456 



ZOOLOGY. 



sun-fish {Enneacantlius ohesu.i G-ill, Tig. 418) lives in niuddy 

 streams, burying itself in the mud in vinter. Of similar 

 mud-loving habits is the mud-minnow {Jlelanura liml 

 Agassiz), which spawns in the spring. The pirate perch 

 {Aphredoderus sayanus De Kay) occupies the nest of com- 



Kg. 418.— The Spotted Sun-fish, EnneacanOoK obesua.^MleT Abbot. 



mon snn-fisli, and with the female guards it and afterwards 

 the young till they are nearly a centimetre (two-fifths inch) 

 in length, when tliey are left by their parent?. (Abbot.) 



The darters, Eflieostomida, belong near the perches, and 

 comprise the smallest of fishes. They inhabit the streams 

 of the Mississippi Valley. A common example is the saud- 

 darter [Pleurolepis pellxcidus Agassiz, Fig. 419). 



^ \. ^t^m . 



410 —Sand-Darter.— After Jordau, 



The male stickleback ( fTiisffrnstiiis) makes an elaborate 

 nest of leaves, etc., suspended in mid-water, within which it 

 remains watching the eggs and yoitng. 



One of the most valuable food-fishes is the mackerel 

 (■^'crnnier sromhrus Linn.. Fi^'. J'^l), whose range is from 



