476 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE ICHTHYOLOGY OF THE COLORADO BASIN. 
We here give, in chronological order, the titles of the papers which contain infor- 
mation regarding the fishes of the Colorado Basin, with the place of pnblication and 
a brief summary of contents. In the tables of species we give the page upon which 
each species is mentioned, the name under which recorded, and onr identification of 
each. Genera and species described as new are printed in italics. 
1848 . Lieut. Col. W. H. Emort. Notes of a military reconnoissance from Fort Leavenworth, in 
Missouri, to San Diego, in California, including jiart of the Arkansas, Del Norte, and Gila 
Rivers. By Lieut. Col. W. H. Emory, made in 18IG-47, with the advanced guard of the 
“Army of the West.” Washington: Wendell and Van Benthuyseu, Printers. 1848. 
This interesting volume, which was printed as Ex. Doc. hTo. 41, Thirteenth Con- 
gress, first session, contains the first reference which we' have been able to find to 
any fish of the Colorado Basin. The reference is contained in the following extract 
from pp. 62 and 63, and is accompanied by a fnll-page plate of the fish named Gila 
tront, which, of course, is Ptijchocheilus lucius : 
A good road was subsequently found turning the spur and following the creek, until it debouched 
into the Gila, which was only a mile distant. Some hundred yards before reaching this river the roar 
of its waters made us understand that we were to see something different from the Del Norte. Its 
section, where we struck it (see the map), 4,347 feet above the sea, was 50 feet wide and an average 
of 2 feet deep. Clear and swift it came bouncing from the great mountains which appeared to the 
north about 60 miles distant. We crossed the river, its large round pebbles and swift current causing 
the mulesto tread warily. We followed its course, and encamped under a high range of symmetric- 
ally formed hills overhanging the river. Our camp resembled very much the center of a yard of 
huge stacks. 
We heard the fish playing in the water, and soon those who were disengaged were after them. At 
first it was supposed they were the mountain trout, but, being comparatively fresh from the hills of 
Maine, I soon sa\y the difference. The shape, general appearance, and the color are the same; at a 
little distance you will imagine the fish covered with delicate scales, but on a closer examination you 
will find that they are only the impression of scales. The meat is soft, something between the trout 
and the catfish, but more like the latter. They are in great abundance. 
1853 «. S. F. Baird and Charles Girard. Descriptions of some new Fishes from the River ZuFii. 
<(Proo. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., vi, 1853, 368, 369. 
In this short paper are described and named the first species of fishes ever received 
from the Colorado Basin. Excepting the brief reference in Lient. Col. Emory’s recon- 
noissance, which we have quoted above, this is the first mention of Colorado Basin 
fishes. The specimens described were collected by Dr. S. W. Woodhouse while 
attached as surgeon and naturalist to the expedition of Capt. Sitgreaves, for the 
exploration of the Znfii Eiver and its tributaries. Three species were described from 
this collection, viz: Gila rohusta^ Gila elegans, and Gila gracilis. Tlie last of these is 
now regarded as a synonym of G, rohtista. 
1053 &. Spencer F. Baird and Charles Girard. Fishes collected by the expedition of Capt. L. 
Sitgreaves, 148-152, with 3 plates, 1853. <(Report of an Expedition down the Zufii and 
Colorado Rivers, by Captain L. Sitgreaves, Corps Topographical Engineers, 18.53. 
This paper was based upon the material niion which the same authors reported 
in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy in 1853. This report, however, is 
given more in detail and is accompanied by 3 plates containing very good figures 
of the 3 nominal species — Gtla rohusta, Gila elegans, and Gila gracilis. This expedi- 
tion left Zufii September 24, 1852, and reached Yuma November 30. 
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