18 John R. Shute, Peggy W. Shute, David G. Lindquist 



(1951) studied variation in darters of the subgenus Hololepis from some 

 natural lakes of North Carolina (including Lake Waccamaw). Stations: 

 la,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,m, 2a,c, 3, 4, 6, 7, 14, 21, 22, 27b, 28, 29c, 33, 37, 39, 

 44, 49. 



Etheostoma olmstedi Storer, tessellated darter. With very few 

 exceptions, this darter is confined to the main channel of the Wac- 

 camaw River. Few other streams in the system offer suitable habitat, 

 which most often was shallow, moving water over sand or fine gravel 

 substrate. Stations: 7, 8a,b,c,d, 19, 27a,b, 28, 29a,b,c, 31, 33, 38, 39, 40, 

 41,42,43,44,47,49. 



Etheostoma perlongum (Hubbs and Raney), Waccamaw darter. 

 We collected the Waccamaw darter from all localities sampled within 

 Lake Waccamaw. In spring and summer months it is common along the 

 shallow shoreline of the lake, sometimes in association with emergent 

 vegetation, but during colder months specimens are more often col- 

 lected in offshore waters. Etheostoma perlongum is sometimes taken 

 below the dam and in the upper headwaters of the Waccamaw River, 

 where it is found in association with E olmstedi and where specimens 

 exhibiting characters intermediate between the specie are often col- 

 lected. Stations: la,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m, 7,8a. 



Etheostoma serriferum (Hubbs and Cannon), sawcheek darter. The 

 sawcheek darter is widely distributed throughout the system, but no 

 specimens were collected from Lake Waccamaw. The species prefers 

 standing or sluggish and heavily vegetated water, often rich in organic 

 debris, and often occurs in the same habitat as pygmy sunfishes. Sta- 

 tions: 2b, 4, 6, 7, 8d, 13, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27a, 28, 29a,c, 30, 33, 37, 38, 

 40, 42, 43, 44. 



Perca flaveseens (Mitchill), yellow perch. The yellow perch is com- 

 mon in Lake Waccamaw and occasionally was collected in the Wac- 

 camaw River. It occurs in open waters with little cover, and is taken by 

 anglers, especially from areas around the dam. Stations: la,b,e,f,g,i,k,l,m, 

 2a, 7, 8d, 38, 42. 



Soleidae — soles 

 Trinectes maculatus (Bloch and Schneider), hogchoker. We col- 

 lected the hogchoker only from the lower reaches of the Waccamaw 

 River, where specimens were taken in quiet, sluggish open waters over 

 mud bottoms. Stations: 40, 44, 48, 49, 50. 



DISCUSSION 



A drainage is defined by Jenkins et al. (1972) as "an interconnected 



major group of streams, or systems entering the marine habitat " 



Geographically, the Waccamaw River is a tributary in the Pee Dee 

 drainage, and the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers converge to form the 

 upper part of Winyah Bay, an estuarine habitat. We propose that 



