190S.] 



FISHES. 



503 



the Barren Grounds. A considerable part of Kennicott's Yukon and 

 Mackenzie collection also was lost on the Methye Portage, probably 

 having been thrown away b}' some wear\- and irresponsible voyageur. 



In addition to the records furnished by the specimens I have in- 

 cluded notes regarding the occurrence of a number of the better- 

 known species in various parts of the region, in order to give their 

 distribution in more detail. Xo attempt has been made, however, 

 to include all the records available. 



Lampetra aurea (Bean). Lamprey. 



Eichardson. under the name Petromyzon fliivialis, recorded a 

 specimen which was found adhering to an inconnu {Stenodus 

 mac'kenz'tt) taken in Great Slave Lake." Evermann and Goldsbor- 

 ough refer this record to L. aurea? It appears to relate to the only 

 sj^ecimen of lamprey known to have been taken in the Mackenzie 

 Valley. 



Catostomus catostomus (Forster). Xorthern Sucker. 



This widely distributed species is extremely abundant throughout 

 the region, and is taken in large numbers by the natives. Its abun- 

 dance makes it an important food fish, although its quality is far 

 from the best. In some localities many are taken in winter in nets 

 set beneath the ice. 



Specimens taken by me in a small lake near MacTavish Bay, 

 Great Bear Lake, and near Fort Good Hope, have been recorded by 

 Evermann and Goldsborough.^" 



The Bear Lake specimen was taken in a small, deep lakelet on the 

 summit of a rocky promontory ttOO feet high, on the southern shore 

 of MacTavish Bay. The little lake had no visible inlet, and its outlet, 

 a tiny stream, fell over the cliff at its margin, a hundred feet at a 

 time, into the lake below. As it was manifestly impossible for any 

 fish to gain access to the lakelet by way of its outlet. I was much sur- 

 prised to find it inhabited. Besides the small one secured, I saw a 

 number of larger ones, presumabh^ of the same species, in its clear 

 depths. How these fish first became established there is not apparent. 



This species is abundant at the mouth of the Mackenzie in June. 

 Simpson noted it near the mouth of the Coppermine.'^ MacFarlane 

 mentions 'carp' among the fish of the Anderson;^ and Tyrrell 

 states that they abound in Artillerv Lake.'' Dawson took specimens 

 in Frances Lake, at the head of Liard Eiver.i' 



« Fauna Boreali-Americana, III, p. 294, 1836. 

 ^ Proc. Biol. 8oc. Wash., XX, p. 91, 1907. 

 ^ Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., XX, p. 93, 1907. 



^Narrative Discoveries on North Coast of America, p. 267, 1843. 

 ^ Canadian Record of Science, IV, p. 52, 1890. 



^ Ann. Kept. Dept. Interior (Canada) for the year 1900-1, p. 115, 1902. 

 ^Ann. Kept. Geol. Surv. Canada, 1887, p. 231B, 1888. 



