THE CYPRINOIDS OF CENTRAL NEW JERSEY. 327 
peculiar character of the pharyngeal teetli—without hooks and 
cultriform—and length of the intestinal canal ; it being, as a rule, 
longer than the total length of the fish, sometimes many times 
longer, in the herbivorous ; and as long, or less than twice as long, 
in the carnivorous and omnivorous species 
The preferred haunts of this cyprinoid are still waters, with 
muddy and weed-grown banks and bottom. If undisturbed it 
- lies quietly in the growth along the banks, or in the bed of the 
stream, and only leaves its hiding place when frightened, Itisa 
sluggish fish, compared with some species, but in the aquarium is 
active enough, to make it desirable. 
16. Hyborhynchus notatus (Rafinesque). Among the many hun- 
dreds of specimens of our cyprinoids, gathered during the present 
summer, occurred one solitary individual, that in the aquarium 
was particularly noticeable for his very blunt snout, small, inferior 
mouth, and the fact of the osseus dorsal ray being separated from 
the adjoining ray by a membrane. These facts indicated its genus 
as Hyborhynchus; and the length of the alimentary canal, and 
character of the pharyngeal teeth, showed, on dissection, that the 
external characters had not been misinterpreted. On careful com- 
parison of this single specimen with Gunther’s description* and 
the figure given by Prof. Cope,} we find that it agrees very nearly 
with the Hybor. notatus, from northern and western rivers. The 
only differences we could detect were a somewhat larger eye, pos- - 
sibly a more tapering snout, and no trace of a black spot at the 
base of the tail. Experience in the study of this family of fishes 
shows that these may all be merely individual differences. 
The specimen taken was captured, associated with the foregoing 
Hybognathus, and was placed in the aquarium ‘as such; but the 
differences were very noticeable when the two species were seen 
together moving slowly about the plants in the tanks and nibbling 
at the foliage with their peculiar mouths. 
Having completed the list of our cyprinoids, we will, in conclu- 
sion, give it a moment’s consideration from an evolution stand- 
point. With no faith in. the immutability of specific or generic 
forms, it at once occurs to us that the list might be properly cur- 
tailed by considering as merely “ varieties,” the Hybopsis phaénna , 
i.e., a variety of H. Hudsonius; that possibly the three small 
* Catalogue of Fishes, — vä, p. 182. 
f Penn. icles , pl. x ae 5. 
AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII 
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