31 S 



ZOOLOGY 



lover of woods and brooks. The lips are thick, and drawn 

 down at the corners.^ They are rather shiggish fishes, feed 

 on small aquatic insects, and suck up mud. They are not 

 generally esteemed as food, inasmuch as their flesh is coarse 



Fig. 299. 



■ The brook sueker. .Vfter Goode. 



and very full of bones. In the Mis.sissippi Vallej', however, 

 they are so abundant and large that they are of some commer- 

 cial importance. 



The term " minnow " is applied to two distinct families of 



Fig. 300. — Fundulu.'i heteroclitus, a killifish or shore minnow. Nat. size. 



small fish. One of these is also known as " killifish." The 

 killifish have a liroad head covered with scales, and have well- 

 developed teeth in the mouth. They occur in schools in 

 shallow water along the shore, and ascend streams to their 

 source. They are carnivorous, and feed at the surface. In 

 one species from the Southern coast, the male is only about 



' Fig. 299. 



