CYPRINID A, — XXV1. 49 
48. LAGOCHILA Jordan & Brayton. 
(Quassilabia Jord. & Brayt.; Lagochila being set aside, on account 
of its similarity to Lagocheilus.) (Aayas, hare; xeidos, lip.) 
86. L. lacera Jordan & Brayton. Hare-tip Sucker. Rabsit- 
MOUTH SUCKER. Pra-Lip SUCKER. CUT-LIPs. SPLIT-MOUTH. 
Upper lip plicate, much prolonged ; lower reduced to two separate 
elongate, papillose lobes, the split between them reaching the 
dentary bones, which have a horny sheath; lower lip separated 
from upper by a deep fissure at angle; skin of cheeks sheathing 
this fissure; body rather slender, much as in M. cervinum; oper- 
cle small; head very small, conical; dorsal low. Color pale, lower 
fins slightly reddish. Head 5; depth 42. D.12. Scales 5-45-5. 
L. 18. Wabash R. (Evermann), Scioto R., Clinch R., Chicka- 
mauga R., and White R., Ark.; most common in the Ozark 
Mountains; a most singular fish. (Lat., torn.) 
Famity XXVI. CYPRINIDAl. (THE Minnows.) 
Head naked, body usually scaly; margin of upper jaw formed 
by premaxillaries only; mouth toothless; barbels 2 to 4 (absent in 
most of our genera and not large in any); lower pharyngeal bones 
well developed, falciform, nearly parallel with the gill arches, each 
provided with one to three series of teeth in small number, rarely 
more than seven on each side; belly usually rounded, rarely com- 
pressed, never serrated; gill openings moderate, the membranes 
joined to the isthmus; no adipose fin; dorsal fin (in American 
species) short, with less than ten rays; air-bladder usually large, 
commonly divided into an anterior and a posterior lobe, rarely 
wanting; stomach without appendages, appearing as a simple en- 
largement of the intestines. 
Fishes of moderate or small size, inhabiting the fresh waters of 
the Old World and of North America. Genera about 200, species 
nearly 1,000; excessively abundant where found, both in individ- 
uals and in species, and from their great uniformity in size, form, 
and coloration constituting one of the most difficult groups in 
zodlogy in which to distinguish species. Ours are mostly of 
smaller size than those of the Old World, several of the larger 
European types being represented in America by Catostomoid 
forms. Our largest eastern species, Semotilus bullaris, rarely 
attains a weight of three or four pounds, and a length of nearly 
eighteen inches. The smallest species of Notropis scarcely reach 
a length of two inches. 
The spring or breeding dress of the male fishes is often peculiar. 
The top of the head, and often the fins, snout, or other portions of 
the body, are covered with small tubercles, outgrowths from the 
4 
