346 GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 



Belly and lower fins unicolor, a deep orange hue existing along the 

 rays. This species may be distinguished from S. virginalis by its 

 much smaller head and more deeply matched tail and larger scales ; 

 from S. iridea by larger scales, smaller head, fewer spots and less 

 forked tail. 



Habitat. — Both slopes of the Rocky' Mountains north of the 

 South Pass ; head waters of the Missouri ; southern tributaries of 

 the Yellowstone ; Black Hills of Nebraska ; Clark's Fork of the 

 Columbia ; Kootenay River ; Bitter Root River, Washington 

 Territory. 



Of this fish. Dr. Girard says, this is the trout alluded to in 

 " Lewis' and Clarke's Travels," who speak of it as follows : 



"Being at the falls of the Missouri they caught half a dozen 

 trout, from sixteen to twenty-three inches long, precisely resem- 

 bling in form and the position of the fins, the mountain or speckled 

 trout of the United States, except that the specks of the former are 

 of a deep black, while those of the latter are of a red or golden 

 color. They have long, sharp teeth on the palate and tongue, and 

 generally a small speck, of red on each side behind the front 

 ventral (pectoral) fins ; the flesh is of a pale yellowish red, or, 

 when in good order, of a rose-colored red." London edition, p. 

 192, quarto, 1814. 



Of the manner of taking this fish. Dr. Suckley in his mono- 

 graph of salmonidae, speaks with much pride of having captured 

 some with artificial flies below the Great Falls of the Missouri. 

 It is presumed they will take other baits as well as this. 



Platte River Trout.— 5'<i/«a stomias. Cope. 

 (U. S. Geol. Surv. of Wyoming, p, 433, 187a.) 



Specific characters. — Head large, broad, flat, not keeled, 4.25 

 times in total length of body ; muzzle obtuse ; diameter of eye 

 enters length of side of head nearly five times ; forty-two scales 

 l>elow first dorsal ray ; dorsal fin midway between snout and cau- 

 dal, which is not notched. Scales small ; mouth large. 



Color. — Indistinct brownish blotches on sides, and many black 

 spots on posterior dorsal region, the caudal peduncle and the dor- 

 sal and caudal fins ; anal unspotted ; spots few in front of dorsal 

 Prof Cope considers this species an ally of S. lewisi, virginalis 

 and iridea. 



