390 MUD-LOVING FISHES. 
different in their likes and dislikes. Coming up the stream 
in February and March, the large-scaled species, Teretulus 
macrolepidotus, and the common Catostomus Bostoniensis, 
seek out rapid waters, rocky bottoms, and are so active and 
fearless during the day, that many are seen and killed in the 
shallow waters they have entered. . This is very noticeably 
the case at Trenton, New Jersey, where the Assunpink creek 
enters the Delaware. The “suckers” come up to the foot of 
the dam and congregate there in large numbers. Both of 
these species bite readily at a hook; but the “mullet” and 
"black-sucker" never do with us. 
We can imagine nothing more devoid of interest than a 
mud-catfish (Amiurus DeHayi), at least as we have them 
here in New Jersey. Occasionally one of unusual size is 
met with to give it some characteristic worthy of attention. 
The largest specimen we have ever seen weighed five pounds, 
thirteen ounces. The greatest width of the head was five 
and one half inches. This species wallows in the mud in the 
beds of streams of all sizes; it is abundant in many of our 
largest creeks, in every mill-pond, and in average sized 
dibdlios with overhanging banks, this “mud-lover” frequently 
congregates in large numbers. It is a little curious to notice 
kaw soon matters right themselves, as to the distribution of 
fishes, after a fritt has subsided which had obliterated the 
previous boundaries. We have in mind now an extensive 
tract of meadow, through which meanders two rapid current 
creeks, and also through it are cut innumerable ditches. 
In these ditches dwell several mud-loving fish. Of course 
the freshet produces considerable of a “scatter” among 
them; but on the subsidence of the water we very seldom 
find mud cat-fish in the clear-water creeks, and the running 
water species caught napping in the ditches very promptly 
leave, as a few days suffice to restore to each locality its 
characteristic species. 
In our report in the “Geology of New Jersey,” we gave 
but three fresh-water siluroids. Since then we have had our 
