194 FISHES OF ILLINOIS ' 



fishermen of the Mississippi River as' the "Morgan cat," and less often 

 referred to as the "cushawn," a corruption of the French goujon. 

 Other local names are mud-cat, fiat-belly, and nigger-belly. 



This fish frequently reaches a weight of 50 to 75 pounds, and is 

 said by Dr. Evermann occasionally to weigh as much as a hundred 

 pounds. It lives and feeds on or near the bottom, and fishermen at 

 Havana say that they frequently find it in hollow logs. Fishes are, 

 so far as known, its principal food. Among those eaten by it we 

 have observed a common river sunfish (Lepomis), several minnows, 

 and a bullhead. In the Southern States, fresh hickory-shad is 

 greatly valued as a live bait for the mud-cat, and crawfishes and cut 

 bait made from eels are also used. This fish is caught both on set- 

 lines and in fyke-nets, and is often taken by jugging, the bait being 

 attached to a jug filled with air, the effect of which is finally to bring 

 the worn-out fish to the surface. It is commonly regarded as one of 

 the very best of the catfishes for food, the flesh being of a fine texture 

 and an excellent flavor. The spawning time in Illinois is in May or 

 later, according to Havana fishermen. The species is found in all 

 suitable waters thoughout the Mississippi Valley, and in the Gulf 

 states, from Alabama west and south to Mexico. It is most abun- 

 dant in the lower courses of the larger streams, and in the bayous 

 and overflow ponds of the lower Mississippi Valley. 



Genus NOTURUS (Rafinesque) 



Form more or less elongate, the head broad and much flattened above, 

 the body behind dorsal nearly cylindrical. Skin thick and tough and 

 appreciably villose. Band of teeth in upper jaw with a backward pro- 

 longation on each side, as in Leptops. Adipose fin adnate to the back, 

 separated from the caudal by a notch, as in Schilbeodes . A poison gland 

 present at base of pectoral fin. The single species belonging to this genus 

 is similar in appearance and habit to the species of Schilbeodes, though it 

 grows to a much greater size and frequents large streams rather than 

 brooks. The broad flat skull of Noturus, the dentition, and the thick and 

 villose skin, are characters which ally the genus closely with Leptops. 



NOTURUS FLAVUS Rafinesque 

 (stonecat) 



Rafinesque, 1818, Amer. Month. Mag., 41. 



G., V, 104 (also platycephalus) ; J. & G., 100; M. V., 41; J. & E„ I, 144; N,, 50; J., 

 67; F., 84; L., 10. 



Body moderately elongate, broad and flattened in front of dorsal, sub- 

 cylindrical behind it, the tail compressed ; depth 4 to 5 in length. Length 



