Variety of Fresh-water Fish. 253 



be also found in the upper waters of the Androscoggin River, 



in the state of Maine; but further there are no accounts of its 



presence north of the state of Vermont, where it was discovered 



by Lesueur, and named by him Catoslomus longirostris. The 



specimens above referred to were examined by Dr. Gunthur, 



who informs me that they differ only from this species in the 



length of the anal fin, which varies according to sex and season. 



The well-known TOM COD (M. pruinosd) is the only other 



representative of the family Gadidce frequenting our inland 



fresh waters. The " frost fish," as it is familiarly called, 



seldom exceeds eight to twelve inches in length, and, although 



very plentiful along the shores and brackish waters, does not 



push far up the rivers ; but I have occasionally seen individuals 



captured through the ice at a distance of ninety miles from 



the sea. The most plentiful and generally distributed of all 



our fresh-water fishes are the numerous representatives of the 



carp, chub, sucker, dace, shiner, minnow, etc., which crowd the 



still waters of all the lakes and slow-flowing rivers. Few have 



yet attracted the fisherman or angler, either on the score of 



food or sport, and in all probability they will be discarded as 



long as there are better fish to fry ; still, several species are 



worthy of attention, at least as articles of food. There is 



evidently great confusion in the nomenclature of many 



species, and, unless one has specimens wherewith to compare 



the varieties of chubs and dace of our rivers and lakes, he will 



find it next to impossible to establish the specific identity of 



certain representatives of the genera Catostomus and Lettciscus ; 



indeed, from published details and plates of the fishes of any 



portion of this continent to which I have had access, it would 



seem to me no easy matter to identify even the more common 



species of these soft-finned fishes. I shall therefore refer 



merely to such as I have been enabled to recognize, without 



reference to the published lists, which evidently accept certain 



species as common here because they are found in adjoining 



regions. 



