but even more formidable. Dorsal and anal far 

 back, the origin of the former a little in advance of the anal 

 origin; the length of dorsal base about two fifths of head, longest 

 dorsal ray one third of head, caudal deeply forked; ventral mid- 

 way between end of head and end of anal, its length equal to 

 one half the depth of body; pectoral nearly equal to postorbital 

 part of head. B. 17-19; D. 17; A. 16; Y. 12. Scales in lateral 

 line 150. 



The color is usually dark gray, sometimes immaculate as in 

 the color variety immaculatus, but generally with numer- 

 ous distinct, roundish, black spots about as large as buckshot. 

 The dark spots are present only on the basal parts of the dorsal, 

 anal and caudal fins. The lower parts are pale, the belly white. 



The name of this giant pike is apparently derived from the 

 language of the Ojibwa or the Cree Indians; it is variously spelled 



