SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OP FISHES. 83 



59. PLAOOPHARYNX DUQUESNII (LeSueur). 

 "Red-liorse". 



Catoatomu8 duqueanii LeSueur, Journal Academy Natural Sciences Philadelphia, i, 105, 1817; Ohio River. 

 Placopharynx carinatm, Jordan, 1878, 108; French Broad River. Jordan, 18896, 151; French Broad River. 

 Placopfiarynx ditqueanii, Jordan & Everman, 1896, 198, pi. xxxiii, fig. 82, 



Diagnosis. — Form rather short, somewhat compressed, the depth of body more than .25 

 total length; head large, broad, flat, .25 total length; eye small, posterior to middle of side of 

 head; mouth large, upper jaw oblique, the plicated Mps protractile forward and downward; 

 dorsal rays 12 or 13, the free edge concave; upper caudal lobe longer and narrower than lower; 

 scales 45 in lengthwise series, 12 in crosswise series. Color: dark green above, sides brassy; 

 lower fins and caudal orange red. (Named after Ft. Duquesne, now Pittsburg.) 



Tffis sucker ranges from the Great Lakes region to Arkansas and North 

 Carolina. In the latter state it inhabits only the French Broad and tributaries. 

 Jordan (1878) states that he collected numerous large specimens in the French 

 Broad River, at Wolf Creek and other localities in North Carolina, where it is the 

 most abundant member of the family, known to all fishermen as the "red- 

 horse". He also records (1889?>) that "large numbers run in the French Broad 

 in June ". The fish reaches a length of 2.5 feet. 



Family CYPRINID.^. The Minnows and Carps. 



This very numerous and important family contains many well known fresh- 

 water fishes, although only a few are of sufficient size to make them of economic 

 value. In North Carolina, as in most other parts of the country, these fishes are 

 almost invariably represented in the catch of youthful anglers. They are for the 

 most part defenceless, harmless species, and their principal value is as food for 

 other fishes. Following are the leading anatomical characters of the family as 

 represented in North America: Body more or less elongate, compressed or 

 rounded; margin of the upper jaw formed only by the premaxillary bones; lower 

 pharyngeal bones supporting 1 to 3 series of teeth, which are few in number and 

 may differ in number on the two sides; body scaly, head naked; barbels usually 

 absent, but if present small and 2 or 4 in number; gills 4 in number, gill-membranes 

 joined to the isthmus; pseudobranchise present; branchiostegals 3 in number; 

 dorsal fin short; ventral fins abdominal; air-bladder comparatively large; 

 stomach a simple dilatation of intestine, without appendages; coloration mostly 

 plain. In breeding season the males of some species develop peculiarities, such 

 as tubercles on head and body and pigmentation of fins and body, the pigment 

 usually red but sometimes glistening white, yellow, or black. All of our species 

 are oviparous. Some forms subsist on vegetable matter, some on animal 

 matter, and a few are predaceous. 



This family includes a number of foreign fishes (the carp, the gold-fish, the 

 tench, and the golden ide or orf) which have been introduced into American 

 waters; some have become wild, while others are as yet found chiefly in aquaria, 

 fountains, and private ponds. 



Many of the genera and species of minnows are very similar, so that their 

 identification is frequently diflBcult; this is especially the case with the small forms 



