STRIPED TOP MINNOW. 911 



Nat. Hist., 1876, 42.— Jobdan, Proo. Aoad. Nat. Soi. PhUa., 1677, 67 ; Man. Vert., 2d 

 Ed., 1878. 



Deacription. — Body short and deep, mnch oompTessed ; head short and very broad, the 

 flat, interorbital space being two-thirds of its length, and barely twice the diameter of 

 the eye, the distance between the eyes above greater than the distance between them 

 below ; suont broadly ronnded ; fins moderate ; dorsal mnch smaller than anal ; outer 

 series of teeth somewhat enlarged ; coloration pale olive, bluish in life ; a very distinct 

 brownish line along the edges of each row of scales, appearing wavy or serrated as it 

 follows the scales ; about ten of these longitudinal stripes are present ; males with 

 the lines interrupted, appearing as series of dots, and further marked by about nine 

 dark cross-bars; adults with a dark blotch below the eye, and sometimes oonflaent with 

 it ; oviduct free from anal fin ; head 3i ; depth 3J ; dorsal 7 ; A. 9 ; scales 35-10. 

 Length Si inches. 



Habitat, Lakes and sluggish streams from Ohio to Iowa. 



Diagnosis. — The dark, lengthwise stripes of this species at oijoe distin- 

 guish it from the other Top Minnows found in Ohio. 



Habits. — This species seems to prefer the waters of the large streams 

 and lakes. As yet it has only been taken in Illinois, where it is widely 

 distributed, and in Indiana and Ohio, the lakes tributary to the Wabash, 

 Illinois, and Maumee. It swims near the surface, with a languid motion, 

 as if it were very hard work. 



Another species of this type, Zygmectes melanops (Cope) Jordan, known 

 by the absence of stripes and the presence of a still more conspicuous 

 black spot below the eye, occurs in Southern Illinois, and may be looked 

 for in the bayous of Southern Ohio. 



FAMILY XVI. UMBRID.^. THE MUD MINNOWS, 



Body oblong, broad anteriorly, compressed behind; head large, flattened above; 

 mouth moderate, the maxillary without distinct supplemental bone ; bands of villiform 

 or cwdiform teeth on premaxillaries, lower jaw, vomer, and palatines ; premaxillaries 

 not protractile ; lateral margin of upper jaw formed by the broad, short maxillaries, 

 which are toothless ; lower jaw the longer ; gill-openings wide, the membranes scarcely 

 connected ; gill- rakers little developed ; branchiostegals 6-8 ; scales moderate, cycloid> 

 covering bead and body ; lateral line obscure or wanting ; dorsal fin moderate, posterior 

 in advance of anal ; ventrals small, close to anal ; pectorals inserted low ; caudal fin 

 ronnded ; stomach without blind sac ; no pyloric coeoa ; psendobranchiee hidden, gland- 

 ular, air-bladder simple; sexes similar; carnivorous fishes, living in mnd or among^ 

 weeds at the bottom of clear, sluggish streams and ponds, extremely tenacious of life, 

 like the Cyprinodontidm ; oviparous; genera 2; species 3; Unibra erameri of Austria f 

 Dallia peotoralis, of Alaska ; and Umlra Umi. The family is very close to the Esooida, 

 differing mainly in the smaller month and weaker teeth. 



Analysis of Genera ot UMBRrD.«, 



a. Pectorals narrow,,few (13-15) rayed ; ventral rays 6 ; scales moderate. 



Umbba. 57r 



