FISHES. 129 



jaw are closely united for their whole length from base to symphysis. The contracted 

 lower jaw thus resembles a projecting tongue. 



The genus JVotropis, already mentioned, comprises a host of small species, which 

 abound in all streams east of the Rocky Mountains, thus forming one of the most 

 characteristic features of the fauna of the eastern half of the United States. 



The largest species of Cyprinidse (fall-fishes or chubs) found in the Eastern States 

 belong to the genus Semotilus. One of these {S. bullaris) reaches a length of 

 eighteen inches, being the largest Cyprinoid found east of the Rocky Mountains. 

 This genus is an ally of the European gudgeon {Gobio). Closely related to the 

 fall-fishes is the common horny-head, or river-chub {Hi/bopsis biguttatus), one of the 

 most widely distributed of our fresh-water fishes. West of the Rocky Mountains 

 species of larger size occur. Many of these belong to the Euroi^ean genus Squalius, 

 and are closely related to Old World forms. The largest American Cyprinoids 

 belong to the genus Ptychochilus. Some of these, in the basins of the Columbia, 

 Sacramento, and Colorado, reach a length of four or five feet, or even more. They 

 are long and slender species, with large mouths, and bear some slight resemblance to 

 the pike. 



The genus ISfotemigonus, of which one species, the golden shiner {N. chrys'oleucus), 

 abounds in the eastern and northern states, represents in America the true bream 

 (Abramis). As in other cases, in this family the American species are smaller and 

 feebler fishes than those of Europe. 



In the great basin of Utah two genera of small fishes (Mecla and Lepidomeda) 

 are found, which have the short dorsal fin armed with a stout spine, which is formed 

 of two, the posterior fitting into a longitudinal groove in the anterior. All the 

 American Cyprinidse have the dorsal fin short, usually of eight rays. In many of the 

 Old World genera, especially those of Asia, the dorsal fin is elongate, having fifteen 

 to twenty or more rays, and sometimes preceded by a serrated spine, resembling the 

 spine of the cat-fish. 



Of the species with long dorsal the one most celebrated is the carp ( Cyprinus 

 carpio). This fish is a native of the rivers of China, where it has been domesticated 

 for centuries. N^early three hundred years ago it was brought to northern Europe, 

 where it has multiplied in domestication, and become naturalized in many streams and 

 ponds. Of late years the cultivation of the carp has attracted much attention in 

 America. It has been generally satisfactory where the nature of the fish has been 

 understood, and where expectations have not been too high. 



The carp is a dull and sluggish fish, preferring shaded, tranquil, and weedy waters 

 with muddy bottoms. Its food consists of water insects and other small animals, and 

 vegetable matter, such as the leaves of aquatic plants. They can be fed on much the 

 same things as pigs and chickens, and they bear much the same relation to trout and 

 bass that pigs and chickens do to wild game and game birds. The carp is a very 

 hardy fish, grows rapidly, and has immense fecundity, 700,000 eggs having been 

 found in the ovaries of a single individual. It reaches sometimes a weight oi thirty 

 to forty pounds. As a food fish the carp ranks high. Though inferior to the trout, 

 white-fish, shad, and other superior fishes, it compares favorably, when properly 

 cooked, with most of our fishes, either marine or fi-esh water. 



The carp, either native or in domestication, has many enemies. In America, cat- 

 fish, sun-fish, and pike, prey upon its eggs or its young, as well as water-snakes, turtles, 

 king-fishers, cray-fishes, and many other creatures which live about our ponds, and in 



VOL. III. — 9 



