124 
BULLETIN of the bureau of fisheries 
This species reaches a larger size than the other minnows of this family occurring in the 
Chesapeake vicinity. The maximum length given in various publications is 1 foot, but the largest 
individual taken in the Chesapeake was 8 inches long. This minnow is considered excellent bait 
in the South for black bass and pike or pickerel. The large individuals are used for home consump- 
tion and are said to make good pan fish. When confined in cisterns or shallow wells the golden 
shiner feeds on mosquito larvae and successfully prevents mosquito production. The weights of 
Chesapeake Bay fish were as follows: 
Length, in inches 
Weight, in 
ounces 
Length, in inches 
Weight, in 
ounces 
5 
0.7 
2.0 
5 \i 
.8 

7.1 
2.3 
5 y 2 - — 
.9 
VA--- 
2. 7 
5% 
1.3 
V/ 2 - - 
3. 1 
6 I 
1.4 
8 
3. 7 
614 
1.6 
8 y 2 
4.8- 
Habitat. — Nova Scotia, west to the Dakotas and south to Florida and Texas on both sides of the 
Alleghanies, frequenting weedy ponds and sluggish streams. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: “Maryland” (Uhler and Lugger, 1876), Havre de 
Grace, Md. (Bean, 1883), Little Bohemia Creek, Bohemia Mills, Bohemia Bridge, Elk Neck, North 
East, Stony Run, Conewingo, Susquehanna River, and Broad Creek (Fowler, 1912). (b) Specimens 
in collection: From Havre de Grace, Baltimore, Annapolis, Love Point, Solomons Island, Md. 
and Lewisetta, Va., taken with 30 and 300 foot collecting seines and in one instance with a pound 
net from April to November. Highest salinity 14.4 per mille. 
38. Genus HYBOGNATHUS Agassiz. Shiners; Gudgeons 
Body elongate, somewhat compressed; mouth horizontal; the jaws normal, the lower one with a 
slight protuberance in front, the upper one protractile; no barbels; pharyngeal teeth 4 — 4; alimentary 
canal elongate, three to ten times the length of body; peritoneum black; scales large; lateral line 
complete; dorsal fin inserted in advance of ventrals; anal short. 
49. Hybognathus nuchalis Agassiz. “Gudgeon”; Silvery minnow. 
Hybognathus nuchalis Agassiz, American Jour. Sci. and Art., 1855, p. 224; Qunicy, 111. 
Hybognathus regius Uhler and Lugger, 1876, ed. I, p. 177; ed. II, p. 150. 
Hybognathus nuchalis Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 213; Smith and Bean, 1899, p. 182; Fowler, 1912, p. 52. 
Head 4.1 to 5; depth 3.56 to 4.95; D. 9 or 10; A. 9 or 10; scales 37 to 40. Body rather slender, 
compressed; caudal peduncle moderate, its depth 1.5 to 2.6 in head; head rather long and low; 
snout conical, 3 to 3.5 in head; eye 3.05 to 3.35; interorbital space 2.35 to 3.35; mouth small, a little 
oblique, slightly inferior; maxillary not quite reaching eye; pharyngeal teeth in one row, consisting 
of four teeth; scales moderate, 13 or 14 rows crossing the back in advance of dorsal fin; lateral line 
complete, slightly decurved; origin of dorsal a little nearer tip of snout than base of caudal, the 
anterior rays of fin longest, reaching past the posterior ones when deflexed; caudal fin moderately 
forked, the lobes of about equal length; anal fin similar to the dorsal, its origin about 1.5 times 
diameter of eye behind the end of base of dorsal; ventral fins moderate, inserted a little behind 
vertical from origin of dorsal; pectoral fins pointed, the upper rays longest, 1.05 to 1.35 in head. 
Color greenish above, sides silvery, lower parts pale. Some specimens have a slight indication 
of a plumbeous lateral band, at least posteriorly. The fins pale, the dorsal and caudal slightly 
dusky. 
Nine specimens of this species, ranging from 70 to 157 millimeters (2% to 6J4 inches) in length, 
were taken in brackish water in the upper part of Chesapeake Bay. The adults of this species are 
very similar to Notropis hudsonius amarus, from which, however, they may be distinguished by the 
black peritoneum and the long convoluted intestine. N. hudsonius amarus, furthermore, usually 
has an indication of a black spot at base of caudal, which is never present in H. nuchalis. 
