126 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Numerous specimens ranging from 26 to 125 millimeters (1 to 5 inches) in length were pre- 
served. Most of the specimens were taken in fresh water, but some of them were found where the 
water was slightly brackish. The young are very similar in color to the young of Notropis bifrenatus, 
both species having the black lateral band, but in the present species, in specimens of 2 inches and 
upward in length, the lateral band is not nearly as black, having become more plumbeous. This 
fish is said to differ from the typical hudsonius in having a longer and more obtuse head and in the 
faint or absent caudal spot. (The latter is a character that applies only to adult fish.) This 
minnow may be distinguished from other species of this genus of the Chesapeake by the rather small 
scales in advance of the dorsal, 14 to 16 rows crossing the median line of back, the slightly inferior 
mouth, and by the anterior rays of the dorsal and anal, which are long, projecting beyond the 
posterior rays when the fin is deflexed. 
The peritoneum is silvery, but sometimes with few and at other times with numerous dark 
punctulations. The air bladder is large and it has a constriction a little in advance of the middle 
of its length, from which arises a small tube that extends forward to the throat. The alimentary 
canal is a little longer than the total length of the body. 
The food in 13 stomachs examined consisted mainly of insects, a few small mollusks, and 
various forms of plants. 
Spawning evidently occurs very early in the spring, as specimens taken in November have the 
ovaries somewhat distended with eggs, which are plainly visible to the unaided eye. This shiner, 
although locally abundant, is of little commercial value because of its small size. It is considered 
good bait for black bass, however, and the food it furnishes for larger fish is probably of considerable 
importance. The largest individual in the Chesapeake collection measures 5 inches in length, 
which is probably the maximum length attained, as it is an inch longer than the greatest length 
given in current works. All specimens at hand except one were taken in rather quiet, shallow 
water, and usually on grassy bottom. One, however, was taken off the mouth of the Sassafras 
River, one-half mile from shore, with a beam trawl hauled at depths of 36 to 54 feet. It is not 
known whether this fish was caught on the bottom or at the surface as the trawl was being hauled up, 
but the capture is unusual because this species is typically an inhabitant of brooks and rivers and 
rarely strays from the immediate vicinity of the shore. 
Habitat . — -“Delaware and Potomac Rivers.” (Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900.) 
Chesapeake records. — (a) Previous records: “Chesapeake Bay” (Girard); Patapsco River; 
Potomac River; East River and Octoraro Creek, Md. ( b ) Specimens in collection: From the 
vicinity of Havre de Grace, Md. (Susquehanna River to Spesutie Island), 30-foot seine, August 26 
to September 1 and November 9 to 12, 1921; Howell Point, mouth of Sassafras River, beam trawl, 
depth 36 to 54 feet, May 11, 1922; Baltimore, Hawkins Point and Bear Creek, 30-foot seine, May 4, 
1922; highest salinity 6.54 per mille. 
51. Notropis bifrenatus (Cope). Bridled minnow; “Minnie.” 
Hybopsis bifrenatus Cope, Trans., Amer. Philo. Soe., XIII, 1869, p. 384; Schuylkill River, Conshohocken, Pa. 
Notropis bifrenatus Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 258; Fowler, 1912, p. 52. 
Head 3.7 to 4.25; depth 4 to 4.9; D. 9 or 10; A. 8; scales 33 to 36. Body rather slender, com- 
pressed; caudal peduncle long and slender in young, less so in larger individuals, its depth varying 
from 2.2 to 3.7 in head; head of moderate size; snout blunt, its length 3.35 to 4.6 in head; eye 2.8 to 
3.25; interorbital space 2.5 to 3.3; mouth very oblique, upper anterior margin of gape slightly below 
median line of eye; maxillary reaching about to anterior margin of eye; pharyngeal teeth 0, 2 — 2, 
0 to 1, 4 — 4, 1, the larger teeth prominently curved at the tips; scales rather large, 12 or 13 rows 
crossing the median line of back in advance of dorsal; lateral line incomplete, curved somewhat 
downward, extending nearly to or somewhat beyond vertical from origin of dorsal; origin of dorsal a 
little nearer tip of snout than base of caudal; caudal fin forked, the lower lobe slightly the longer; 
anal fin with slightly concave outer margin, its origin slightly behind vertical from end of base 
of dorsal, about equidistant from insertion of pectorals and base of caudal; ventral fins inserted 
under or a little in advance of the dorsal, reaching beyond origin of anal; pectoral fins inserted on 
ventral edge, 1.35 to 1.6 in head. 
Color greenish brown above, pale silvery below; the scales in upper part of body with brownish 
punctulations, densest on the margins, making brownish edges; sides with a prominent black band, 
