120 
BULLETIN OF THE BUBEAU OF FISHEBIES 
worms, and “other animals.” Forbes and Richardson (1908, p. 85) point out that the thick pharyn- 
geal jaws with a relatively small number of pharyngeal teeth, the lower ones of which are much 
thickened and expanded at the crowns, constitute a crushing and grinding apparatus strongly sug- 
gesting that a molluscan diet prevails. The specimens at hand had fed abundantly on plankton, 
consisting mainly of Cladocera, copepods, and Ostracoda. No insects or insect larvae were noticed. 
The earthworm is the commonly used bait for hook and line fishing for this sucker. 
Referring to the spawning habits of this sucker, Uhler and Lugger (1876, ed. I, p. 162, and ed. 
II, p. 138) say: “In early summer these fish build their nests of piles of sand and stones, and shortly 
afterwards their dead bodies may sometimes be found in dozens along the shores of streams such as 
Gwynns Falls, Md.” The death of adult fish after spawning is not reported by other observers. 
Smith (1907, p. 73) states that in North Carolina spawning occurs in spring in the headwaters of 
small streams. According to Forbes and Richardson this sucker prefers riffles or swiftly flowing 
water for depositing the spawn. The writers have seen this sucker ascend small creeks in the spring 
in schools, when the splashing of water on the shallow riffles could be heard from a distance. It is 
then frequently possible to approach quietly with a torch, and when the light once is over the fish 
they become quiet and may be gigged easily. 
This fish, although quite bony, is generally considered a fairly good food fish. Uhler and 
Lugger (1876, ed. I p. 162, and ed. II, p. 138), however, say: “The rank taste of the flesh renders 
it distasteful to many persons, but in the interior sections of the western shore (Maryland) it is 
generally eaten by the people.” 
The sucker is found in the fresh waters of the Chesapeake Bay region throughout the year, 
and according to Smith and Bean (1899, p. 181) it is taken in the Potomac and its tributaries, chiefly 
in winter, with seines and fyke nets. This species reaches a length of about 2 feet and a weight of 
about 5 pounds. 
Habitat . — “ Streams and ponds from Quebec and the Great Lakes to Montana, Colorado, and 
southward to Missouri and Georgia. * * * Excessively abundant from Massachusetts west 
to Kansas.” (Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900.) 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: Apparently all from strictly fresh water. (5) 
Specimens in collection: From Susquehanna River, Havre de Grace, Md., 300-foot seine, Novem- 
ber 9, 1921, salinity 1.53 per mille. 
Family XXVI. — CYPRINID^E. The minnows and carps 
Body more or less elongate, compressed or rounded; margin of upper jaw formed only by the 
premaxillaries; lower pharyngeal bones supporting one to three series of teeth, the teeth few in 
number and sometimes differing in number on the two sides; snout sometimes with two to four 
small barbels; gill membranes joined to the isthmus; pseudobranchiae present; branchiostegals 3; 
body scaly; head naked; dorsal fin short; ventral fins abdominal. During the breeding season the 
males often develop tubercles on the snout, and in some of the species they become brightly colored. 
KEY TO THE GENERA 
a. Mouth with four barbels; dorsal and anal each with three spines, the third in each fin enlarged 
and serrated behind Cyprinus, p. 121 
aa. Mouth without barbels; dorsal and anal fins without spines. 
b. Body in adult much compressed; belly behind ventrals compressed to a keel; lateral line 
strongly decurved; anal fin long, with about 14 to 16 rays; origin of dorsal behind ven- 
trals Notemigonus, p. 123 
bb. Body not greatly compressed; belly rounded; lateral line only slightly decurved; anal fin 
short, with about 8 to 10 rays. 
c. Peritoneum black; alimentary canal long, more than three times the length of body 
Hybognathus, p. 124 
cc. Peritoneum pale; alimentary canal short, less than twice the length of body.-Notropis, p. 125 
