162 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
rises above or a little behind the anal, while that of tergisus is longer, of about 12 rays, 
and rises before the anal. 
The toothed herrings, or mooneyes, have been generally regarded as nearly 
worthless because of the large number of bones; but in comparatively recent years 
the practice of smoking them has developed, and the product is excellent. In the 
smoked condition the bones offer no special difficulty. The smoking of mooneyes 
has been most prevalent about Lake Pepin, where tergisus seems most abundant. 
In quite recent times, according to information received at Muscatine, Iowa, in 1926, 
there has been a market for fresh mooneyes; alosoides is apparently most common in 
that region. 
THE TOOTHED HERRINGS (Hiodontidee) 
Gold-eyed Mooneye. Hiodon alosoides (Rafinesque) 
“toothed herring;” “wap” 
At Keokuk the goldeye attains a length of 44 centimeters (18 inches) and a 
of nearly three-fourths of a kilogram (3 pounds). 
We have found virtually no published data regarding the habits, except the note 
of Forbes and Richardson that it is commonest in rather swift open water, is a gamey 
fish, and feeds mainly on terrestrial and aquatic insects, mollusks, and small minnows. 
At Keokuk it was found only in the river, never in the lake. It was taken both in 
hoop nets on the bottom near the banks and in floated trammel nets at the surface. 
The stomach contents of about 29 examples were examined for us by Dr. R. A. 
Muttkowski. The food is almost exclusively insect. A single stomach of those 
examined contained fish (2 gizzard shad) but it is known that anglers, using live bait, 
occasionally catch a goldeye. A few small crustaceans and a trifle of plant matter 
also occured in the stomachs. Listed approximately in the order of their abundance, 
the following insects were reported: May-fly nymphs and imagos; beetles, chiefly 
terrestrial but including Gyrinus (whirlgig beetle) and Stenelmis; caddisworms, 
midges, and beach flies; Corixa (water boatmen); dragon-fly and damsel-fly larvse; 
grasshoppers and crickets; stone-fly nymphs; dobson-fly larvae or hellgrammites. 
Except that fish and the largest insects are found in the larger fish, there appeared 
no differences in food corresponding with age as regards goldeyes varying in length 
from 16 centimeters (5.5 inches) to 42 centimeters (18 inches). There was also no 
seasonal variation in food except that terrestrial forms and adults of most aquatic 
insects were not available in winter. Rarely were specimens taken with empty 
stomachs, from which it may be inferred that the fish is actively feeding through- 
out the day. 
The fish was taken at Keokuk from February to August. Although specimens 
were examined in every month from March to August (with one examination on 
February 29) only one fish was found that seemed sexually mature — a female taken 
March 29, 1915. Possibly the breeding season is in the late winter or early spring. 
This fish has but little commercial value, although some are shipped in the north 
(Evermann and Latimer, 1910, p. 132) and from Muscatine and points near Keokuk, 
Iowa; it is said to have considerable value as an article of food in the basin of Lake 
Winnepeg (Jordan and Thompson, 1910, p. 353). The flesh is white and rich and 
particularly good when smoked. 
The goldeye is not sufficiently abundant about Keokuk to support a large 
fishery. The biggest catch noted during the two seasons was 44 taken in a trammel 
