REPORT UPON THE PISHES OP IOWA. 
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by a small channel with Hartgraves Creek. The bottom of this lake is very muddy 
and is covered with vegetation. Sunfisb.es and pickerel were very abundant in it. 
At Palo the bottom of the river is sandy, in some places rocky. There are many 
bayous in this region, and the river is bordered with less timber than at Waverly. 
Dry creek is a small tributary of the Cedar River near Palo, having a very muddy 
bottom. We collected on the farm of Mr. Joseph Owens, who informed me that the 
creek used to be deep and narrow and contained fine pickerel and catfishes. At 
present it is wider and shallower. 
At Cedar Rapids the river is about 700 feet wide. A dam at this place holds the 
water back over a distance of about 5 miles, thereby increasing the width of the river. 
This enlarged part contains many islands and much aquatic vegetation. Below the 
dam, for about one-third of a mile, the current is very swift and the bottom very rocky, 
but farther down it becomes sandy. There is considerable timber in this region. 
Prairie Creek is a western tributary of the Cedar, a small stream bordered in the 
lower part with timber. Its bottom is usually muddy, with occasional stretches of 
sand. Mr. Aquilla Miller, who has resided on its banks many years, informed me that 
the larger fishes were formerly quite abundant in it, but at present only small ones 
can be found. 
Indian Creek is an eastern tributary, smaller than Prairie Creek, with a sandy or 
rocky bottom, and is bordered by timber. A much greater number of fishes was 
found in Indian Creek than in Prairie. 
At Mount Vernon the bottom of the Cedar River is sandy. Cliffs, called the Pali- 
sades, about 60 feet high, occur on the western side. A few small streams flow into 
the river near this place. At West Liberty the current was more moderate than at 
the other places visited, but the general characteristics of the river were the same. 
Most of the collection was obtained from bayous near the river, but a few specimens 
were taken from a small creek between West Liberty and the river. 
FISHES OF THE CEDAR RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. 
1. Ammocoetes brancliialis (Linnaeus). Mud lamprey. This small lamprey ascends clear brooks in 
the spring for the purpose of spawning, and at that time of the year large numbers can he 
captured. They were spawning at Cedar Rapids April 20, 1889, and about April 10, 1891, 
the season lasting about two weeks. I have secured many specimens from small brooks near 
Cedar Rapids, hut have seen none from other localities and am not aware of their being taken 
at other times than in the spring. Specimens seldom exceed 61 inches in length. It would 
he an easy matter to destroy large quantities of these lampreys in the spring, if it were 
thought expedient, in view of the inj ury which they are supposed to inflict upon some of the 
food-fishes. They undoubtedly do some destruction, but how much it is difficult to say. I 
have compared the lampreys from Cedar Rapids with specimens from Ithaca, New York, and 
regard the species from both localities as identical. 
2. Petromyzon concolor (Kirtland) . Brook lamprey. I have never observed this species in the spring. 
It is represented in the Coe College Museum by a single specimen, collected in the Cedar 
River several years ago by Prof. F. Starr. 
3. Polyodon spathula (Walbaum). Paddle-fish; Spoon-Mil; Duck-billed cat. Cedar Rapids, rare. The 
snouts of a few individuals, collected in the Cedar River during the past ten years, are in 
the Coe College Museum. 
4. Scaphirhynchus platyrhynchus (Rafinesque). Shovel-nosed sturgeon. An occasional specimen is 
taken from the Cedar River with hook and line. 
