ZOOLOGY. 
365 
The Missouri herring was obtained in Nebraska west of Fort Union. Others apparently 
similar were taken from the small tributary streams of the Red River of the North. They 
bite freely at a hook baited with meat, &c., but when captured are of but little use, as they 
are too bony to be of much value as food. 
ENGRAULIS MORDAX, Grd. 
Pacific Anchovy. 
Sp. Ch. — Body slender, elongated, and sub-fusiform in profile. Head constituting the fourth of the total length ; snout 
sub-conical. Posterior extremity of maxillar bone extending to the sub-opercle. Eye large and sub-circular ; its diameter 
entering four times and a half in the length of the side of the head. Anterior margin of dorsal fin nearer the insertion 
of the caudal than the tip of the snout. Base of anal fin entering a little over seven times in the total length. Vent 
situated opposite the base of last ray of dorsal. Ventral fins small, their tips not reaching the vent. Pectorals rather short, 
posteriorly truncated. Deep bluish brown above ; silvery beneath. 
Syn. — Engraulis mordax, Grd. in Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. VII, 1854, 138 & 154.--IiiiD Gen. Rep. Fishes, p. 333. 
This fish, almost exactly like the famed "anchovy" of Europe in appearance, is also excel- 
lent for the table when fresh. It abounds in Shoalwater bay at the same time as the preceding, 
and may be found in great numbers on the flats, at low tide, where basketsfull may be had for 
the trouble of picking them up. Like the herring, when fresh its back is dark olive and belly 
silvery white. All of both these fish have disappeared from the bay by September. — C. 
This anchovy is probably the fish referred to by Mr. Gibbs as that known to the Skadgett 
Indians as the Wasli-oos. — (See remarks under head of Meletta ccenilea.) 
SYNGNATHUS ARUNDINACEUS, Grd. 
Pacific Fipe-fisli. 
Sp. Ch — Head contained seven times in the total length, twice in that of the body. Anterior rim of the orbit equidistant 
between the apex of the snout and the insertion of the pectoral fins. Longitudinal diameter of the orbit entering eight 
times and a half in the length of the side of the head. Anterior margin of dorsal fin situated in advance of the anal 
aperture ; its base, in the male sex, entering twice and a quarter of a time on the distance between the concavity of the 
thoracic belt and the anterior edge of the vent Blackish brown, maculated beneath with golden yellow. 
Syn. — Syngnailms arundinaceus, Grd. Gen. Eep. Fishes, 346. 
A single specimen of this fish was presented to me by a ship captain, who had obtained 
it from some part of the California coast. No other facts were ascertained regarding its 
history. 
AMIA OCELLICAUDA, Richards. 
niarsli-fish ; Dog-fish. 
Sp. Ch. — An oblong black spot, with a lighter margin, obliquely situated at the base of the upper lobe of the caudal fin 
and inclined forwards. Head contained four times and a half in the total length. Insertion of ventrals nearer the base 
of the caudal than the extremity of the snout. Anterior margin of anal fin nearer the base of the pectorals than the 
posterior margin of the caudal. 
SY-s.—Amia ocellicauda, Eichaeds, Faun. Bor. Amer. Ill, 1836, 236.— Cuv. & Val. Hist. Nat. Poiss, XIX, 1846, 422.— Grd. 
Gen. Rep. Fishes, 349. 
The fresh water dog-fish is very common in the lakes near Fort Snelling, Minn. They attain 
a length of about 20 inches, and being proportionally stout will probably weigh three or four 
pounds. They readily bite at a hook covered with ordinary bait, and when hooked endeavor 
to escape by feats of strength and skill equal to those of fish of much higher repute. 
Its flesh is soft and pulpy, and is popularly believed to be poisonous. 
