BLUE PIKE. 963 



opsis, 1846, 276.— ASAssiz, Lake Superior, 1850, 294.— Jardinb, Nat. Libr., Perches, 

 1852, 107.— GUNTHBR, Cat. Fishes, i, 1859, 74.— Jordan, Ind. Geol. Snrv., 1874, 212, 

 and of ■writers geneially. 

 Stieostedium americanum, Copk, Proo. Acad, Nat, Sci. Phila., 1865, 82, 85. — CoPB, Proc. 

 Am. PhiloB. Soc, 1870, 448.— Milnkr, Eep. U. S. Fish Com., 1872-3, 425.— Jordan, 

 Man. Vert., 1876, 225.— Uhlbr and Ltjggek, Fishes of Maryland, 1876, 110.— Nel- 

 son, Bull. Ills. Mns Nat. Hist., 1876, 36. 



var. Salmoneum. 



Bine Pike (liake Erie); TFhite Salmon (Oliio River); 

 Pickerel No 2. 



Perea saVmonea, Eafinesqub, Am. Monthly Mag., v, 1818, 354 ; Ich, Oh., 1820, 21. 

 SUzostedion salmoneum, Eafinbsque, Ich. Oh., 1820, 23. 



Stieosiedium salmoneum, Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Soi. Phila., 1865, 82. — Jorban, Man. 

 Vert., 1876, 225.— Cope, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc, 1870, 449. — Jordan and Copeland, 

 Check List, 1876, 136.— Nelson, Ball. Ills. Mns. N it. Hist., 1876, 36. 

 SUzostethium salmoneum, Jordan, Ann. N. Y. Lye. Nat. Hiet., 1877 ; in Klippart's Report 



Fish Commr. Ohio, 1877.— Jordan, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mas., x, 1877. 

 t? Ferca nigropuinoiata, KAMNESQnE, Ich. Oh., 1820, 23 (very erroneous). 

 f? Pomacampsis nigropunetatui, Eafinesqub, Ich. Oh., 1820, 23. 



Description of var. vitreum — Body elongate, rather slender and suboylindric, becoming 

 deep with age, the depth in young of 14 inches, 1^ to 5 in length ; head long, 3§- in length ; 

 month large, the maxillary reaching beyond the pupil to posterior margin of orbit, its 

 length 2f to 3 in head ; mandible a little more than half length of head ; eyes large, 

 less than in salmoneum, shorter than snont aud than preopercle, 4 J to 5 in head ; jaws 

 equal, or the lower slightly pi;ojecting, its sides somewhat included ; cheeks scaly, vary - 

 ing to nearly smooth, usually a few scales at least behind the eye ; opercle with a strong, 

 flat spine, which is sometimes bifid or trifid, no smaller ones below it ; dorsal spines high, 

 more than half the length of head, as long as from snout to past eye, and 1-3 to 1-5 

 past opercle ; general color a heavy olive, varying considerably, finely mottled with 

 brassy, the latter color forming indistinct lines, which run obliquely upward and back- 

 ward along the rows of scales ; sides of head more or less vermionlated ; lower jaw 

 flesh-colored; belly and lower fins pinkish; spinous dorsal fin without black spots ex - 

 oept a large jet black blotch, which involves the membrane of tbe last two or three 

 spines ; second dorsal and caudal mottled olive and yellowish ; base of pectorals with- 

 out distinct black spot ; dorsal XII or XIII, 2, 20, or 21 ; anal II, 12 ; lateral line with 

 about 90 scales ; pyloric cceca long and large, subequal, three in number ; size very 

 large ; this species reaches a leiigth of nearly three feet, and a weight of twenty to 

 forty pounds. 



Habitat, Mississippi Valley, Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, Great Lake Eegion, and 

 streams of the Atlantic slope south of New England, north to the fur countries. 



Diagnosis. — This species may be most readily known from the preced- 

 ing by the presence of a single black spot on the posterior part of the 

 spinous dorsal, instead of one or two rows of smaller spots on the middle 

 part of the fin. 



The Jack reaches, occasionally, forty pounds, and, like the trout, seeks 



