FISHES OF LORAIN COUNTY, OHIO. 



15 



22. Moxostonia aiiisurum (Rafinesque). \^hite-nosed 

 Sucker. 



[Jord: Man. 80. .0. St. Surv. 44.] 



Body heavy and compressed, somewhat arched. Dorsal fin of 

 more than 13 rays {13-18) ; upper lobe of caudal fin longer tliait 

 lower; color dusky bronze. Length 20 inches. 



Not as comrnon as the next two. 



23. Moxostonia inacrolepidotiun var. diiquesnei 

 (Le Sueur). Big-mouthed Mullet. "Black Horse." 



[Jord. Man. 81. O. St. Suiv. 46.] 



Body somewhat compressed. Head large (j. to 4 3-4 times in 

 length). Mouth large with thick lips. Olivaceous, fins orange red. 

 Length of largest measured, 2 feet. (See plate 3.) 



Very common in the lake and larger streams. 



24. Moxostonia avireolviin(Le Sueur). Small-mouthed 

 Mullet. Lake Red-Horse. 



[Joi-d. Man. 82. O. St. Surv. 45.] 

 Like the preceding, but the head is shorter and smaller. Mouth 

 small. Head 4 1-2 to 5 1-4 times in body. Dorsal fin usually with 

 ij rays. Length 2 feet. 



Note. — It is difficult to distinguish the three Moxostonia at 

 sight, careful examination and measurements often being necessary to 

 make discriminations certain. These are the "Suckers" or "Mul- 

 lets" that crowd up the larger streams in such numbers in April to 

 spawn on the riffles; by the middle of May most of them have re- 

 turned to the lake, but small ones, up to 8 inches or more, can be 

 found all summer. Dr. Kirtland, speaking of az<r^^/?^OT, says: "At 

 the first approach of spring it resorts to the mouths of rivers and 

 smaller streams in great numbers to spawn. We have seen them 

 congregating in large numbers on riffles in the Cuyahoga River, 

 near the eight-mile lock, even before the ice had left the stream." 

 I have not been able to watch the large streams closely in the 

 early spring, but I do not think that suckers get on to the riffles 

 now in any number before the water gets the "chill taken off." 

 My experience has been that the same kind of weather that brings 

 the snipe on to the marsh, draws the fish on to the riffles. The fish 

 seem to spawn at night, and often may be seen lying in clusters of 

 five or six, obliquely across the current, in the most rapid part of 

 the stream. 



A lot of 50, taken April 13th in Vermillion River, averaged two 



