23 



represented in America in a measure by the Catostomoids. The 

 vertebrae of the anterior part of the body are grown together, 

 the auditory ossicle is present. The head is naked; the body 

 scaly, except in a few cases; the mouth is toothless, sometimes 

 with barbels. The lower pharyngeal bones are well developed, 

 scythe-shaped, with one to three series of teeth, few in number. 

 No adipose fin. Air bladder large, generally in two parts, 

 seldom absent; stomach simple without appendages. 



During the breeding season the males of many of these fishes 

 are much tuberculated and the fins, and often other parts of 

 the body, are brightly colored, so that many of them at this 

 season are scarcely rivaled in beauty by any other fishes. 



Hybognathus nuchalis Ag. 



Silvery Minnow. 



H. osmerinus Cope. 



Slender ; head short ; lower jaw shorter than upper. Thir- 

 teen large scales in front of dorsal. D. 8, A. 7. Scales 5-38-4. 

 Lateral line decurved. Silvery green, sides bright silvery 

 with an underlying plumbeous shade ; fins pale. Length four 

 to nine inches. New Jersey, west and south. Abbott l men- 

 tions it from the Raritan near New Brunswick. 

 Pimephales promelas Raf. 

 Fat-head or Black-headed Minnow. 



Body somewhat short and deep. The head is blunt, almost 

 globular in adult males. About 27 scales in front of dorsal. 

 Olivaceous, a black bar across middle of dorsal, a dark shade 

 along caudal peduncle. In adult males the head is jet black 

 with large tubercles on the snout. D. I, 7, A. 7. Lateral line 

 imperfect or wanting, Scales 7-47-6. Length 2% inches. 



This species is found in New England and westwardly and 

 southerly, and may therefore occur here. 



1 To avoid repeating foot notes, I will here say that all references to 

 C. C. Abbott's writings are made to the following papers : 



"Notes on some Fishes of the Delaware River," in report of the United 

 States Fish Commissioner for 1875-1876, Pt. IV, 1878 ; "Appendix E " in 

 the Geology of New Jersey, 1868, and ' 'Cyprinidse of Central New Jersey, ' ' 

 in American Naturalist, Vol. 8, 1874. 



The New Jersey Geological Report, Vol. II, 1890, cited before, gives 

 literal quotations from some of these papers, in connection with descrip- 

 tions of species. 



