3l6 REPORT OF THE 



important bait minnow obtained from the lake. It reaches a satisfactory size, lives 

 well in confinement, is tenacious of life and very active on the hook, and is,, withal, 

 one of the best of minnows. 



From other bait minnows this species may be readily distinguished by the asso- 

 ciation of the blunt nose, a black spot at the base of the dorsal in front, and the 

 dark blotch at the base of the caudal fin. 



Fall-fiSi),— Senwtilus corporalis (Mitchill). 



The Fall-fish, Silver Chub, Wind-fish, Cousin-trout, or Corporal, as it is variously 

 called, occurs in the region east of the AUeghanies from the St. Lawrence to the 

 James River in Virginia. It is not known from any point west of the AUeghanies. 

 It prefers clear swift streams, rocky pools below cataracts, or clear cool lakes. 



The depth equals the head and is contained 4 times in the length of the body ; 

 the eye is moderate, being contained 4I/2 times in the length of the head ; the dorsal 

 fin, with 8 rays, is slightly behind the middle -of the body, just behind the insertion 

 of the ventrals ; the anal has 8 rays. The body is oblong, robust and little com- 

 pressed ; head large, convex, the snout bluntly conic ; mouth large, terminal, some- 

 what oblique, the lower jaw included ; a small barbel on the maxillary just above its 

 extremity, not at its tip as in most American minnows, not always evident in young 

 examples; scales large, 8-45 to 49-4, 22 in front of dorsal, not much crowded ante- 

 riorly; intestinal canal short; teeth, 2,5-4,2, hooked and without grinding surface. 



The Fall-fish is the largest of our eastern Cypriiiidcc. It reaches a length of a 

 foot to 18 inches, and a weight of 4 or 5 pounds, though individuals of this size are 

 not common. The name " Fall-fish " was doubtless derived from the fact that the 

 species is so often found in the deep pools at the foot of falls or cascades. The name 

 "Silver Chub" was, of course, applied on account of the color, though it is not 

 especially applicable. Mitchill called it Corporal doubtless because the old Dutch 

 name was Corporaalen. 



This important minnow was first described in July, 1817, by Samuel Latham 

 Mitchill, a distinguished citizen of the State of New York, who, for several years 

 represented his State in the United States Senate. Dr. Mitchill based his descrip- 

 tion upon specimens obtained by him from the Wallkill River. 



In December of the same year Samuel Constantine Rafinesque again described 

 the fish as new, basing his description upon specimens from the Hudson River and 

 Wood Creek. Then in 1839 Storer described it twice from Massachusetts, and three 

 years later (1842) DeKay, in his New York Fauna, described it twice as new, his type 

 specimens coming respectively from New York Harbor and Lake Champlain. Cuvier 



