﻿Eigen mann : Fishes of Panama 



9 



that of the Rio Grande on the Pacific side. It is, therefore, a 

 matter of satisfaction that Meek and Hildebrand made a thoro 

 examination of this region before the canal was completed. 



Forty-four species of fresh-water fishes were taken from the 

 Chagres before the canal was cut. Of these, 3 species are peculiar 

 to the Chagres. They are members of widely distributed genera. 

 Creagrntus notropoides of the Chagres is scarcely, if at all, dis- 

 tinct from C. affiriis; Brycon chagrensis differs but little from B. 

 striatulus of the Pacific side; Neetroplus panamensis is the south- 

 ernmost one of three species of this genus. The species of the 

 Chagres are distributed among the following ten families: 



1. Siluridae (Pinielodinae) 



2. Loricariidae (Plecostominae) 



(Loricariinae) 



3. Characidae (Cheirodontinae) 



(Tetragonopterinae) 



(Bryconinae) 



(Glandulocaudinae) 



(Characinae) 



(Piabueininae) 



(Erythrininae) 



4. Gymnotidae 



5. Pceeiliidae 



6. Mugilidae 



7. Atherinidae 



8. Centropoiiiidae 



9. Ciehlidae 



10. Gobiidse 



Number 

 of Species 



Number 

 of Genera 



It will be noted that the Chagres contained no representatives 

 of such Palearctic families as the minnows, suckers, Ameiurine 

 cat fishes, sunfishes, perches and darters, salmon or trout, stur- 

 geons, etc. These families find their farthest south very largely 

 north of Guatemala. 



The 10 families belong to several distinct ecological groups. 

 The Gobiidse, Atherinidse, Mugiliclse, Centropomidae, and Pceeil- 

 iidse are families with both fresh-water and marine species. The 

 fresh-water genera of these families are largely confined to Central 

 America, the Gobiidae finding their optimum about Panama 



