190 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
FISHES OF THE PASQUOTANK RIVER. 
1. Acipenser sturio oxyrhynchus (Mitchill). Sturgeon, (a.) Not abundant in the Pasquotank and 
much less numerous than formerly. 
2. Amia calva Linnaeus. Gr indie, (a, c.) Common. Examples 2 feet long observed. Of no com- 
mercial value, the flesh being “cottony,” but is sometimes eaten by negroes. 
3. Ameiurus albidus (Le Sueur). Black cat; White cat. ( a,b,c .) Very abundant. Most of the fish 
taken at this time by the commercial fisherman were small, but some were a foot in length 
and a few were 20 inches long. Some of the largest specimens had full-grown alewives in 
their gullets when caught. Under the name “white cat,” the fishermen recognize the fish 
having a milky or dusky color, dull red fins with dark edges, and a white iris. They are most 
common in the lower river, wheje they seem partial to the shoals, whence, probably, their 
bleached appearance. Between the black and white forms there is every gradation of color. 
The main run of alewives in the Pasquotank River is always followed by a noticeable 
increase in the abundance of catfish. The fishermen have a saying that when the catfish 
arrive the herring season is over. The catfish are thought to follow the alewives for the 
purpose of feeding on their spawn. In April, 1887, during a period of four days, Mr. George 
Waters, of Elizabeth City, caught 118,000 herring ; the run suddenly ceased, and on the fifth 
day no herring were taken, but an enormous haul of catfish was made. 
4. Ameiurus nebulosus (Le Sueur). Yellow cat. ( a , c.) Much less numerous than the preceding. 
Most common about wharves, feeding on refuse. Above dark green, sides golden yellow 
obscurely mottled with green, beneath pale yellowish or white. An example from station a 
has the following features: Length, 12f inches; head in body, 31 ; depth, 4; anal base, 4; 
pectoral spine in head, 2|; anal rays, 22. 
5. Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus. Carp, (a.) First appeared in this river as the result of the breaking 
of the dam of a carp pond, and is now occasionally taken. The peculiar hard water of the 
river appears to improve the food value of the fish; three people interviewed spoke in high 
terms of its edible qualities. Fish 20 inches long have been caught. 
6. Hybognathus nuchalis Agassiz, {h, c.) Apparently the most abundant cyprinoid in this river; 
41 specimens preserved, from 24 to 44- inches long. Dorsal, 7 or 8 ; anal, 8 ; head, 4 or 4f ; 
depth, 4} or 4J; eye, 3 to 34 ; scales, 5-37-4 to 5-45-4; scales before dorsal, 14 or 15. 
7. Notropis hudsonius (Clinton). (6.) Three specimens. In these the variations in the dental 
formulae are so marked that it may be proper to describe the fish. Color above pale green, 
the scales with dark edges. A lateral silvery band, with black punctulations terminating 
in a distinct roundish black spot at base of caudal. Lateral line complete, nearly straight 
except at origin. Dorsal rather nearer snout than base of caudal and over ventrals ; the 
latter reaching .the vent; caudal deeply forked. Mouth on level with lower edge of orbit, 
small, somewhat oblique, not reaching half way to eye ; lower jaw included. Snout rugose, 
rounded. Eye large, longer than snout, and equal to interorbital. Teeth hooked, with 
well-developed grinding surface. Other features of these specimens are brought out in the 
following table: 
Specimens. 
Length. 
Head. 
Depth. 
Eye. 
Dorsal. 
Anal. 
Scales. 
Scales 
before 
dorsal. 
Teeth. 
No. 1 
Inches. 
n 
4 
5 
21 
8 
8 
5-35-3 
15 
2, 4-4, 2 
No. 2 
21 
41 
51 
21 
8 
8 
5-36-3 
15 
0, 4-4, 0 
0, 4-4,0 
No. 3 
2 | 
4-J 
2f 
8 
8 
5-35-3 
16 
In his definition of the genus Hudsonius, in which the species under consideration was 
placed, Girard* gives the variations in the teeth as 2, 4-4, 2, 2, 4-4,1, 0,4-4, 2, and 0, 4-4,1. In 
recent works, the formula 2, 4-4, 2 is not mentioned, and the absence of teeth from the inner 
row, as in two of these specimens, does not appear to have been previously noticed. 
Proe. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., viii, 1856, p. 210. 
