240 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHEEIES 
Coatepeque, for example, at a depth of 83 meters at 8.20 a. m., the temperature 
was 72.5° F., while at the surface at the same time and place it was 74°; in Lake 
Ilopango, at a depth of 15 meters, the temperature was 80° F., at 2.30 p. m., and 
at the surface at the same time and place it was 81°; and in Lake Guija, at a depth 
of 16 meters, the temperature at 11 a. m. was 74.5° F., while at the surface it 
was 76.5°. 
Fish, due chiefly to their scarcity, sell very high in comparison with other 
foods, bringing a better price than fresh fish do in our inland markets. The fish, 
furthermore, are usually small and far from the choice supply seen in our markets. 
Many fish are marketed in the dry state, having been sun cured without the addi- 
tion of salt or any preservative. This stock, too, finds ready sale. The species 
sold chiefly in the dried state are the catfishes, locally known as "bagre"; the top 
minnows, "chimbolas"; and the characins, "sardina" and "plateada." 
No collecting worthy of the name had previously been done in El Salvador. 
Records of only two species of fresh-water fishes, the four-eye or "quatro-ojo" 
(Anahleps dovii) and the top minnow or "chimbola" (MoUienesia sphenops, recorded 
as Poecilia salvatoris) were found. Only a small amount of collecting likewise 
appears to have been done on the Pacific slope of Guatemala, Honduras, and 
Nicaragua. It is therefore not surprising that several of the species taken appar- 
ently are new. The Pacific slope in El Salvador, as in most of Central America, 
is narrow and the rivers are short. A large number of species, therefore, is not to 
be expected. Six marine species have been included with the fresh-water fishes 
because they appear to be regular visitors. One species of marine catfish, locally 
known as the "bagre" {Galeichthys guatemalensis) , is one of the common food 
fishes found in nearly all the fresh waters, except in the lakes having no outlet. 
This fish, although to the writer's knowledge not previously recorded from fresh 
water, has become so much fresh water in its habits in El Salvador that one is led 
to believe it may be able to maintain itself there. It is understood that this fish, 
in order to reach Lake Olomega from the sea, would have to scale falls of consid- 
erable size situated in the Rio San Miguel. None of the other marine species, 
such as Mugil cepTialus, Centropomus nigrescens, C. rohalito, and C. pectinatus, which, 
ascend the Rio Lempa far above salt water, appear to be able to ascend beyond 
the falls, as none was taken by us in the Rio San Miguel above the falls or in Lake 
Olomega. 
The accompanying table shows where the different species of fresh-water fishes 
were taken in El Salvador, whether their range extends north or south of this 
country, or both, and whether they are common to both the Atlantic and Pacific 
drainages or only to the Pacific. It will be seen that most of the fresh-water species 
inhabit both lakes and streams. The table also shows that several species reach 
their southernmost range of distribution, so far as known to date, in El Salvador, 
while every species known from more southern countries also ranges northward 
of El Salvador. 
