118 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
less concave posterior margin; anal fin very small, higher than long, its origin slightly nearer the 
base of caudal than the base of ventrals; ventral and pectoral fins moderate and of about equal 
size. 
Color variable with age and environment; adults nearly uniform brownish olive above, inter- 
mixed with pinkish anteriorly, and everywhere with a coppery luster; pale underneath; fins all 
more or less dusky, sometimes reddish. The young with a black lateral band, later becoming 
broken into blotches, forming transverse bands and disappearing entirely with age. 
This fish was not taken in brackish water during the present investigation, but it is reported 
from brackish water from the vicinity of Baltimore by Uhler and Lugger and for that reason the 
species is included in the present work. The chub sucker is readily recognized by the small dorsal 
and anal fins, the absence of the lateral line, and the thick lower lip, which contains many folds 
and the halves of which meet anteriorly in a V-shaped angle. The young, in general appearance, 
are very similar to some of the cyprinoid minnows. The males of this species, like many of the 
C3 r prinoid minnows, develop tubercles on the snout during the breeding season. 
The chub sucker is a bottom feeder and largely herbivorous, yet it bites readily at a small 
hook baited with a piece of meat or earthworm. Spawning takes place in the spring. The species 
reaches a length of only about 10 inches; its flesh is bony and not of good flavor. It is common, 
although not abundant, in the fresh waters of the Chesapeake region. During cold weather, accord- 
ing to Smith and Bean (1899, p. 181), it ascends streams to the head waters, where it is taken and 
considered a good winter fish for the table. 
Habitat . — Great Lakes, the Mississippi Valley, and seaboard streams from Maine to Texas. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: Many fresh-water streams and in brackish water 
of the Patapsco River. ( b ) Specimens in the present collection: None. We have records of speci- 
mens taken near Havre de Grace, Md., in April, May, October, and December. The headwaters 
of Chesapeake Bay are slightly brackish from late fall until late winter. 
34. Genus MINYTREMA Jordan. Spotted suckers 
Body elongate, compressed; mouth inferior; upper lip freely protractile; lower lip plicate, 
the halves forming an acute angle anteriorly; air bladder in two parts; lateral line interrupted in 
adults, wanting in young; scales rather large, about 43 to 47 in a longitudinal series; dorsal fin high 
and short, with about 12 rays; caudal fin moderately forked. 
45. Minytrema melanops (Rafinesque). Spotted sucker; Striped sucker. 
Catostomus melanops Rafinesque, Ichthyologia Ohiensis, 1820, p. 57; Ohio River. 
Minytrema melanops Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 187, pi. XXXVI, fig. 90. 
Head 4.4 to 4.9; depth 3.7; D. 15 or 16; A. 9 or 10; scales 43 to 46. Body elongate, com- 
pressed; upper anterior profile evenly and gently convex; head rather small; snout conical, 1.2 to 
2.6 in head; eye 5.8; interorbital space 2.1 to 2.5; mouth inferior; the lips with strong folds, the 
lower lip much broader than the upper; scales large, cycloid, 12 longitudinal rows between the origin 
of dorsal and base of ventrals; lateral line present, complete; dorsal fin a little higher than long, its 
origin about equidistant from tip of snout and end of base of anal, its outer margin gently concave; 
caudal fin forked, the lobes pointed; anal fin much higher than long, its origin slightly nearer base 
of caudal than base of ventrals, the fourth or fifth ray the longest, the posterior rays decreasing 
rapidly in length; ventral fins moderate, inserted under the end of anterior third of base of dorsal; 
pectoral fins inserted less than an eye’s diameter behind margin of opercle, 1.1 to 1.2 in head. Color 
of preserved specimens bluish-gray above, pale below; scales on sides with dark areas at base, 
which are deeper than long in large individuals, roundish in medium-sized individuals, and 
indistinct in young; dorsal and caudal slightly grayish, with darker margins; other fins plain, 
colorless. 
A specimen 420 millimeters (16J^ inches) long, weighing, when fresh, 1% pounds, taken in 
brackish water, and four small specimens, all of equal size, 85 millimeters (3^8 inches) long, taken 
in fresh water, occur in the Chesapeake collection. We have compared these fish with specimens 
from Indiana and Texas. It was noticed that the body becomes much more compressed and deeper 
with age and size, the folds on the lips become more pronounced, and the dark spots on the scales 
on the sides of large specimens are much less distinct than they are in specimens 6 to 10 inches in 
