THE WHITE PERCH 



much longer than the first) , the jaws nearly equal, 

 and no teeth on the base of the tongue. 



Description 



The white perch has an oblong body, its depth 

 about three eighths of the length without the tail- 

 fin. The back is convex. The mouth is moderately 

 large, the upper jaw reaching backward a little 

 past the front of the eye. The eye is nearly as 

 long as the snout, and its length is contained five 

 and a half times in the length of the head. The 

 head forms one third of the length without the 

 tail-fin. The third and longest anal spine is two 

 fifths as long as the head; the second spine is 

 one third as long as the head; the first spine is 

 less than one half as long as the second. There 

 are nine spines in the first back-fin, one spine and 

 twelve soft rays in the second. The anal fin has 

 three spines and ten rays. 



There are seven rows of scales between the lat- 

 eral line and the beginning of the first back-fin, 

 eleven rows between the lateral line and the edge of 

 the belly, and the line itself pierces fifty-one scales. 

 The back-fins are separated by a deep notch, but 

 connected by a low membrane. The color of the 

 upper parts of the body is grayish or greenish; 

 the sides are silvery; the young have pale longi- 

 tudinal streaks. The great variation in colors is 



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