INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN. 
191 
This si^ecies has liitherto heeu reported from the Columbia River basiu from hut one 
place — Snake River, at Presideut Camp;* it seems, Iiowever, to be a prettj' common fish 
throughout that basiu. It was obtained by VVoolman and Bean in Post Creek and at Thomp- 
son Falls, the only places in the Pend d’Oreille system where it has yet been found. The 
Indian name refers to the motion of the nose in eating. 
10 . Agosia nubila (Girard). 
Anjt/rens nuhihis Girard, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1856, 186. Tyi^e locality ; Fort Steilacoom, 
IVashingtou. 
Since the original description of this species no siiecimeus have until now been taken 
from near the type locality. The name has been recently used by Jordan and others for the 
Affosia inhabiting the Upper Snake River and the Great Basiu in Utah, being thus considered 
synonymous with the numerous nominal species {carringtonii, vulneraia, rhinichthgoides, lien- 
shavii, and novemradiata) described by Cope from streams triliutary to Great Salt Lake. 
As this identificatiou has been based upon a comparison with the imperfectly preserved types 
of iinbihi, the present collection is of great interest, containing, as it does, material from 15 
localities, distributed between the Newauknm River in western Washington and the tribu- 
taries of the Upper Snake River in southeastern Idaho. A study of this material has shown 
the desirability of recognizing as a, distinct subspecies Agosia tnibila carringlonii, the form 
found in the Great Basin and the Upper Snake River. 
Examination of the annexed tabular statement will show the astonishing amount of 
variation which this species exhibits. Thus, the crosswise series of scales varies from 47 to 
70 in number; the barbel is present or absent; the pharyngeal teeth vary from 1, 4-4, 0 to 
2, 4-4, 2; and the dorsal tin varies much in position and somewhat in size. These characters 
occur in various combinations, and with some of these are often correlated pecrrliarities of 
physiognomy and general appearance, all of which may serve to put a certain stam}i upon the 
individuals from a single stream, or even from one locality in a stream. Disregarding such 
local variations, we find that our material, exclusive of the specimens of A. -nubila carringtonii, 
falls more or less clearly into three groups, distributed around certain geographical centers. 
Whether we are here dealing with subspecies seems doirbtful, and can be determined only by 
more extensive and detailed exploration. The first of these forms, typical n uhila, is represented 
in our collection by a large number of specimens from the Newaukum and Skookumchuck rivers 
in western Washington, very near the type locality of the species. These are all very dark 
in coloration, and have a jet-black lateral band which extends along sides of head and encircles 
the snout. This band is absent in our second and third groups, found east of the Cascades, 
or it is at most only faintly indicated. The darker coloration of the coastwise form may be 
due to its inhabiting a densely forested area, iiossessiug different climatic conditions from 
those characterizing the dry semidesert of eastern Washington and western Idaho. Both 
the typical nubila and the lighter interior form which centers about Umatilla are characterized 
by their coarse scales (averaging 54 along the lateral line) and their peculiar markings. The 
latter are due to the fact that numerous scattered scales along the back and sides are of a 
dark slate color, contrasting sharply with the lighter ground. 
The third group centers in the Spokane region, and is characterized by smaller scales, 
the less-marked peculiarities of coloration, and the almost uniform absence of the maxillary 
barbel. The inconstancy of this important generic character within the limits of the species 
has been heretofore noticed only by Cope, who in notes on Ajwcopc viidnerata t calls attention 
to its occasional absence. In our specimens from other than the Spokane district the barbel 
is very rarelj^ lacking. 
The significance of the groups above outlined can be determined satisfactorily only by 
the study of a much more extensive series than that on which this paper is based. An open 
waterway exists between them, and it is useless to attempt to indicate their value while so 
large a part of the Columbia and adjacent basins remain unexplored. 
11. Agosia nubila carringtonii (Cope). Mo-slia-pog-gee. 
Apocope carringtonii Cope, Hayden’s Fifth Annual Report, 1871 (1872), 472. Type locality: Warm 
Springs, Utah. 
*Evermaun, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm, for 1891 (1892), 42. 
t Coxje, Zool. Wheeler’s Survey W. 100th Merid., 647, 1876. 
