FISH-CULTUKAL INVESTIGATIONS IN TEXAS. 
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lateral cleft; scales moderate, rather deeper than long, those in front of dorsal small; 
breast naked; lateral line complete, somewhat decnrved. Origin of dorsal slightly 
behind that of ventrals, nearer snout than base of caudal, its height equal to length 
of head, pointed, the free margin nearly straight, inclined to be concave; anal small, 
its base one-half length of head, about equal to the dorsal in height. 
Color of Neelies Eiver specimens pale, the upper parts of the body with numerous 
fine brown specks arranged chiefly along edge of scales so as to give a regular cross- 
hatching, this covering the caudal peduncle; middle of side with a plumbeous band 
about one scale wide, extending also across cheek and upon snout; two rows of small 
spots above and parallel with the plumbeous band and one below it, not distinct in 
some specimens; top of head dark, an indistinct line from nape to origin of dorsal 
fin; lower parts of body plain except on posterior portion where the cross-hatching 
extends to under side of caudal peduncle; no spot at base of caudal; fins plain or 
with a few scattered punctulations on dorsal and anal, no evidence of the large black 
area found on dorsal fin of 0. emilice. 
The specimens from Long Lake, Dickinson Bayou, Buffalo Bayou, and Kilper’s 
Ponds agree in color with those from the Neelies Biver, while all the specimens from 
Sims Bayou are nearly uniform pale yellowish throughout, there being no markings 
anywhere except a very faint lateral band and a few scattered punctulations discernible 
only under a lens; dorsal and anal wholly plain. The pale, bleached appearance of the 
specimens from Sims Bayou is quite certainly due to the peculiar character of the 
place in which they were found, it being a shallow, isolated, and stagnant pool with 
mud bottom, containing scarcely any vegetation and lying exposed on the open prairie. 
Thousands of cattle from the surrounding prairie come to this pool for water during 
the dry season, and, in consequence, the banks are much cut up and the water is more 
or less foul. These conditions, of course, have their effect upon the fishes found there, 
and all the species obtained there by us present the same faded appearance. 
This species is quite close to 0. emilice Hay, but may be distinguished from it by 
the less depth of the head, the more pointed dorsal and anal fins, and by the very 
different coloration. A specimen of 0. emilice from Mayfield Creek, Kentucky, col- 
lected by Mr. A. J. Woolman, has the depth at the eye half length of head, and the free 
margin of the dorsal, as well as that of the anal, is convex, while in the Texas specimens 
it is straight or even concave, due to the greater length of the first three rays. These 
small differences, together with the entire absence of the large black spot on the 
dorsal fin which constitutes such a noticeable feature in the coloration of 0 . emilice , 
and the presence (except in the bleached specimens) of a much more distinct plum- 
beous lateral band than is found in any of the specimens of 0 . emilice that I have 
examined, do not permit me to believe that the two are specifically identical. To 
regard the Texas specimens as being 0. emilice would require, it seems to me, either 
that the lateral band should be obsolete or that there should be some evidence of the 
presence of the black area on the dorsal fin; for it would seem that conditions which 
would result in intensifying one of these color markings would not obliterate the other. 
This species differs from the other of the two known species of this genus ( 0 . 
bollmani , recently described by Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, from Buckhead Creek, Georgia), 
in having the lateral line complete and in not having the black caudal spot so conspicu- 
ous in that species. 
