Upper jaw longer, longer than the head, one sixth of total 

 length, flat and narrow: body cylindrical olivaceous brown a- 

 fcove, white beneath: dorsal fin with eight rays, anal fin with 

 ten, abdominal with six, lanceolate acute, spotted with black: 

 lateral line straight, but raised upwards at the base. 



This is a very distinct species by the shape of the jaws and 

 tail. It is found in the Ohio; but is by no means common. It 

 reaches six feet in length. Its flesh is not yery good to cat, ra- 

 ther toagh and strong smelling, like that of some strong stur- 

 geons. The individual which I obserred was caught at the falls, 

 and was 30 inches in length, with the upper jaw 5 inches long, 

 while the lower jaw was only four inches: the upper one has 

 three furrows and juts over the lower by a thick curved obtuse 

 point with four small openings or nostrils, although there were 

 two other oblong nostrils in obliqual furrows, at the base before 

 the eyes. This docs not appear in I..platostomus. Lower jaw 

 straight with a membrane between the lateral lines. Teeth 

 tmequal straight very sharp and on a single row. Breadth of 

 the jaws one eighth ol the length. Iris large and gilt. Head 

 rough nearly square, covered with six broad plates, two of 

 which on each side, and of a fulvous grey colour. Body cylin- 

 drical covered with the usual hard scale*-, in oblicrrre m w i ; hut 

 not two kcales exactly alike either in shape or size; they are 

 generally elongated obliquely with tho two longest lateral sides 

 straight, the upper one concave and the lower one convex, but 

 these is a row of obcordated ones on the back. All tho fins 

 fulvous, the pectoral lanceolate acute with 12 rays, the abdom- 

 inal lanceolate acute and with only 6 rays. Dorsal and anal 

 trapezoidal elongated, serrated by scaly rays anteriorly. Cau- 

 dal fins with 12 rays, one sixth oi total length, covered with a 

 few large black spots, of a lanceolate shape, with an oblique 

 flexuose hase decurrent beneath and acute at the end, serrated 

 both upwards and downwards, and serraturcs extending on the 

 body. Lateral line not obsolete, quite straight, but raised a lit- 

 tle upwards at the base. 



89th Species. Longbill Garfish:. LepUotteu* longlrostris. 

 Lepisoste longirostre. 



