808 FISHES — CATOSTOMID^. 



f? Carpiodes laurus, Agassiz, Am. Journ. Sci. Arts, 1834, 355. (Not identifiable.) 



?? BuhaHchihys iaurus, Agassiz. Am. Jonrn. Sci. Art, 2d series, xix, 1855, 193. — Jordan 



and CoPHLAND, Check List, 1876, 158. 

 ?? Carpiodes vilulua, Agassiz, Am. Journ. Sci. Arts, 1854, 356. (Not identifiable.) 

 f? Bubalichthya vitulus, Agassiz, Am. Jonrn. Soi. Arts, 2d series, xix, 185S, 193. — Jordan 



and Copeland, Check List, l:i76, 15-J. — Jordan and Gilbsrt, in Klippart's Eept., 



1876, 53. 

 Solerognalliiis urns, Gunther, Cat. Fishes, Brit. Mus., vii, 1863, 22. 



Icthyobus cyanellas, Nelson, Bali. No. 1, Ills. Mas. Nat. Hist., 1876, 49.— Jordan and Cope- 

 land, Check List, 1370, 158— Jordan, Pcoc. Acad. Nat. Sei. Phila., 1877, 73 ; Man. 



Vert., 2d Ed., 1878, 323.— Jordan aad Gilbert, in Klippart's Rapt., 1876, .53. 

 BiibalicMhya allm, Nblson, MSS, 1877. — JoRDA^^, Proa Nit. Sci. Phila., 1877, 73; Min. 



Vert., 2d Ed., 1878, 324. 

 Buialiohthys biibalinus, Jordan, Ball U. S. Nat. Mas., ix, 1867, 50; Man. Vert., 2d Ed., 



1878, 325. 



Description — Body considerably elevated and compressed above ; the dorsal region 

 snbcarinate, belly thicker; depth i-'^ to 2i in length ; axis of body above the veutrals 

 below the lateral line and nearly twice as far from the back as from the belly; head 

 moderate, triangular in outline when viewed from the side, four in length ; eye equal 

 to snout, four to five in length of head, much larger than in B. urns; moutti quite 

 small, notably smaller and more inferior than in B. urua ; mandible about equal to eye ; 

 dorsal fin elevated in front and rapidly declined, tte highest ray reachiug much 

 beyond the middle of the fin, the seventh ray about half the length of the third or 

 longest ; anal rays rapidly shortened behind, the middle rays much shorter than the first 

 long ones; scales 8-39-6; dorsal 29; anal 10; ventrals 10; coloration paler, the lower 

 fins slightly dusky. 



Habitat, Mississippi Valley, abundant in the larger streams. 



Diagnosis — T r's species has the highest back and smallest mouth of 

 any of the Buffalo fishes. 



Habits. — Its habits f-re indentical with those of urus and Ichthyobus 

 bvbalus. It reaches about the same size as the others, and is of similar 

 value as food. 



Gknus 16. CARPIODES. Eafinesqne. 



Carpiodes, RiFiNEfQUB,Ich. Oh., 1820, 56. (As subgenus of Catoatomus.) 

 Selerognathua, Valtcncibnnks, Hist. Nat. des Poissons, xvii, 1844, 472. 



Type, Catoaiomua oyprinua, LeSueur. 



Etymology, Latin carpio, a carp ; i.e., carp like. 



Head comparatively short and deep, sometimes conic, sometimes blunt, its length 

 ranging from 3^ to 5 in that of the body, its upper surface always rounded ; eye moder- 

 ate, median or anterior in position ; suborbital bones well developed, their depth more 

 than half that of the fleshy portion of the cheek below ; fontanelle always present, well 

 developed; mouth always small, horizontal and iuferior, the mandible less than one- 

 third the length of the head, the lips thin, the upper protractile, narrow, the lower 

 quite narrow, V-shaped, or rather U-shaped, behind ; both lips feebly plicate or nearly 

 smooth, the plicse often more or less broken up; jaws ^without cartilaginous sheath; 

 muciferous system moderately developed ; opercular apparatus well developed, the sub- 



