STUDIES OF COMMON FISHES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 
AT KEOKUK 1 
& 
By ROBERT E. COKER, Ph. D. 
Professor of Zoology, University of North Carolina 
& 
CONTENTS 
Page 
Introduction 141 
Paddlefish or spoonbill cat 142 
The sturgeons 148 
Lake sturgeon; rock sturgeon; rub- 
bernose sturgeon 150 
Shovelnose sturgeon; hackleback 152 
White sturgeon 154 
The garpikes „ 155 
Long-nosed gar; billfish 157 
Short-nosed gar; duck-bill gar 158 
Bowfin 160 
The herringlike fishes 161 
Gold-eyed mooneye; “toothed her- 
ring”; “wap” 162 
White-eyed mooneye; “toothed her- 
ring” 163 
Gizzard shad 164 
River herring or “skipjack” 165 
Ohio shad 169 
American eel 171 
The catfishes 173 
Fulton cat; blue cat; chucklehead 
cat 174 
Spotted cat; channel cat; fiddler 175 
Niggerlip; ponehead 177 
Flathead; goujon; yellow cat; 
hoosier 179 
Commercial fishery for catfishes 180 
Page 
The suckers 182 
Blue sucker; bluefish; Missouri 
sucker 182 
River quillback; carp sucker; silver 
carp 184 
Other suckers 186 
Buffalo fishes 187 
Carp and minnows 194 
Carp; “German” carp 195 
Minnows; shiners 200 
The sunfishes and black basses 202 
The perches 204 
The sea basses 206 
The drums 208 
Drum; sheepshead 209 
Certain fishes of minor importance 214 
Common pike; pickerel 214 
Top minnow 214 
Brook stickleback 214 
Brook silverside 214 
■ Eel-pout; lawyer 214 
The lampreys 214 
Silver lamprey 214 
Fresh- water mussels 215 
Some problems suggested : 217 
Bibliography 219 
INTRODUCTION 
In the course of an investigation begun in 1913 relative to the fish and fisheries 
of the upper Mississippi River as possibly affected by the great dam for hydroelectric 
power built across the river between Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, 111., much informa- 
tion was gathered, by observation and otherwise, regarding the chief fishes of the 
1 Submitted for publication Sept. 28, 1928. Prepared at the same time and based upon observations and coilections made 
during the same period in which this report was prepared is an accompanying paper entitled “Keokuk Dam and the fisheries of 
the upper Mississippi River” (Bulletin, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, Vol. XLV, 1929, pp. 87-139), in which are presented the 
details of studies and experiments concerning the possible effect upon the commercial or sports fisheries of the power dam at 
Keokuk, Iowa. Inasmuch as the present paper necessarily includes frequent reference to such effects, the two papers should 
be consulted together by those interested. 
141 
