FISHES, BATRACHlAhlS, AND REPTILES 211 



Closely related to the sunfish are the various kinds of 

 bass, the " crappies," the calico bass, the rock-bass, and 

 the large-mouthed and small-mouthed bass. All the 

 members of the sunfish and bass family are carnivorous 

 fishes, especially common in the Mississippi Valley. 



Another family of many species especially common in 

 the clear, swift, and strong Eastern rivers is that of the 

 darters and perches. The darters are little, slender- 

 bodied forms, which lie motionless on the bottom, moving 

 like a flash when disturbed and slipping under stones out 

 of sight of their enemies. Some are most brilliantly 

 colored, surpassing in this respect all other fresh-water 

 fishes. 



Unlike the sunfishes and the darters are the catfishes. 

 The catfish gets its name from the long feelers about its 

 mouth ; from these also come its other names of horned 

 pout, and bull-head. It has no scales, but its spines are 

 sharp and often barbed or jagged and capable of making 

 a severe wound. 



Remotely allied to the catfishes are the suckers, min- 

 nows, and chubs, with smooth scales, soft fins, and soft 

 bodies, and the flesh full of small bones. These little 

 fish are very numerous in species, some kinds swarming 

 in all fresh water in America, Europe, and Asia. They 

 usually swim in the open water, the prey of every carniv- 

 orous fish, making up by their fecundity or ability to 

 produce young in great numbers and their insignificance 

 for their lack of defensive armature. In some species 

 the male is adorned in the spring with bright pigment 

 — red, black, blue, or milk-white. In some cases, too, 

 it has bony warts or horns on its head or body. Such 

 forms are known to the boys as horned dace. 



Most interesting to the angler are the members of the 

 salmon and trout family (fig. 171), because they are 

 gamy, beautiful, excellent as food, and above all per- 



