LIST OF FISHES KNOWN TO INHABIT THE WATERS OE THE 
DISTRICT OE COLUMBIA AND VICINITY. 
By HUGH M. SMITH and BARTON A. BEAN. 
INTRODUCTORY. 
There is herewith preseuted the first published list of the fishes of the District of 
Columbia and viciuity. Much has been written concerning the fishes of the region, 
but the literature is scattered through many journals, newspapers, and Government 
reports, and pertains chiefly to the well-known game and food fishes, while the 
smaller fishes — important as affording food for the others — have been very generally 
neglected. 
For convenience, the limits of the District may be regarded as extending over a 
radius of 20 miles from the Capitol, it having been the practice to include this area 
in former treatises on the fauna and flora of the region under discussion. The waters 
considered, therefore, are: 
(1) The Potomac Kiver, from Occoquaii Eiver, Virginia, to a point 5 miles above 
the Great Falls. Its ijrincipal tributaries in this section, beginning at the southern 
limit, are as follows: 
In Maryland and District of Columbia: Matta woman Creek, Accokeek Creek, 
Piscataway Pun, Swan Creek, Broad Creek, Oxen Eun, Eastern Branch or Anacostia 
Eiver (with its tributaries, Sligo Branch, Northwest Branch, Paint Branch, Little 
Paint Branch, and Beaver Dam), Eock Creek and Piney Branch, Foundry Enn, and 
Cabin John Eun. 
In Virginia: Pohick Creek, Accotink Creek, Dogue Creek, Little Uunting Creek, 
Hunting Creek, Cameron Eun (and its tributaries. Back Lick Eun and Holmes Eun), 
Four-Mile Eun, Eoach’s Eun, Gravelly Eun, Little Eiver, Pimmitt Eun, and Diffi- 
cult Eun. 
(2) The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Government reservoirs above 
Georgetown. 
(3) The Patuxent Eiver, Maryland, from Nottingham post-office northward, with 
numerous tributaries flowing from the west, the principal branches being the Western, 
Collington, and Mattaponi. 
The fishes of this region have perhaps received less attention from local students 
than any other class of vertebrate animals. They are certainly not the least inter- 
esting and important group for study, and at the present time afford an excellent 
subject for investigation. Systematic collecting will doubtless add considerably to 
the list of species, and aid in the elucidation of questions pertaining to geographical 
distribution and variation. 
The District fish fauna, as at present known, comprises 81 species, belonging to 
62 genera and 31 families. The most numerous family, the Cyprinidcv, which includes 
the minnows and carp-like fishes, has 19 species. Other families with 5 or more 
species are the Siluridm (catfishes), Catostomidcc (suckers), Clupeidw (shad and her- 
ring), and Centrarchidw (bass and sunfish). The local fish fauna has been considerably 
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