956 FISHES — PERCID-«;. 



128. ROCCUS INTERRUPTU3 (GUI) J. & G. 



Telloiiir Bass. 



Labrax chrgsopa, Girakd, Pao. R. E., Expl., x, 1858, 29. (Not Perca ehryaops of Eafineeque.) 

 Morone inierrupta, Gill, Proc. Acad. Nat. Soi. Phila., 1860, 48.— Jordan, Man. Vert., 

 1876.— Gill, loh. Capt. Simpson's Report, 1876; Jordan, Man. Vert., 2d Ed., 1878, 232. 

 Moecus interruptuB, Jordan and Gilbert, Synopsis Fish N. A. 



Description. — Brassy, tinged with oliyaceous above ; sides with 7 very distinct longi- 

 tudinal black bands, darker than in the other species, those below the lateral line in- 

 terrupted posteriorly, the posterior part alternating with the anterior; body oblong- 

 ovate, with the dorsal outline much arched; head depressed, somewhat pointed, its 

 profile concave ; eyes large, their diameter equaling length of snout ; month somewhat 

 oblique, maxillary nearly reaching middle of orbit ; spines very robust, second anal 

 spine 2-5 length of head; dorsal fins little connected ; head 3 in length ; depth Sf; D. 

 IX-I, 12; A. Ill, 9; Lat. 1. 50. 



Habitat, Lower Mississippi Valley, extending up the Ohio to the mouth of the 

 Wabash or beyond. It does not seem to be very common anywhere except in the Lower 

 Misissippi, and nothing special is known of its habits, which probably differ little from 

 those of the White Bass. 



Diagnosis. — The Yellow Bass may be known from the White Bass by 

 the fact that the two dorsal fins are connected by a low membrane. The 

 color in life is yellow, not silvery, and the black lateral stripes are very 

 conspicuous. 



FAMILY XXII. PERCID^. THE PERCHES. 



Body more or less elongate, terete or compressed, covered more or less completely with 

 rather small, ctenoid, adherent scales ; lateral line usually present, not extending on the 

 caudal fin ; mouth terminal or ioferior, small or large, the premaxillaiies protractile or 

 not; maxillaries large or small, without distinct supplemental bone; javrs, vomer, and 

 palatines with bands of teeth, which are usually villiform, but sometimes mixed with 

 canines, occasionally the teeth on the vomer or palatine are absent ; head naked or more 

 or less scaly ; preopercle entire or serrate ; opercles usually ending in a flat spine ; bran- 

 ohiostegals 6 or 7 ; gills 4, a slit behind the fourth ; gill-membranes free or connected, 

 not joined to the isthmus; gill-rakers, slender, toothed; pseudobranchiee small or 

 granular and concealed, or altogether wanting ; lower pharyngeals separate, with sharp 

 teeth ; fins generally large ; two dorsals, the first of 6 to 15 spines ; anal fin with one or 

 two spines (three in PerHelithys, a fresh water genus from Chili.) Ventrals thoracic, I, 

 5 ; pectorals often very large ; caudal lunate, trancate or rounded ; anal papilla often 

 present; air-bladder email and adherent, often entirely wanting; pyloric coeca few; 

 veitebrsB 30 to 45 ; genera aboutr20 ; species 90 to 100 ; inhabitants of the fresh waters 

 of cool regions, most of them being American, and nearly all belonging to the fauna of 

 the United States. The great, majority of the species belong to the sub-family of 

 Etheosfomatince, the Darters, all the species of which group are American. They are 



