YELLOW PERCH. 959 



Perea seiraiogranulaia, Cuv. and Val., Hist. Nat. des Poiasons, ii, 1623, 47.— DeKay, 



New York Fanna, Fishes, 1842, 5. 

 Perca granulata, Cut. and Val., Hist. Nat. des Poissons, ii, 1828, 48.— DbKay, N. T. 



Fanna, Fishes, 1842, 5. 

 Perca aeuta, Cuv. and Val , Hist. Nat des Poiss., ii, 1828, 49.— Kichardson, Fauna 



Bor.-Amer., Fishes, 1836, 4.— DbKat, N, Y. Fanna, Fishes, 1842, 6.— Gonthek, Cat. 



Fish. Brit. Mus., i, 1859, 60. 

 Peroa gracilis, Cuv. and Val., Hist. Nat. des Poiss., ii, 1828, 50. — Richardson, Fanna 



Bor.-Anaer., Fishes, 1836, 4.— Gunther, Cat. Fish. Brit. Mns , i, 1859, 60. 



Description. — Body oblong, rather short, deep, and compressed; mouth moderate, the 

 maxillary not qaite reaching to orbit ; lower jiw a little longest; eye moderate, 4^ to 

 5 in head ; top of head naked, the bones rough behind ; cheeks with rather large scales, 

 well imbricated ; operole naked, and with radiating striae, of which the uppermost 

 forms a strong, flat spine, below which seven or eight striae end in sharp teeth; gill- 

 lakers comparatively short, in length abont equal to the diameter of the pupil; 

 pseudobranchisB very small ; scales rather small, 55 to 62 in the lateral line, 6 above and 

 15 to 18 below; first dorsal spine inserted above base of pectorals; head 3i; depth 3f ; 

 fin rays: D. XIIl-I, 13; A. II, 8. Color dark-olive above; sides more or less brassy- 

 yellow; belly white; abont six irregular, dark olive bars on sides; lower fins clear, 

 pale orange, sometimes whitish, sometimes red ; second dorsal and caudal yellowish- 

 olive, somewhat dusky tinged; first dusky yellow at base, a black blotch on the pos- 

 terior part of the fin ; lower j iw, etc., translucent reddish. The coloration varies much 

 with circumstances, individuals living in weedy streams, being much darker and more 

 spotted than the average lake specimens are. Length of adult 8 to 12 inches. 



Habitat, entire Great Lake Region and upper portion of the Mississippi Valley, and 

 in all streams east of the Alleghany Mountains, south to Georgia. West of the Alle- 

 ghanies it does not occur, except in the lake region and in the upper waters of such 

 Btreams as the Scioto, Wabash, Illinois, Rock, etc., rising in the same water shed with 

 streams fiowing into the great lakes. In the upper courses of the Wabash, Scioto, etc., 

 the Perch is often very abundant, but in the valley proper of the Ohio, into which these 

 stfeams flow, it is not found native, a peculiarity of distribution not yet accounted for. 



The Perch is voracions and gamey, readily taking the hook, and being a handsome 

 fish, it usually finds a ready sale for fjod. Its flesh is, however, jnnch inferior to that 

 of the Bass or the Pike-Perches, being rather soft, coarse, and insipid. 



"The common Perch, Perea flavescens, which name describes well the gleaming, golden 

 reflections of its scales, as it is drawn out of the water, its red gills standing out in 

 vain in the thin element, is one of the handsomest of our fishes, and at such a moment 

 as this reminds us of the fish in the picture which wished to be restored to its native 

 element until it had grown larger. 



" The Perch is a tough and heedless fish, biting from impulse, without nibbling and from 

 impulse refraining to bite, and sculling indifferently past. It is a true fish, such as the 

 angler loves to put into his basket or hang on the top of his willow twig, on tshady 

 afternoons, along the banks of the streams. So many unquestionable fish he counts,, 

 and 60 many shiners which he counts, and then throws away." — Thoreau. 



